EVERY time and at any time I do reflect on the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, one thing that keeps on cropping in my mind is that his leadership demonstrated what is feasible for our world and within each one of us if we have confidence in, dreams and work together as a nation.
As we celebrate his total one hundred years as a nation, let us maintain each day to be encouraged and motivated by his lifelong standard and his request to unite Tanzanians to never give up working for a better-united nation and a more just world.
Those born after he retires from the office and later his death, unless they take interest in reading history, might not be knowledgeable on what kind of a leader he was.
Fortunate to work for him and his team during the Burundi peace negotiations, held in Arusha, in my assessment, he was a remarkable figure on the global stage, a leader of peace dignity and gigantic attainment, a giant for integrity and a down-to-earth human inspiration.
Many in the geo-political vicinity of the world were inspired by his selfless struggle and stand for human self-esteem, fairness, and liberty. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere heartened many lives in Tanzania, in the region and around the world in profoundly personal ways.
At the same time, no one did more in our time to spread the values and aspirations of the United Republic of Tanzania on the world map.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere dedicated his life to the service of Tanzanians and nations around Africa, and beyond Africa, and he did so at great personal expense wanting to see each nation(s) being free from exploiters. His principled stance and the moral force that underpinned it were decisive in dismantling the system of exploitation and corruption.
While at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, I was privileged to work for Nyerere Foundation, an organization still functioning today.
When I thanked him for his life’s work, he insisted staring straight-talking into my eyes as the youngest man in the group into negotiation, that the credit I poured into him belonged to others. I was very moved by his deep sense of shared purpose.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere proved what is possible for Tanzania, our region, and the world and within each one of us, if we believe, dream, and work together towards a common purpose. Let us continue each day to be inspired by his lifelong leadership example and his call to never cease working for a better peaceful and more just world.
As we celebrate this day, Julius Nyerere unquestionably was greatly influenced by the concept of pan-Africanism during his time in office and even after his retirement. This made him one of the continent’s most influential political leaders of his time.
Thus why experts and most of them say his politics also contributed to the fact that Tanzania remains a largely stable country in Africa, especially the sub-Saharan Africa region.
Tanzania never disintegrated into civil strife like many of its neighbors, despite a series of military take-overs that are well known and others that have taken place recently.
His legacy is the nationalism and patriotism he brought in when he was in power. This sense of what we are we are all Tanzanians that we have one country and that the country is stable.
To me, Mwalimu’s legacy is waning. Scores of school children and tourists and many people interested in history line up to visit his village and library to learn what kind of a man Mwalimu Nyerere was.
A look at how former Tanzania leader Julius Nyerere set Africa ablaze with his vision of a new industrial and scientific age can now be witnessed in what is happening in emerging nations today.
In the first years after independence, his government started an ambitious economic program aimed at industrializing the country which heavily depended on agriculture.
The new to-be-completed Nyerere power generation dam is going to be a game changer in Tanzania.
Today, Tanzanian public sees the other side of the firebrand politician who strongly advocated for freedom. Julius Nyerere’s time in office became increasingly open that paved the way to a multiparty setting that our nation is enjoying today.
We can all feel that Julius Nyerere’s name still has some influence, and I can see his political concepts shaping present-day political debates we have in Tanzania today.
Today there is a new Tanzania, a new African in the world wanting to use Mwalimu Nyerere’s vision ready to fight its own battle and manage its own affairs in an ever-evolving competitive world.
Source: Dailynews