Nyerere Day

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Tanzania.  It is Nyerere Day which honors Tanzania’s (formerly Tanganyika) first President, Julius Kambarage Nyerere who was born on 13 April 1922 and passed away on 14 October 1999.  He served as President from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985.  In honor of this day, I thought it might be nice to tell you a little bit more about this quite visionary politician. 

In Tanzania Nyerere was known by his Kiswahili name Mwalimu which means 'teacher'.  This was also his profession prior to politics.  He is also referred to sometimes as Baba wa Taifa which means Father of the Nation.  Although Nyerere received his higher education outside of Tanzania, studying in Kampala and Edinburgh, he returned to his homeland to become a teacher.  Nyerere was instrumental in Tanzania’s plight for independence and managed to help Tanzania (Tanganyika at the time) gain independence without war or bloodshed.

It was not until 1961 that Nyerere was elected Tanganyika's first Prime Minister, and following independence, in 1962, the country's first President.  In 1964, Tanganyika became politically united with Zanzibar and was renamed to Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power. Two years later, he issued the Arusha Declaration, which outlined his socialist vision of Ujamaa that came to dominate his policies.

Nyerere retired in 1985.  He died of leukaemia in London in 1999.  Posthumously, in 2009, Nyerere was named "World Hero of Social Justice" by the United Nations General Assembly.   It is undeniable that he had an immense impact on this country as many of his policies infiltrated the community and are still followed.  The party that will most probably be re-elected at the end of this month, CCM, was also his party.  His influence lingers on not just in politics but in the character of Tanzanians. 

Since I have arrived, it has been quite noticeable that Tanzanians are extremely friendly (generally) and there is a strong sense of community and family.  From what I have read about Tanzania, this is a general observation that has been made by many authors.  Tanzania is considered one of the safer countries in Africa and the people are considered to be extremely open and pleasant (which I know to be true).  Nyerere believed socialism was an attitude of mind that barred discrimination and entailed equality of all human beings.  Although economically, Ujamaa, which is what his African Socialism theory was referred to (means familyhood in Kiswahili), did not succeed, the moral aspect of this political theory clearly still lives on in Tanzania.  The anti-discriminatory foundation of this theory appears quite modern for his time but clearly this social development policy is one that should transcend boundaries.

Although there are reports of abuse of power and Amnesty International investigated human rights violations in Tanzania during Nyerere’s rule, there is no question that he still much revered by his people.  There is still a deep sense of pride for the Father of their Nation.  One thing we can all learn from him is acceptance of all human beings as equal.  So in honor of Nyerere Day, I beseech you to be tolerant and accepting of all human beings, not just the ones you like J