Given his singular visionary leadership, culturally, politically, Pan-Africanistically, and more so economically, I believe a reassessment of Nyerere’s economic policy is in order. Rather than being described as an “Heroic Failure,” it should be described as an “Monumental Success.” It goes to the core of my belief, that we should stop attempting to run before we could even crawl. The deliberate steps at economic engineering are the seeds of economic success. I salute you, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere!!
I do not wish to sound like the foreigners (Europeans and Americans) who go to Africa for a few days and become experts on Africa, even not on the country or specific area they visited. Nor is it my intention to only see the bad things happening in that place. I am prefacing myself because on Saturday, May 17, I flew into the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, Tanzania, to attend a conference on a subject I have become very passionate about - travel and tourism in Africa, as I believe this is an industry that has started to create one of the greatest economic growths in Africa and create millions of jobs for our unemployed youths. I must state from the outset that I was there at the invitation of the Africa Travel Association for their 33rd Annual Congress held in Arusha from May 15-23, and that my airfare (economy) and hotel bills were paid for by the Tanzanian government, although I paid business class for my spouse. It just so happened that at the Gala Dinner given by the Tanzania Tourist Board, I was given an award by the Africa Travel Association in recognition of the work that the African Sun Times has been doing since 2006 in assisting the Africa Travel Association in its mission to increase travel and tourism in Africa.
I have already reported extensively on the conference, which could be seen at http://www.africanamedia.com as well as in the African Sun Times. In that reporting, I emphasized the importance that the Tanzanian government placed on tourism by its President Jakaya Kikwete opening the conference and the President of Zanzibar, President Aman Abeid Karume, closing it.
My visit therefore provided me with the opportunity to assess for myself a nagging question or debate about Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and his economic policies during his time. I have always felt that Mwalimu Nyerere was an colossus of an African leader (and I must add in the world) who was beyond reproach in his public and private life, who eschewed the trappings of power and disdained those who manipulated their citizens into making them demi-gods. Let me provide another caveat: As a young officer of the Biafra Foreign Service, stationed in New York, having resigned from the Nigerian Foreign Service, I was mesmerized by this colossus of a leader by his monumental and singular visionary act in recognizing the State of Biafra.
As I said my visit provided me an indirect way of answering that nagging question of whether his economic policies were a failure or success. In fact, it was from the writings of another African literary colossus, Prof. Ali Mazrui, that I needed to have this question answered. Writing in an article captioned “Nyerere and I” in the AfricaResource online, Prof. Mazrui wrote as follows, “Nyerere’s policies of Ujamaa amounted to a case of Heroic Failure. They were heroic because Tanzania was one of the few African countries which attempted to find its own route to development instead of borrowing the ideologies of the West. But it was a failure because the economic experiment did not deliver the goods of development.”
I cringe at the phrase “Heroic Failure,” to describe the foundation for economic growth which Mwalimu Nyerere laid for what is happening today in Tanzania, as I could observe with my own naked eyes. It is an transformation unlike anything I have seen in any other African country, a self-reliant people substantially immune from the vagaries of world economic occurrences. It is not easy to disagree with an individual that you respect a great deal, but in this case I would courageously beg to differ from Prof. Mazrui on his pronouncement of the Mwalimu Nyerere’s economic policy as “Heroic Failure.” In his corner are such giants as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which continue to pronounce Tanzania as one of the poorest nations in the world.
The question is by what yardstick do we measure a country as poor? Are Nigerians, South Africans or Egyptians better off than Tanzanians? Are we to measure it by the myopic policies of constructing white elephants or bringing in foreigners to siphon off billions of dollars for never-ending abandoned and half-completed projects? I would hazard a guess and say absolutely not. If being outside the designation of a poor country means the citizens are not amply supplied with Western goods or even Asian products, then it might stand to reason that the appellation stands. You have a Nigeria where $16 billion is spent and still the people don’t have electricity, or rickety when it is available.
It is from here that I have to recount my experiences to arrive at my conclusion of an disagreement with those who have dubbed Tanzania one of the poorest countries in the world. These experiences might not have anything to do with economic policies, but they go to the core of what are traits that engender the eventual trigger of an economic explosion designed to benefit the entire society. Right from the Kilimanjaro International Airport, you see a people rooted in respect for law as well as respectful treatment with the foreigners they come into contact with. You see a clean environment, no attempt by unauthorized individuals to manipulate and trick you into parting with some of your finances.
From immediately outside the edge of the airport, I came across thousands of acres of coffee plantations, acres of maize, wheat, thousands of acres of bananas and other agricultural produce. I was amazed that a country like Tanzania exists, and Ethiopia is begging for food, when Tanzania could supply her with all the food she needs. The roads were well constructed and tarred, without ditches in the middle of the road that could swallow your cars. There were no barriers of police or military check-points every 10 miles or less harassing and intimidating travelers. In fact, there were none at all.
In the tourism sector, everybody seems to be attuned to the government’s policy of transforming tourism into one of the greatest growth industries in the country. Already, according to President Jakaya Kikwete, tourism has surpassed agriculture as the country’s number one industrial sector, providing according to him, more than 250,000 jobs to Tanzanians. The industry is indigenously led; massive hotel structures not affiliated with the international hotel cartels are owned and operated by Tanzanians. Unlike most African countries, Tanzanians rely on themselves in constructing good roads, building structurally sound establishments. You don’t see foreigners (make that whites and Asians) being over-seers of projects. I am not saying there aren’t any, but on the scale you see it in other African countries, it is a no. Moreover, I see a people who are totally sure of themselves, their place in African as well as world history, not looking outside but looking to themselves for solving their own problems.
You would argue what have all these got to do with whether Mwalimu Nyerere’s economic policies were a failure or success? Yes, they have everything to do with judging Nyerere. They represent the seeds of the visionary foundation that he laid that are now paying incredible fruits and dividends, rather than being judged by the bogus achievement of Western standards. Nyerere made Tanzania a successfully self-reliant nation.
In all of this, the singular visionary act of bravery and courage in introducing and indoctrinating the people of Tanzania with a language that unites them, is an leadership achievement that is without measurement. Prof. Ali Mazrui, despite his criticism, applauds Nyerere, when he wrote in the same piece, “On the other hand, Nyerere’s policies of nation-building amount to a case of Unsung Heroism. With wise and strong leadership, and with brilliant policies of cultural integration, he took one of the poorest countries in the world and made it a proud leader in African affairs and an active member of the global community,” Ali Mazrui in “Nyerere and I,” AfricaResource.
Continued Mazrui, “The cultural policy based on Kiswahili was the earliest and the most durable. Tanganyika (and later Tanzania) became one of the few African countries to use an indigenous language in Parliament as well as use it also has the primary language of national business. Kiswahili was promoted increasingly in politics, administration, education and the media. It became a major instrument of nation-building; and nation-building became the most lasting of Nyerere’s legacies.”
Given his singular visionary leadership, culturally, politically, Pan-Africanistically, and more so economically, I believe a reassessment of Nyerere’s economic policy is in order. Rather than being described as an “Heroic Failure,” it should be described as an “Monumental Success.” It goes to the core of my belief, that we should stop attempting to run before we could even crawl. The deliberate steps at economic engineering are the seeds of economic success. I salute you, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere!!
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