President Julius Nyerere left his mark on his time; his traces are still visible regarding his contribution to intellectual debate and his political influence. Ujamaa is invoked, and his political essays are brought out whenever an example of a distinctly African approach is discussed.
Nyerere is one of the greatest figures of the generation that dared to challenge the colonial presence in Africa and then took power after independence.
Mwalimu was, first and foremost, a committed intellectual and ideologue with a rich and diffuse intellectual legacy of several essays, articles, speeches, reports, conferences, and interviews. Nyerere was driven by the ardent desire to transform his society in the direction of his political convictions, which is the natural mission of any intellectual, and the meaning of his commitment, as H. Othman notes: “I consider an intellectual not only a person capable of analysing the present, but also capable of articulating ideas that have a lasting effect on those who receive them.” 1
Among his most famous and expressive texts of political thought are:
- Africa today and tomorrow
- African socialism
- Africa's development from a global perspective
- Ujamaa – Essays on Socialism
- We are brothers united in a common struggle
In addition to Mwalimu’s own writing, he translated two of William Shakespeare’s plays, Julius Caesar and The Merchant of Venice, into Swahili.
Politically, President Nyerere was responsible for the creation of Tanzania from Tanganyika and Zanzibar, a reunification that illustrates the attachment of the principal architect of Tanzanian independence to the spirit of Ujamaa. These are two brotherly countries that had been separated by history and were reunited by the will of Mwalimu to form one big family called Tanzania.
Since then, the country has enjoyed great political and social stability and has not suffered the civil wars of other countries on the continent. This is partly due to socialist virtues, without which “there will always be an inherent ... danger of a breakdown in society ... a split in the family unit, a civil war within a nation or a war between nations”. 2
Moreover, the sense of belonging to a single, united, and indivisible nation is stronger in Tanzania than elsewhere in Africa. Mwalimu believed that “Tanzanians have a stronger sense of national identity than many other Africans” 3– a feat made possible in part by the political education and democratic culture initiated by UNAT, enshrining the supremacy of the people, human equality and dignity, and enabling Tanzanians to have a socialist experience in line with their African values. Through Ujamaa, the Tanzanian people have made tremendous efforts and have committed themselves with greater dedication and selflessness to developing the community.
For all these reasons, some analysts – while not completely in favour of Ujamaa – do concede that it has had a positive impact on Tanzanian society. And more generally, it has had a significant impact in a demanding and even dangerous post-independence African context. They argue that “it was basically a sound attempt to avoid the post-independence dangers of inequality, elitism, and political instability in Africa”. 4
The impeccable conduct of President Nyerere also played an important role in pushing the process forward. Throughout his twenty-four years in power, Mwalimu’s record of responsibility and integrity was morally unblemished: no scandals of corruption or misappropriation of public funds, no suspicions of illicit enrichment by himself or his family.
Power for power’s sake was not his ambition, and he left the office without being forced. A sign of his tolerance was that he was “one of the few African leaders who could listen and respect ideas diametrically opposed to his”. 5This also proved his morals, sincerity, and educational integrity. He wanted the Tanzanian to determine himself out of respect for his African moral values and not for material motives, hence the relevance of socialism and the inappropriateness of capitalism for him.
Nyerere’s socialist policies had two aims: emancipating his country from its colonial past and enabling it to chart its own economic and social course.
There is general agreement that in the wake of the A.D., a new spirit had taken hold in the country and that fraternity, equality, solidarity, and freedom were the watchwords of the new political order. Equality of rights and opportunities was no longer a question of exploitation or domination.
The core values of the new system were hard work and commitment to the national community. Tanzania had become a vast construction site. With one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, improved social welfare, better governance, and expanded essential services and infrastructure, progress has been made in all areas of life.
In conclusion, Mwalimu left posterity an open and perfectible political basis, a practical rather than theoretical African socialism, and a pragmatic rather than dogmatic doctrine.
Works cited:
1. Haroub Othman. ''Mwalimu Julius Nyerere: An intellectual in power''(2009). Sur: https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/5887
2. Nyerere, J.K. Freedom and Unity/Uhuru na Umoja: A Selection from Writings and Speeches 1952-1965. Dar-es-Salaam, Oxford University Press, 1966. p.12
3. Nyerere, BBC interview. HTTP://NEWS.BBC.CO.UK/2/HI/TALKING_POINT/479435.STM
4. Bonny Ibhawoh and J. I. Dibua. ''Deconstructing Ujamaa: The Legacy of Julius Nyerere in the Quest for Social and Economic Development in Africa''. Afr. j . polit. set. (2003), Vol 8 No. 1P 60
5. Ghelawdewos Araia. ''Tribute to Julius Kambarage Nyerere''. Sur:
A Scent of John Ruskin in Tanzania. PP128-134
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