Dar es Salaam. Scholars and political stakeholders say the country is contending with a moral and
ideological vacuum, 17 years after death of the Tanzania’s founding President, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
Speaking yesterday at a forum to discuss how Mwalimu Nyerere’s teachings and leadership style influence Tanzania’s present day holders of office, they said moral decadence, elements of tribalism and religious bigotry are a sign that the values that he upheld and nurtured have been eroded. The event was organised by the Uongozi Institute in collaboration with the embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Tanzania-China Friendship Promotion Association. In his opening remarks, retired President Ali Hassan Mwinyi said integrity has deteriorated and the country is losing direction like a vehicle with malfunctioning steering rod.
“This forum should give us the opportunity to think and reflect where the country is coming from and it is heading. We need to take note of what calamity befell the country in the last 17 years of Mwalimu’s absence so that we can go back on track,” he said. He said Mwalimu strived to build a country of people of with integrity, but today the situation is alarming and many youth are bent on crime, posing a serious threat to country’s security.
“Religious bigotry and ethnicity is rife now, many Tanzanians are wary of disclosing their surnames lest they lose employment for coming from certain tribes,” noted the Former President.
He said the country has completely abandoned the legacy left behind by Mwalimu Nyerere, suggesting that Tanzania should look at where it went wrong and then chart the way forward. Mr Mwinyi who led the second phase government lasting 10 years (1985-1995) said Tanzanians shouldn’t allow their country to go astray.
“We can’t allow the country to be the way it is; it seems like nobody has the moral authority to
criticise what is going on. Tanzanians have tribes and religions, but we share one nationality,” he said.
In his presentation, Prof Issa Shivji of the University of Dar es Salaam said the country is facing serious problems with regard to ethics and integrity after abandoning principles laid down by the Father of the Nation.
He said ethics and integrity are not taught in schools and colleges and the youth are being raised in ways that do not reflect the future needs of the country.
“Nowadays policies and ideologies from the international organisations such as the IMF which is an organ of theWorld Bank are the ones that guide the country” he said, adding:
“Unfortunately, these policies put emphasis on promoting good governance rather than good leadership as advocated by principles set by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere” he added.
ACT-Wazalendo leader, Mr Zitto Kabwe who was among the six panellists, said the government was supposed to clarify what constituted the country’s economic diplomacy, suggesting that the new development path contradicts the legacy left by Mwalimu.
He said during Mwalimu Nyerere’s era, Tanzania suspended diplomatic links with countries that occupied others by force, citing the example of the decision made by the country following Nigeria’s role in the Biafra secession war.
“Which ethical parameters do we use in assessing government decisions? We need to know if the country is ready to embrace countries occupying others by force just because of economic benefits we reap out of such bilateral relationships,” he argued.
For his part, Dr Benson Bana of the University of Dar es Salaam said there was a need for the country to strengthen frameworks to be used by political parties to institutionalise youth in their youth organisations.
“The youth should not be politically socialised on the basis of affiliations under the auspices of party
youth wings such as UVCCM for CCM, Bavicha for Chadema and JUVICUF for the CUF,” he said.
The Mwalimu Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African Studies chairperson, Prof Penina Mlama, said the pyramidal system of leadership formed by Mwalimu is not serving as an effective instrument to pass leadership knowledge to future generations, rather politicians have been using the system as electoral tool.
“We need to assess the system as it has deviated from its original role of providing leadership opportunities to the youth and the women if we really want to honour Mwalimu,” he said.
For his part, an academic from Peking University in China, Prof Zhao Baisheng, said he admired Mwalimu Nyerere’s ambition to unite the African continent and the world at large and that he is writing a book on his life.
“I will compare him with leaders like of Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela to establish who exactly was Mwalimu Nyerere,” he said.
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