AFRICANEWS

Tanzania

Nyerere's ethical side

Politics

What were Nyerere major achievements? His value for Human dignity and his struggle for a united Africa are undisputed. Dispute his shortcomings his efforts were all geared towards the well being of all.

Among the questions that have, and will continue to dominate discussion about former Tanzanian President Julius Kambarage Nyerere will include his vision for Tanzania and the world. What was it? What were its strengths and flaws? What were the consequences of its application as policy? Of course, these are questions with unavoidable social, economic and political implications, all of which feature clearly in the analyses about the late former president's life.

Thus, Nyerere's social achievements are generally rated very highly in terms of national cohesion (with the use of Kiswahili as the national language), and the development of educational and health infrastructures (with primary schools and health centres erected in almost every village during his tenure of office). His economic policies, however, particularly those pertaining to Ujamaa villages or co-operative labour, have been considered a failure.

Nyerere's political contribution goes beyond Tanzania's borders and is admired even by his detractors. His role in supporting the liberation struggles from colonialism in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola, and from apartheid in South Africa is indisputable. He was resolute and unflinching in this resolve despite the huge economic cost to Tanzania.

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) of which Nyerere was partly the inspiration, together with other African luminaries as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sekou Toure of Gunea, Kwame Nkuruma of Ghana and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya survives. One hopes it will grow stronger and more efficient in solving Africa's various crises. His lifetime's dream to bring about some form African unity was partly realised in the union between Tanzania and Zanzibar to create Tanzania in 1964. Again, one hopes it survives and grows stronger.

The extent of the success or otherwise of Nyerere and the Nyerere Foundation their attempt to bring about mutual understanding and peace in Burundi remains to be seen. His involvement in trying to bring about political stability throughout the Great Lakes Region through his personal influence has also been acknowledged. However, the value of his contribution in popular awareness of the system injustice of international economic structures as Chairman of the South Commission is indisputable.

Did Nyerere commit errors of political judgement? Perhaps the most glaring one, according to many, was his support for Colonel Chukwuemeka Ojukwu in the Nigerian civil war. Ojukwu was the leader of the Ibgo community which wanted to secede from Nigeria. Some consider his support for Milton Obote's second regime in Uganda as also politically erroneous.

But the crucial question in assessing Nyerere's decisions even in these instances, is why he acted the way he did. What was his motivation? If it were to be established that he was motivated by purely political considerations and convenience, then these errors would have been difficult to understand and reconcile with the person of Nyerere. But, no: even though political factors must have played a role, it was rather minor. Nyerere's overwhelming guiding force throughout his career and life was moral.

His struggle for the independence of Tanganyika, since the mid - 1950 was inspired by ethical considerations, which he explained to Ikaweba Bunting of the New Internationalist (January/February 1999, pp. 12-15) shortly before his death. By fighting for independence, he explained, he meant to stop "the suffering of a whole chunk of human beings through the actions of others." He wanted to challenge and discredit "the arrogance of one group of people lording it over the human race and exploiting the poorer peoples."

Freedom from want, ignorance and disease, and respect for the dignity and rights of every individual, group and society are the principles to which Nyerere dedicated his life. Very early in his political career he termed poverty, ignorance and disease enemies of the human person, and oppression and exploitation aberrations of divine order. Nyerere was prepared to fight these at home and abroad at whatever cost to himself and the nation he led.

Nyerere supported Ojukwu in the Biafra war because he believed that the human rights of the Igbo people were being seriously infringed by the then Nigerian government, and the only way he thought would correct this was through the secession of Biafra. The conclusion must have been especially difficult and painful for him given his stated commitment to the pursuit of African unity. But it must be that he judged the human dignity of the Igbos a greater value, morally, than the immediate attainment of unity. At any rate coerced unity did not fit Nyerere's ideal of unity.

The same can be said of Obote's second republic. It was not out of mere friendship and blind loyalty to Obote that Nyerere gave him his tacit support over the doubts and exploit objections of many Ugandans who knew first hand the corruption of Obote's first republic. But after the atrocities of Idi Amin and the abject failure in the governing by Joseph Lule and Godfrey Binaisa, Nyerere sincerely thought that Obote was the best chance for peace and the observance of human rights for the people of Uganda. It turned out to be a mistake. Realising this Nyerere did not object to Yoweri Museveni's takeover of the government.

Many an assessment of Nyerere's political career - even during his lifetime - point to the "failure" of Ujamaa as equally a failure of Nyerere, or rather of his political philosophy. But was it a failure of Nyerere's moral vision?

The same is also said concerning the practical short comings of his educational and health policies: although schools and clinics are available, school children lack books and patients essential drugs. But what factors influenced this situation?

It is important to keep in mind internal and external factors prevailing at the time which accounted for the situation. Western opposition to and active sabotage of any kind of socialism at the height of the cold war must be considered to be one factor. Lack of sufficient financial support for Ujamaa projects from international donor agencies must be another. Internally, the corruption of public officials in Tanzania affected negatively otherwise inspired and egalitarian development projects, turning Tanzania into an impoverished nation.

Be that as it may, Nyerere's primary concern throughout was the improvement of the physical, material, intellectual and spiritual well-being of every and all Tanzanians. Discussions about Nyerere the politician and Nyerere the person which gloss over this miss completely the central point of what the man was about. Despite the errors, inevitable for fallible man, Nyerere's life can only be understood and fairly judged in the context and on the basis of his moral axis. It is this that made his political vision impeccable.

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