Though it looked a little out of place, in a conversation with one of the mourners in his 30’s at the funeral, he told me it was now high time, as a nation we realised that the White man’s version of democracy was not suitable for Tanzania and Africa at large.
When I asked him to give me reasons why, he was of the view that since President John Magufuli assumed the State House helm in the previous 100 days, he has proved himself of being a Thomas Sankara of Tanzania, reputed for his toiling hard for the interests of the public.
I had read a book in my dad’s rich home library when I was in primary school that Sankara, the President of Burkinafaso (former Upper Volta) was a charismatic Pan-African revolutionary leader whose four-year rule brought about relief to majority of the once downtrodden folk in his country.
The book painted Sankara as having built basic transportation and housing infrastructure and promoted literacy among his people while putting great emphasis in developing the rural area with a focus on women empowerment.
It also commended him for establishing a principle by which state dignitaries and government officials were no longer considered bosses over other citizens, but their servants.
He started with imposing austerity measures on himself by cutting his monthly salary to mere $450 before decreeing other civil servants against having chauffer-driven Mercedes and flying first class. What a president!
He was once quoted by a Swiss journalist as saying; “one cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness… the courage to turn your back on the old formula and invent the future took madmen of yesterday”
…and he wanted to be one of those madmen”. One wonders what a country Burkinafaso would have become, had he outlived his intention.
So my interlocutor at my granny’s funeral suggested that President Magufuli has become an equally madman for daring to change ways of doing things in his government the same way as Sankara and for the same objectives as the former leader’s.
And backing up his idea of going back to a single party rule in African countries, he said if you look at what the founder of the nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere did for this nation you would agree that had he been alive and in power to-date, our motherland would have been a better place to live in.
He believes that second-phase government of President Ali Hassani Mwinyi destroyed the foundation kept by Mwalimu, when vices including poor performance in public schools, malfunctioning of industries and poor management in various state agencies, reared their ugly head.
But the next man at the funeral also concurred in a self-styled manner with this vividly outspoken fellow of mine, hailing Mwinyi’s successor President Benjamin Mkapa for re-instating the lost glory by putting the nation into development track despite inheriting a country on the verge of bankruptcy.
But again Mkapa left a legacy that would be trampled by his successor President Jakaya Kikwete whose 10 years in power that ruined the country, has prompted successor into becoming the ‘mad-Sankara’.
It was against such arguments that the two guys suggested we had better gone back to a one-party system President Magufuli could fit fair and square in the role of Mwalimu and Sankara, only that he has more at stake in this era of campaigns and an ample of political parties.
He has managed it, for genuinely seem to walk the talk of his campaign trails by cleaning up the mess in the ruling elite, raising eye-brows among both the ruling elite and the lay public.
But to give more credit to his leadership, I would rather suggest the much celebrated president to institute the much awaited Warioba Katiba than turning back the clock to one-party system.
It therefore gives me joy to see the public celebrating tremendous 100 days of Magufuli in office, knowing that we will well celebrate the new people’s constitution during his office tenure.
It is my hope that in his rule, whether five or ten years, the public will be able to experience the much needed “Mabadiliko” to mean the constitution change they were touting for laymen’s sake.
Till next time
Ciao!
The writer is a revise editor, The Guardian on Sunday
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