Nyerere Day - October 14

Julius K. Nyerere  1922-1999

October 14  is a national holiday here in Tanzania which marks the anniversary of Mwalimu Julius K Nyerere’s death and this year it is a special because it is the 10^th anniversary.  Mwalimu means “teacher”,  because that was Nyerere's first job, before going into politics, and  this is what he is reverently called by everyone, still today. Nyerere was the first and founding president of Tanganyika, who negotiated a  peaceful independence from the colonial “masters” the  British and went on to establish “ujamaa” or “family” socialism, the Tanzanian  version of African socialism. He based this on the idea that before colonialism, African society was founded on the village or extended family as the basis for society. Land was held in common, and was farmed  more or less communally, laws were  passed and justice meted out by village elders and the community took care of its weakest members. Nyerere’s ujamaa socialism involved nationalizing many large industries and foreign owned plantations (such as the sisal estates), and giving power back to the village level.

One of his greatest accomplishments was the adoption of Kiswahili as the national language, and its promotion among Tanzania’s many tribes who spoke so many different languages that they could not communicate with each other, other than in English. By doing this he broke down tribalism while encouraging national pride. To this day, many people here feel that this policy has contributed to Tanzania’s strong sense of national identity, and its relatively peaceful, caring society. While he was President, Tanzania boasted one of the highest literacy rates in the developing world - it is still higher than in India.

"In Tanzania, it was more than one hundred tribal units which lost their freedom; it was one nation that regained it."
Julius Kambarage Nyerere, from his Stability and Change in Africa speech given to the University of Toronto, Canada, 2 October 1969.

Nyerere stepped down from power in 1985, establishing the precedent of peaceful, democratic transitions of power. Although he saw hard economic times affect his country, and the influence of the World Bank and structural adjustment programmes forced the country’s leaders to backtrack on many of the educational, health and social reforms he had instituted, he is still remembered today as the Father of the Nation. He died on October 14 1999. Many people we talk to attribute the fact that Tanzania has not been afflicted by the civil wars, internal violence and undemocratic regimes experienced by many other African countries to Nyerere’s vision. Although Tanzania is a very poor country, and has many problems, there is a sense of caring and community here which is heartwarming, and the fact that the people still celebrate and honour Nyerere gives me hope.

"We, in Africa, have no more need of being 'converted' to socialism than we have of being 'taught' democracy. Both are rooted in our past -- in the traditional society which produced us."
Julius Kambarage Nyerere, from his book Uhuru na Umoja (Freedom and Unity): Essays on Socialism, 1967.

"No nation has the right to make decisions for another nation; no people for another people."
Julius Kambarage Nyerere, from his A Peaceful New Year speech given in Tanzania on 1 January 1968.

"The African is not 'Communistic' in his thinking; he is -- if I may coin an expression -- 'communitary'."
Julius Kambarage Nyerere as quoted in the New York Times Magazine on 27 March 1960.