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Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era. Biography of Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922-1999) President of Tanzania

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Few leaders have earned the respect President Julius Nyerere did. Even fewer have continued to inspire admiration after they left office.

Dr. Henry Kissinger, an arrogant intellectual, acknowledged Nyerere's brilliance and was even outwitted by him during the Rhodesian crisis, as documented by the author (see Appendix IV). He also got a potent "dose of African nationalism," as David Ottaway wrote in "The Washington Post," when he met President Nyerere in Tanzania in 1976 to discuss the Rhodesian crisis. They differed on how to resolve it, prompting reporters to ask Nyerere if he thought Kissinger's mission to Africa was a failure. As David Ottaway who covered the event wrote in "The Washington Post": "Nyerere responded professorially by saying 'A mission of clarity is not a mission of failure.'" Kissinger, a former professor at Harvard, got a good lecture on African nationalism and the Rhodesian crisis from Nyerere, a man of immense intellect Africa will always be proud of. He was indeed an African colossus who did bestride this narrow world, as Kenyan Professor Ali Mazrui put it in his moving tribute to one of the giants of this century.

Nyerere spoke for Africa, and the world listened. He also represented the entire Third World in negotiations with the industrialized nations when he served as chairman of the South Commission after he retired as president of Tanzania. And he died a leader, one of the best the world, not just Africa, has ever produced. He was, simply put, Africa's best president. And Godfrey Mwakikagile, an African intellectual himself, has done justice to him by writing this book, immensely rich in detail, probably the best ever written about Nyerere.

The best way to honor Nyerere is to emulate his devotion, humility and simplicity. As "Newsweek" said when he died: "The world has lost a man of principle."

Though JK never got to write his own biography this book surprisingly manages to capture that real person behind the mesmerising persona that mwalimu had.

Reading this book you get to know why exactly mwalimu identified himself with the marginalised poor, why mwalimu never had a bank account in Geneva! Why mwalimu supported the liberation movement, why mwalimu had to kick Iddi Amin out of Uganda!

It is due to mwalimu that Tanzania was regarded as a diplomatic heavy weight just thik of it---against which GDP?against which millitary might?'They even accused mwalimu of 'punching above the weight'!.Still the towering figure of mwalimu gracefully remained intact!

Mwalimu was the architect of people centred development a fact which got him into a war footing against the World Bank the IMF(they owe him an apology albeit a posthumous one!. The beauty of it all is that he won the intellectual agrument!

Mwalimu was a rare breed of an African leader, righteous, ethical and principled. This book is not only the story of his life but also a treatise on the science of leadership.

Dr. Julius Nyerere is gone, but he is still with us in terms of inspiration and the ideals he taught. A world leader of unparallelled commitment, especially of the Third World, he will be missed by millions round the globe.

He was also an inspiring orator with a razor-sharp intellect who was given a standing ovation for his incisive analysis and oratorical skills when he addressed the British Parliament in the seventies. A staunch Pan-Africanist, and a selfless statesman par excellence, he stood tall on the same level with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah but exercised far greater influence than Nkrumah after Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966. On the intellectual plane, only Leopold Sedar Senghor, president of Senegal, came a distant second to him among African leaders.

It has been said that intellectuals have a weakness for fellow intellectuals, as Kenyan Professor Ali Mazrui once wrote. Nyerere was one such intellectual. He enjoyed immense respect and profound admiration among Western intelectuals. Having attended school in Britain at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he was even described as a Western intellectual. He was also taught in the Western intellectual tradition by the British in colonial Tanganyika.

Yet, he was more than a "Western" intellectual, if one at all. He was a world intellectual who was highly admired and respected by millions of people around the world, not only for his superb intellect but his exemplary leadership.

Befitting his title Mwalimu, he was also described as the greatest teacher of our time, as former Biafran leader Odumegwu Ojukwu said, quoted by the BBC, following Nyerere's death. But that was probably an understatement, although that's not what Ojukwu meant. Mwalimu Nyerere was one of the greatest teachers of all times, embraced by people of all races and nationalities. And he taught by example.

He was indeed a legend in his own time, and will remain one for generations. Godfrey Mwakikagile has written a book which puts this legend in proper perspective. It is also a book that has earned the author a place among his readers as a respected authority on Nyerere. And his work is not compromised by bias despite his strong admiration for Mwalimu Nyerere as a leader and as an intellectual. He has written a book which will be of great interest to many people including scholars, especially those interested in Tanzania's foreign policy under Nyerere.

Dr. Nyerere did, indeed, deserve the title, "The Conscience of Africa," if not of the world.

This book is loaded with details about Nyerere and his policies, domestic and foreign, including a detailed analysis by the author.

But the analysis is somewhat flawed from an intellectual standpoint because the author, Godfrey Mwakikagile, seems to be biased towards Nyerere.

In fact we learn from the book that he knows President Nyerere's eldest son Andrew and went to school with him in Tanzania. They have known each other for years since they were teenagers. He was also in touch with him when he was writing the book. Some of the correspondence between the two is included in this work. That alone raises serious questions as to whether or not the author has written an objective account about President Nyerere. I strongly suspect that he is a friend of the Nyerere family although he doesn't say so in the book.

Godfrey does, however, admit that the last president of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa, knows him well and even helped him to go to school in the United States. And as is well-known, Mkapa himself was very close to Nyerere and was virtually handpicked, or highly recommended, by Mwalimu Nyerere to be the next president of Tanzania.

From reading the book, one comes to the conclusion that Godfrey Mwakikagile is one of those shrewd African intellectuals who gloss over mistakes made by the continent's liberation icons such as Nyerere and Nkrumah; in fact, he defends both in his book. The advantage they have, obviously because of their high intellectual calibre, is that they use very clever arguments to defend these leaders and it's not easy to refute them. Godfrey is no exception.

I must admit that he's a strong Pan-Africanist. But I dont think that he has been honest enough about Nyerere in his book.

But what else would you expect from Pan-Africanists like him when they write about legendary African leaders like Nyerere and Nkrumah? Tarnish their reputation? Of course not! But as intellectual authors, they should tell the whole truth instead of being selective in their presentation of facts in pursuit of their Pan-Africanist agenda.

When Godfrey Mwakikagile was interviewed by an American journalist, he said he intended to write another book about Nyerere and Nkrumah. The interview is included in his book about Nyerere. Well, if he does, I hope that he will have something critical to say about both leaders.

I understand what he's trying to do for the sake of Pan-African solidarity. But, please, don't sacrifice truth for that. One of the reasons Africa is in such a mess is because of the policies pursued by leaders such as Nyerere and Nkrumah, domestic and foreign, because they influenced others. For example Mugabe, who has destroyed Zimbabwe, makes no secret that Nkrumah and Nyerere inspired him a lot, although it is also true that these two leaders cannot be blamed for what he has done to his country. As Nyerere, quoted by the BBC, once told Mugabe: "You have inherited the jewel of Africa. Keep it that way." Well, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

But there is no question that both Nyerere and Nkrumah had enormous influence across the continent and still do. Even when they were wrong, other African leaders followed in their foot-steps. They were probably the most influential leaders in post-colonial Africa and in this century together with Nelson Mandela (Madiba) who was also a very close personal friend of Nyerere.

Their names are engraved in gold. They have left an indelible mark on the minds of millions of Africans and others and will always remain a source of inspiration to them; and even to me, sometimes!

But also be honest enough to write books about their mistakes. That is your role as intellectuals. I hope Godfrey Mwakikagile is going to heed that advice if he does indeed write another book about African heroes such as Nyerere and Nkrumah, and even about Madiba!

An eye opener for those who think nothing positive ever emerged from Africa! A well researched piece of work! It is a manual for all of us who aspire to see the genuine and authentic people-centered leadership in Africa. Mwalimu, as correctly exhibited by Godfrey was an icon not only for Africa but for the entire world.

One comes to this new book by Godfrey Mwakikagile, a Tanzanian author who once worked with the "Daily News" in the 70s, hoping for insights into the host of complexities that Nyerere embodies.

One finishes the book with a considerably expanded knowledge of the documented life - details of family history, recollections of friends and associates widely interviewed, ample citations from Nyerere's published letters and occasional writings and numerous quotations from others' letters and memoirs that characterize the leader.

Mwakikagile gives readers an extensively researched life of the Father of the Nation with a breadth of detail about his history and early years. For a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the interior narrative of Mwalimu Nyerere, one needs not look elsewhere.

This book is about one of Afica's greatest statesman. Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in 1922. He was President of Tanzania, from the country's independence in 1964. He retired in 1985 and died in 1999.

Nyerere has an enduring political legacy on the continent. His pan-African credentials are impeccable as he played a critical role in the hosting of the liberation movements fighting against colonialism in Southerrn Africa. He led Tanzania as an oasis of peace in a troubled region. He was affectionately known as Mwalimu (Swahili for teacher) and he taught Africa that power does not necessarily corrupt. He is one of those rare African leaders that are untainted by corruption but is rather well known for his humility and love of his people. He lived a simple life and was admired throughout the African continent.

Nyerere implemented a socialist economic programme (announced in the Arusha Declaration), and introduced a policy of collectivization in the country's agricultural system, known as Ujamaa or "familyhood". He had tremendous faith in rural African people and their traditional values and ways of life. He believed that life should be structured around the ujamaa, or extended family found in traditional Africa. He believed that Africans were naturally socialists, and that all they needed to do was return to their traditional mode of life and they would recapture it. This ujamaa system failed to boost agricultural output and by 1976, the end of the forced collectivization programme, Tanzania went from being one of the largest exporter of agricultural products in Africa to one of the largest importer of agricultural products on the continent.

Nyerere's disastrous socialist economic policies which kept Tanzania as one of the poorest countries in the world were his major flaw. However, by bowing graciously out pf power in 1985 and facilitating a smooth tsansfer of power, his legacy as a wise African leader endures.

This book is recommended reading for those who want to learn about Tanzania's recent history.

This book is about one of Afica's greatest statesman. Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in 1922. He was President of Tanzania, from the country's independence in 1964. He retired in 1985 and died in 1999.

Nyerere has an enduring political legacy on the continent. His pan-African credentials are impeccable as he played a critical role in the hosting of the liberation movements fighting against colonialism in Southerrn Africa. He led Tanzania as an oasis of peace in a troubled region. He was affectionately known as Mwalimu (Swahili for teacher) and he taught Africa that power does not necessarily corrupt. He is one of those rare African leaders that are untainted by corruption but is rather well known for his humility and love of his people. He lived a simple life and was admired throughout the African continent.

Nyerere implemented a socialist economic programme (announced in the Arusha Declaration), and introduced a policy of collectivization in the country's agricultural system, known as Ujamaa or "familyhood". He had tremendous faith in rural African people and their traditional values and ways of life. He believed that life should be structured around the ujamaa, or extended family found in traditional Africa. He believed that Africans were naturally socialists, and that all they needed to do was return to their traditional mode of life and they would recapture it. This ujamaa system failed to boost agricultural output and by 1976, the end of the forced collectivization programme, Tanzania went from being one of the largest exporter of agricultural products in Africa to one of the largest importer of agricultural products on the continent.

Nyerere's disastrous socialist economic policies which kept Tanzania as one of the poorest countries in the world were his major flaw. However, by bowing graciously out pf power in 1985 and facilitating a smooth tsansfer of power, his legacy as a wise African leader endures.

This book is recommended reading for those who want to learn about Tanzania's recent history.