by ALAN BROUGHTON
Julius Nyerere is regarded as one of the greatest African political leaders. He was a visionary for African unity, socialist development and self-reliance in the aftermath of colonialism, and still commands great respect. Though much of his vision failed to materialise he leaves a legacy of ethnic and religious tolerance and peace in his East African country, Tanzania.
The United Republic of Tanzania is a union between the mainland former British Trust Territory of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, an Arab sultanate in the Indian Ocean comprising the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Tanganyika achieved independence in 1961 after a long but mainly peaceful struggle and Zanzibar rose up in a bloody socialist revolution in 1964. The two countries subsequently amalgamated. There had been many centuries of cultural and trade ties, and the Zanzibar language, Swahili, which had been the medium of trade and other intercourse, was adopted as the national language of Tanzania, a country with 120 different languages. The union has been largely successful though sometimes fractious. Zanzibar is semi-autonomous with its own president.
Nyerere was a pan-Africanist, believing that borders were a colonial construct and should not be used to divide Africans. Tanzania became a safe haven for anti-colonialist activists from those southern African countries that were still struggling for independence or majority rule. These included the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique and the settler states Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), South-West Africa (Namibia) and South Africa.
Nyerere strongly opposed moves at independence to limit citizenship to only the indigenous people, and never allowed the politicisation of ethnicity or race to gain respectability. “We glorify human beings, Sir, not colour…I am going to repeat, and repeat very firmly, that this government has rejected, and rejected completely, any ideas that citizenship will be based on anything except loyalty to this country” (quoted in Shivji 2006, p.236). This policy has endured, making Tanzania one of the few countries in Africa without ethnic rivalry, in great contrast to neighbouring Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo. Kenyan politicians excel at creating divisions.
Nyerere was an admirer of China and the successful Chinese Revolution and developed a strong relationship with China. This friendship continues. One of the greatest and long-lasting results of this relationship was the construction of the 1,800 km Tanzam Railway (now called Tazara) by the Chinese. The original aim was to link landlocked Zambia with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam so that Zambian imports and exports did not need to pass through the South African port of Durban in the Apartheid era. China still invests heavily in Tanzanian infrastructure with fewer strings attached than aid from other countries.
Nyerere wanted to emulate Chinese socialist policies, though with African characteristics. Some of this was not suitable and little of it has lasted.
The Arusha Declaration
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