MAGAZETI YA LEO IJUMAA FEBRUARY 24,2017
Toa Maoni Hapa Chini
48 seconds ago
APOSTLE DAMAS
Magavilla's Take - The history versus the politics of our Union
HAPPY UNION DAY!!!!!
Having recently graduated from a 'light debate' session (as it was coined) on the role of history in education, I am left wondering "if history has to always portray the past in a good light for it to be worth remembering?" Mr Buyoya of the famed Mkuki na Nyota publishing house, who happened to be one of the discussants at the debate didn't seem to think so and I share this view.
Our obsession with politically correct narratives of our past may be one of our greatest undoings as a people going forward seeing that history is being created everyday.
Let us assume that there are some aspects of the Union story, for example, that are not pleasant or would not make sense in our current political context given that so much has changed since. Does this make the Union any less significant, let alone, legitimate?
I remember during the constitutional review process, in a quest to politicize an otherwise very apolitical process (the Waswahili say 'kukinukisha'), there was an ill fated (thankfully) motion raised for the Union 'deed' to be 'revealed' otherwise it should be considered that our union is null and void as there was speculation in some corners that it didn't exist?
This obsession with political 'correctness' rids us of the essence of history as a study and a tool to build and preserve our identity as a people. Instead, we reach the level of politicizing solutions for problems that may actually just need a historic revisitation. Even if the said deed, for example, was not immediately available, is that a cause enough for political mayhem? Or should it not be a cause for political resolve to search and find it so that we can proudly tell the story of our founding fathers to generations of Tanzanians to come.
When I look across our boarders, I cannot help but see how Tanzania is different. And a lot of this difference is invested in a history that is being whitewashed in the face of current political tendencies. With all the set backs of our union, the challenges that ensued with Ujamaa and the strong handed leadership style of both Nyerere and Karume, we have, ironically been the most stable country in the multiparty era in this region and beyond.
Yet very few, unfamiliar with our unique history, would naturally appreciate that our past is quite central in understanding our present day reality in as much as it may also be far removed from it.
There are three things that are born out of our unique narrative that I feel we should tirelessly remind ourselves and others of:
1. Tanzania's decision to distinguish State from Government has enabled us to forge in a few decades the type of national unity and stability that has taken other greater nations centuries to achieve. Whereas the State is an ideal (if not idea) we hold onto as a people - a symbol of our sovereignty, our unity, our beliefs; the Government is a tool that is used to uphold this ideal. Whereas the government may be taken to task, put into question and even changed if it fails, the State must never be undermined or trivialized as a matter of principle. Our symbols of the State are our Constitution, The Presidency and its regional designations. Our concept of the State is quite similar to that of Britain's United Kingdom; it is a symbol of the values, heritage and aspirations that inform the social fabric of its people. Hence why the 90years birthday of Queen Elizabeth was celebrated with so much fan fair; they are very aware that it is a tradition that cannot be allowed to fade away without consequences.
2. The Arusha Declaration, quite like the USA's Declaration of Independence, was an expression of who we were as a Tanzanian people. It was more important in defining who we were as a people than even the Constitution that is too verbose and statutory for most. Yet, since the advent of multiparty politics in Tanzania, one of the most visible absentees in the development agenda could simply be this one central thread in weaving together our social fabric - the answer to the question "who is a Tanzanian?"
3. Both Nyerere and Karume, irrespective of the circumstances that brought them into power, lived up to the mark and earned the title of founding father of their respective nations. Their actions, best evidenced in this symbolic gesture that we celebrate today of uniting two of Independent Africa's maiden States, were informed by values far ahead of the political logic of their time. The Pan African dream set out by Kwame Nkuruma was to start with the Independence struggle and culminate with Unity. Only two African Presidents lived this dream out . We now only have Tanzania to remind Africa of the possibles if we put country before self and Africa before all.
As I say, time and again, those who do not value their past (even if they don't particularly like it) can never be secure in their present, let alone, future.
We will forever be cursed as a nation if we cannot find pause and distill the past of our current political hangovers, irrespective of its composition.
We must celebrate our history as our uniting identity and use it to safeguard our future for generations to come who may otherwise not know any better.
Take it or leave it that's Magavilla's take!
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Damas Anthony
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For sure we need celebrate our history event for the aim of keep record for coming generation
