Independent consultant and blogger in Dar es Salaam
On the occasion of celebrating Mwalimu Nyerere 25 years after his passing, here are 25 thoughts on and questions about him, in no particular order.
How long did it take him to translate those Shakespeare plays into Kiswahili, and what resources did he have on hand as he did the work? Because I am pretty sure that it was a difficult task with few dictionaries lying around.
I wonder if I would have enjoyed having him as a teacher in school.
The look on his face when yet another thing in Tanzania is named after him would be priceless. Airport? Him. Dam? Him. Schools? Him. Roads? Him.
The reverence must have gotten exhausting after a while.
What would he do if confronted with a push for media freedom at the scale we demand in this Age of Information?
In that iconic picture of him riding a bicycle on the lawn of his house in Msasani, did he wobble much or was he alright? I can’t imagine he’d ridden a bike in a very long time. But there is no way to know.
Okay, but seriously. What did he actually think of Muammar Ghaddafi?
Did he ever consider that the style of suit that he popularised would look terrible on men whose frames are stockier than his was? Such an unforgiving cut.
Actually, what are the rules behind the socialist suit? Some look “off” because they have too many buttons, or they are an awkward colour like orange or electric blue. There are definitely rules.
While we are talking about suits: it was the tie, wasn’t it? Nyerere and Mandela found inspiration in Asia that helped them avoid that most English of constrictions, the necktie.
How tempted was he to stay in power indefinitely? Was it a close call, or was he delighted to finally be able to leave Ikulu behind him? Maybe mixed feelings.
Who did he avoid during OAU meetings?
How did he stay so slim, though. Small appetite, exercise? Genetics?
Favourite country outside of Tanzania. I bet it is a SADC country.
Mwalimu would love and also hate the internet.
If he were voting in 2025, with secrecy guaranteed, would he vote CCM?
The mustache. I don’t know, man. I don’t know.
Would Mwalimu be a podcaster or a blogger or an influencer? My bet is on blogger/podcaster.
Gosh, he would be so unpopular online in 2025. He would probably go down in flames for being an intellectual. Can you imagine him trying to compete with our gossip queens and entertainers for ‘likes’? Ah, the idea of it tickles me no end.
What would his Twitter handle be? I just checked and @Mwalimu is already taken.
I am pretty sure that he took Niccolo Machiavelli’s work to heart and adjusted many of its teaching to his personal inclinations, and the truth of that will remain between him and his Maker.
Would he talk on his speaker if he had a smartphone, or would he be a decent human being and use the damn headphones?
Many men of his generation were domestically incompetent, but not all. I wonder if he could throw down a chipsi-mayai if needed.
About that work/life balance: how does he think he did? Because I have notes and would happily discuss them with him.
