GUEST COLUMN: Nyerere and the vision of a United States of Africa

What you need to know:

  • Nyerere as one of a frontline pan-African leader; writing about the essence of the formation of the OAU and the unity of the continent, he asserted: “Africa wishes to have the political strength to prevent other powers using her for their own ends, and it wishes to have the economic strength to justify and support a modern economy, which is the only basis on which prosperity can come to its people….For each one of us is so weak in isolation….Without unity, there is no future for Africa.”

As was indicated last week, to pursue unity and solidarity of the African continent, Nyerere, along with several other Pan-African forefathers, founded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, and its institutions to deal with specific needs. It was envisaged that continental or regional cooperation and unity could be achieved through the OAU. The OAU was not only to coordinate and intensify the African liberation and cooperation, but it was also thought to be a precursor of ultimate unity of the African states.

Nyerere as one of a frontline pan-African leader; writing about the essence of the formation of the OAU and the unity of the continent, he asserted: “Africa wishes to have the political strength to prevent other powers using her for their own ends, and it wishes to have the economic strength to justify and support a modern economy, which is the only basis on which prosperity can come to its people….For each one of us is so weak in isolation….Without unity, there is no future for Africa.”

Throughout his political career as the leader of Tanzania, Nyerere continued to take a central role in the liberation struggle of the countries which were still under colonialism. Despite his country’s weak economic base, he gave his all, materially and morally, to ensure all Africa is free. Tanzania was there to give support to the liberation struggle as well as sanctuary to those who were displaced by war in their home countries.

By the 1970s, Nyerere supported several liberation struggle organisations like the MPLA of Angola; South and West African Peoples Organisation (Swapo) of Namibia; the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC) all of South Africa; Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) of Mozambique; and the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu) of Zimbabwe.

These liberation organisations had their base and training camps in Tanzania. There were also thousands of refugees from Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the DRC who fled to Tanzania from government persecutions in their homelands. By the 1990’s it all culminated into the liberation of the entire southern part of the African continent where all those countries became independent nations.

Nyerere was a pan-African who was opposed to the continued fragmentation of the African continent, and in one of his speeches in 1966 he expressed his discontentment that: “…Politically we have inherited boundaries which are either unclear or such ethnologically and geographical nonsense that they are a fruitful source of disagreements….the present boundaries must lose their significance and become merely a demarcation of administrative areas within a large unit…”

Apart from his pan-African efforts to unite Africa; Nyerere also struggled locally to bring economic development to his people; through the 1967 Arusha Declaration he called for the implementation of an economic socialist program based on African socialism (ujamaa) philosophy that he coined from African “family hood”.

Nyerere was very opposed to the dependence upon gifts, loans, aid and investments provided by foreign countries and international companies to deliver economic development. He believed that foreign help would endanger the independence of countries and foster neo-colonialism. Through his philosophy of Self-Reliance (ESR) he always asserted that the cure to this malaise was unity and self-reliance of the African continent.

As Nyerere struggled to achieve the visions of pan-Africanism and attain economic progress for Tanzania and Africa in general; rich nations also continued to jerk Africa into a global trap - an economic conspiracy that would guide poor nations to dance the song of dependence lubricated by the drum sounds of money in form of grants (gifts), loans and foreign direct investments.

With the end of the cold war; a globalisation itch was constructed where the world became capitalist in essence and one village; and poor or rich were made to play the same dance as if there were equals in the development evolution schema. By this time Nyerere the socialist could not stand the wind of change and he stepped aside in 1984.

Dr Kafumu is the Member of Parliament for Igunga Constituency