YOUR BUSINESS IS OUR BUSINESS: Mengi and Roosevelt could, did – and WON

The tittle-tattle here today is about two very successful persons who were nonetheless born and lived/still live in different countries and times.

These are the 26th US President (1901-09) Teddy Roosevelt Jr. (1858-1919); and Reginald ‘Tough Reggie’ Abraham Mengi (born in 1949? /radaris.com/p/Reginald/Abraham/>)…

Starting with the latter – call it favouritism or whatever; but I must confess the two of us were briefly classmates at Old Moshi Secondary School where he was popularly known as ‘Tough Reggie’ – Mr Mengi started off his career in Tanzania as a Managing Partner and, later, Chairman of Coopers & Lybrand-Tanzania.

Today, he owns IPP Ltd (Industrial Products Promotion), and is its executive chairman. IPP is a holding company with a bazillion subsidiaries engaged in manufacturing (bottled soft beverages, etc.) mass media ‘products/services’ (TV, radio and newspapers), mining, etc.The holder of an honorary Doctorate - and a Chartered Accountant (UK) and Certified Accountant (Tanzania) by training - Mr Mengi is listed on the as chairman of the Handeni Gold, Inc., IPP Gold Ltd.; the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI); the Media Owners Association of Tanzania (Moat), the Economic Empowerment Committee at the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC); a Member of the Institutional Investors Roundtable...

Furthermore, Mengi is also on the Board of the Commonwealth Business Council; chairman of the People with Disabilities Trust Fund-Tanzania; a member of the International Investors Round Table-Tanzania; and chairman, East African Business Council (EABC). Before all that stifling complexity, in the past Mr Mengi also held top positions at the National Board of Accountants and Auditors-Tanzania (NBAA); the National Environment Management Council-Tanzania (Nemc); the Leadership for Environment and Development International Board (Lead), and the Tanzania HIV/Aids Commission, Tacaids…

The other fellow – Teddy Roosevelt Jr. – was never really a businessman along the ‘Tough Reggie’ lines. He mainly dabbled (or specialized) in the military, politics, outdoorsmanship, pacifying warring nations (hence becoming the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906) – and the US Presidency (26th US President, in office September 14, 1901-March 4, 1909). Oh, I shouldn’t forget that Roosevelt was also a good writer of books: 38 books in his lifetime, starting with ‘The Naval War of 1812,’ written at age-23. Others were Oliver Cromwell’s biography; a History of New York City; an autobiography and ‘writings on his hunting and frontier exploits.’

So, it can safely be said that the only possible link between these two historical heavyweights is in book-writing. But, even that link is gossamer, tenuous. Remember that Mr Mengi launched his autobiography on July 2 this year, titled ‘I can, I must, I will’ – while Roosevelt authored 38 books – and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles.

But then, while Mengi ‘Can, Must and Will’ today, Roosevelt had already told his countrymen (and countrywomen): ‘Believe you CAN – and you are half-the-way there!’ “Our aim is to promote prosperity – and then to see that prosperity is passed around; that there’s a proper division of prosperity….” President Roosevelt stated.

“We won’t submit to prosperity that’s obtained by lowering the wages of the working class, and charging excessive prices to consumers; nor prosperity that’s obtained by swindling investors or getting unfair advantages over business rivals...”

Oh, there’s more of that juicy stuff, which our leaders should access and implement; just google ‘The Farmer and the Business Man;’ Roosevelt; August 1912… Cheers!