FLY ON THE WALL: As we honour Nyerere, let’s fight graft
Ms Fennella Emmanuel John (not her real name), has a story to tell. Despite studying procurement and supplies management, four years on, she has not managed to secure a job.
Recently she decided to “take back this degree to my parents who forced me to study procurement and supplies management something I was completely against as my interest was in sales and marketing.”
It was a curious tale from the 26 year old which sent us to find out why she had made such a startling decision.
It is straight forward really. Not so long ago when corruption had become rooted in the Tanzanian society as it is in many other jurisdictions, well-meaning parents were quick to offer what they believed to be great advice;
‘Teaching is such a useless profession you should study a real professional course like medicine,’ or ‘why on earth should you study History?
‘Who wants to know about Chuma and Tutsi as well as David Livingstone?
‘Please go and study accounting-that can lead you to be employed by Tanzania Revenue Authority and that is where the money is.’
This is the Tanzania that President Dr John Pombe Magufuli has succeeded in disabusing us of. To be honest, we need this shock therapy. We were in an incestuous relationship with corruption and lack of accountability. It got sewed into the body fabric of the Tanzanian society. It became a lifestyle. If one was not involved in it, one was the enemy. You were either with us or against us.
We even gave corruption beautiful names i.e Ujanja (like some sort of smart alec of sorts). You have to understand this, in order to understand the plight, of Ms Fenella.
Parents, driven by the societal anecdotes of wealth, caved in to the endless desires of greed and avarice. The same people who during the day spoke and speak the language of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere (God rest his soul in Peace), about corruption being the scourge of society, were at night urging their children to study such courses as Mechanical Engineering and Accounting not driven by the desire to become professionals that work to the fulfillment of their professional goals, but cogs in wheel of a corrupt society.
These are among the thoughts that retired Chief Justice Barnabas Samatta alluded to while addressing students as part of the Utouh Accountability Lecture Series at the Tanzania School of Law not so long ago. The Utouh Accountability Lecture Series are organized by Wajibu Institute of Public Accountability.
In his address Justice Samatta used examples of quotations from former US Vice President Joe Biden and Tanzania’s 1st President whose 20th Death anniversary is commemorated every 14th October as follows:
“Corruption is a cancer: A cancer that eats away at a citizens’ faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs.”
On his part President Julius Kambarage Nyerere said “corruption must be fought without relenting and mercy because corruption undermines a society’s well -being at peace times more than it does at times of war. I believe that corruption should be fought the same way one deals with sedition.”
These two quotations capture the enormity of corruption and lack of accountability as a scourge in our Tanzanians Society today.
In his address, Justice Samatta outlined the reasons why people resort to corruption but more importantly the effects of corruption. In the quest for justice, corruption erodes all the faith that common citizens would have in the final arbiter between people in disputes.
As we commemorate 20 years since Mwalimu Nyerere left a void in our midst, it is important for us to remember him not by mere empty words, but by acting against corruption. And there is no better action in anti –corruption efforts than education, awareness and avoidance.
