These things define us, or do they?
In future food security will make much more sense than battle tanks which were last used in 1979.
What you need to know:
- Not long ago, the Dodoma Regional Police boss warned women against kujibinua while on motorcycle rides commonly known as bodaboda.
Tanzanians are a nation craving for love and respect. There seems to be no other way of putting it because even when we have done absolutely nothing towards peoples individual achievements, you will be surprised to hear persons from all walks of life including politicians claim, so and so ametuhesimisha.
That Swahili word can be translated into English as having made us respected in the eyes of the world or something to that effect.
To be fair, Tanzania is not the only country that craves love and attention seeing as politicians the world over do, but my mandate is to commentate and I choose to deal with our own cravings.
Recent events make one wonder what sort of a nation we are. In Parliament, a member decides that it makes more sense for him to somersault in order to put his point across. We have seen parliamentarians going hammer and tongs for each other in Ukraine, and even nearby in Uganda and Kenya but somersaulting in parliament is a whole new ball game.
It must be said that it must be a Tanzanian thing, for no one says the dumbest things or does them and they all of a sudden become the headlines of a whole nation. Not long ago, the Dodoma Regional Police boss warned women against kujibinua while on motorcycle rides commonly known as bodaboda.
For lack of a word in English that can translate kujibinua we explain in a long sentence. It means sitting in an arched position with the bottoms protruding backside and the waist arched forward.
A person paid by public funds found it necessary to address that sitting style presumably as a cause of road accidents and warned that they may somehow take action. Think about the many law infringement issues that need Tanzania Police intervention and spare a thought for this concern from one of their bosses. Not long ago Cabinet minister George Simbachawene came up with a crass statement on what causes domestic violence and it was left to pass. Our little Zanzibari incident was dismissed as an attempt to dirty our good name.
We go back to the point we started with that we are an unserious nation which craves to be taken seriously by others. In fact we demand to be taken seriously except we do not take ourselves seriously.
Why then is it that no minister, no public official no one literally takes to the microphone without throwing in a crass joke that the following day takes precedence over the more serious but mundane subject matters?
Does this explain why even the serious matters of the state are not concluded until a joke at someone else’s expense is made? The only trouble with this is that if someone makes the joke against us we are quick to get offended.
This past week the Member of Parliament who, I suppose as a joke said she has 10B in her accounts has become the subject matter of all manner of ignorant claims.
Others are demanding that she be investigated while others are asking the source of her largesse some even claiming it was the cash that bought them into supporting the late President Dr Magufuli.
Let us get serious a bit. You mean no one saw the joke for what it was? None of this investigate brigade have the common sense to see the joke but instead saw crime?
This country need the seriousness that Mwalimu Nyerere tried to inculcate it seems with very little success. We continue to wallow in the miasma that military precision and language is what gives us honour.
The days of utayari or military readiness are long gone and where we are going food security will make much more sense than battle tanks which were last used in 1979.
Those who are fighting ignorance, disease and hunger, rank much more higher, than those who making rank and file march left right to the calls of, attention.
That Parliament stopped its business to congratulate two MPs for getting hitched tells the story of seriousness or lack of of our nation as deputy speaker said it –inatuhesimisha (act gave parliament some honour).
On a positive note Prof Adolfo Mascarenhas who taught Mwele Malecela among other Tanzanian students wrote to compliment last week’s piece on Mwele.
Thank you for the kind words Prof Mascarenhas. Our hope someday a Mwele Foundation shall come alive in her honour. Thank you Grandolfo.
