Great people

Nowadays I dread watching, reading and  listening to news; there is hardly any good news anywhere. Being a scribe I should know that good news is not news but being human I know that bad news is not welcome, especially if the bad news is that of death. Just a few weeks ago, the world mourned the demise of two great visionaries who have made great contribution to our generation. Loosing Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai and Apple founder Steve jobs in one month was a great blow. Today I would like to take time to reflect and appreciate the lives of the two fallen great minds and  commemorate a great man whose visions helped shape African politics,

Wangari’s death was a great loss not only to the conservation world but to the entire human race. She was a great visionary who linked the health of environment to human wellbeing.  By fighting against degradation of forests, Wangari protected food and water security. She tirelessly fought against the reigning regime calling for protection of forests and democracy. As a result of her vision, millions of trees have been planted and women around the world have been inspired and mobilized to demand democracy, human rights, good governance and a healthy environment. Personally I’ve always been impressed by how Maathai combined two seemingly unrelated issues; women’s rights and environmentalism so seamlessly and for that she is a deserving Nobel prize laureate.

 A bigger blow came later when we learnt that apple founder Steve Jobs had followed suite. I can’t EVEN begin to wrap my head around how much of an impact Jobs has had on our modern lives. He changed the world- literally-. His creations like the  iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes have transformed   the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications . I think it goes without saying that Jobs will be remembered for all time and he will surely go down in History as one of the greatest creative minds of our time.

Talking of revolutionaries, in our own home turf we celebrate the life of one of Africa’s greatest sons. Today as we remember the great father of our nation Mwalimu Julius K Nyerere, I would like to take time to reflect on his great contribution to the world.I know am not so much into politics but Nyereres contribution was much more than just in the political realm.

While mourning the demise of Mwalimu in 1999 one media described the fallen hero as “ Incorruptible, modest but forthright, an African patriot and a socialist, Nyerere will remain  one of the greatest politicians of our continent and our century.” I can’t help but agree because to date no president has been able to fill his shoes. It is grave that Tanzania may never see a leader like Nyerere. With all the corruption, scandals and misuse of power among the current leadership, what Tanzania needs is Nyerere’s kind of thinking in Leadership more than Aid. It’s time to get rid of memories of his ideologies and actually practice what they preach. Our leaders remember Nyerere as a great leader but do not emulate him. To get high quality leadership we need to promote Nyerere’s legacy among the next generation of leaders.  

I don’t know about you but Mwalimu Nyerere’s story is one of the best stories as far as African politics are concerned.  Today more than ever I am inspired by this PanAfricanist, Visionary and Pioneer. His leadership, selfless acts, and patriotism brought the nation together and that is why to me Mwalimu remains the greatest African leaders of all time