Mwalimu Nyerere

Today Tanzania marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Julius Nyerere. This picture of him hangs in just about every public place we've been to so far.

Revered as father of the nation and "Mwalimu" (teacher), many of Nyerere's lofty and impractical policies proved disastrous for the country. But as we've been reading more about Africa's post-colonial history, Nyerere distinguishes himself among the majority of "big men" that pledged to lead their newly formed countries in the 1960s.  

Mziwakhe John Tsabedze of Swaziland puts it simply:

"He taught us to know that the measure of a leader is not how many Mercedes Benz cars he has or how many wives he has. He taught us that a leader can relinquish power and still remain influential. He taught us integrity and he taught us to serve our fellow citizens."

While the leaders of other African countries burned through hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars building palaces, stocking their gardens with exotic pets, buying real estate in Europe and erecting statues of themselves, Nyerere was known to live frugally; he "preached water and drank water". He made mistakes--but at least on a few notable occasions, had the strength of character to admit he had made them.


What would Africa, and what would our world be like if more people in power followed in the (better) footsteps of Mwalimu?