No one should dare tear our nation apart

BY EDITOR

9th September 2015

By all indications, some politicians are on a noxious mission to tear apart our beloved nation to pieces in their quest to garner votes. These politicians have embarked on dirty campaign tricks, using churches and mosques as springboards from which to woo voters – ahead of the October 25 General Election.

 

There are those who have been caught red-handed – on camera – as well as those vigorously condemning such acts in public but proceeding to conduct the same covertly.

 

Our position on this is clear and unwavering: both are not only wrong offspring originating from cradles of evil but also enemies of our beloved nation.

 

Tanzania transcends racial, tribal, religious, regional or any other largely irrelevant boundaries or other factors and, even more importantly, matters a lot more to well-meaning Tanzanians than anyone can ever imagine.Therefore, for us, asking voters to vote for you simply because you belong to their church or mosque, etc., etc., is a sign of political bankruptcy. Writing a newspaper column pleading with people hailing from a 

 

particular geographical zone to rally behind a presidential candidate originating from that zone is, likewise, a sign of total madness.

 

There was time, in this very country of ours, when the media quoted a member of the First Family as having said the next (fifth-phase) President would not come from the Northern Zone. In much the same vein, the proposition smacks of political bankruptcy.

 

There is no lesser evil between turning houses of worship into political campaign platforms, using the media to solicit votes by fronting tribalism and conspiring to ensure a particular part of our country does not give us our next President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Chief of Defence Forces, and what have you. Engineering or engaging in any such machinations is dangerous because it is a recipe for, at best, anarchy and the disintegration of the proudly peaceful Tanzania we have known all these decades.

 

Elections are never supposed – or expected – to be about religion, race, tribe or geographical region. They are about policies and other issues affecting Tanzanians, however remotely. In electing a candidate, voters should be influenced by policies, not cheap, petty or parochial politics of regionalism, tribalism or religion.

 

It is noteworthy that we first became Tanzanians before we became Christians, Muslims or some other faithful, in particular for those who were born on Tanzanian soil. So, while we respect the right to worship and will always do our most to defend that right, there is just no way we can tolerate – much less support – any politician using religion to garner votes and win an elective post.

 

Similarly, we fully respect the right for everyone to treasure his or her tribe but without using tribal affiliation as an election bargaining chip. Accordingly, we strongly urge politicians of all colours and shades to refrain from these old-fashioned and highly dangerous campaign tricks.

 

Yes, we are a nation of more than hundred tribes boasting dozens of religions but, most importantly, we are the United Republic of Tanzania.

Our politicians must be made to appreciate the fact that Tanzania counts for much more than the geographical zones we hail from and the religious denominations we have elected to belong to. Need we say more?

 

We have also noted that some politicians have embarked on serious verbal offensives against their opponents, mostly aimed at character assassination. It might be argued that an election campaign is never complete unless it is punctuated with ‘political jabs’ targeting one’s opponents, but we still believe that fairness and civilisation ought to eclipse everything else.

 

For instance, declaring that it was only through favouritism that a former prime minister served in the position for ten years in that he was not a university graduate is cheap politics gone mad.

 

As things stand in Tanzania, PMs appointed by the President and endorsed by the National Assembly – as stipulated in the country’s Constitution. Therefore, dismissing the particular appointee as worthless would be yet another demonstration of political bankruptcy.

 

Last word: Tanzanians should shun and shame all those behind the appallingly irresponsible campaigns we have witnessed since the run-up to October 25 began in earnest. Our humble advice is that we need to focus on one’s integrity and whatever other attributes go into the making of a quality public servant.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN