Please, please, please, PLEASE read this amazing column by Anthony Tambwe from the Daily News.
Love, love, love, LOVE that this newsman is using his media platform not only to disseminate the news, but also to mobilize the troops.
Since I will be leaving NYC at the end of this week - putting an end to my habit of watching countless hours of CNN per day - it warms my heart to think that, back in my other home, media folk are starting to utilize their positions to spread their own ideologies and attempt to engage the masses in lively debate.
Fake News Media comes to Tanzania! (Just kidding....)
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Shikamooni wakubwa? Wadogo zangu, hamjambo?
I know the
greetings have found you wherever you are, and I also know there are
those who have answered, and then there are those who have decided to
ignore. Haina taabu, I did not come here to make friends anyway.
You see, they say
that Tanzanians are a very lovable lot, people who get along well with
anyone, a nation that is said to be full of love (ha ha ha!), full of
understanding and care.... Mi, sitaki kuongeza, ila maoni yangu ni tofauti.
If you have
noticed, these same people are the ones who like to complain about
everything. From the weather to the kind of food they eat, Tanzanians
can complain, na hii kazi wanaiweza kweli kweli, sio utani.
When Mjomba Mkapa
was the president, these fellows could be heard in corridors and on street
corners complaining about the kind of lives they are living, and of
course they blamed Mjomba for their calamities, kama kawaida yao.
Entered JK, or Baba
Ridhiwani, and the noise intensified, with the wailing and gnashing of teeth as
Tanzanians blamed the ever-smiling husband of Mama Salma, calling him
names and claiming that he is taking the country to the dogs, kelele
kibao.... And most of them said it was better when Mjomba occupied the top
seat, wabongo hao hao!
The good thing with Baba Ridhiwani is that he told the mourning Tanzanians that if they
believed that he was too soft, then they should not hold their breaths
for long, because there was a bulldozer coming to take over from him. And he introduced Baba Jesca, or JPM to all and sundry, and the
Tanzanians danced, vifijo na nderemo, from all corners.
I believe I don't
have to tell you the amount of noise the Tanzanians are making right
now, because it can be heard in near empty bars and rarely occupied
guest houses, tunakukumbuka Baba JK! That is what they are now saying,
wabongo hawa hawa!
You see, with all
this noise being made by the wabongo, I came to the conclusion that
these are people who will always look for a scapegoat to throw the blame
at in case they fail in life. The easiest target in this scenario
is none other than.... you guessed right, the government! Kuna kamsemo ka wabongo kananikera sana, and it is unfortunate
but it has become a very famous statement with the unsatisfied
Tanzanians, especially the lazy ones, kupewa elimu.
Juzi, the government
offered Tanzanians an opportunity to visit national parks, for free,
for about three or four days, and the feedback from the parks is that
the call was ignored, almost nobody bothered to take the offer, walikaa
kimya.
A few days later ,
several Tanzanians were interviewed in one radio station and they were
asked about the poor response, and the usual "kupewa elimu" issue
surfaced, kama kawaida. One of the fellows went ahead and blamed the
government, for what, he did not have an idea himself. "I believe that
Tanzanians would have jumped at the opportunity kama wangeelimishwa...." said one of the not-so-bright fellows, hivi jamani, kuelimishwa
kivipi kwa mfano?
Visiting the
national parks, to say the least, is for one's own benefit, hivi mtu
unataka kuelimishwa ili iweje? Do you honestly need the government to
come to your doorstep to tell you that you should make a plan to visit
the park? Kwa kweli mnashangaza sana, na inatia huruma.
You find a fellow
after eating enough ugali and dagaa, he makes it his life target to fill
his neighborhood with his offspring, and when things become tough for
him, he is quick to jump on the government bandwagon....
"Naomba serikali
iangalie mateso ninayopitia...." kwani ulitumwa!? Watu na ndevu zao na
vitambi vyao, they go ahead and dump their waste on the gutters and
trenches meant for drainage, and when the rains come and the drainage
system is blocked, guess what, tunaiomba serikali ituangalie, wengine
eti ooh, wananchi wanahitaji kuelimishwa kuhusu madhara ya kutupa taka
hovyo, hivi mna akili kweli?
When you go ahead
and make someone's daughter pregnant and she produces triplets for you,
the first thing is to tell the government to bail you out. Na wengine,
they might even say that people need to be educated on the dangers of
unplanned children, hivi mbona hamuombi kuelimishwa wakati wa kutongoza?
It has to reach a
point when Tanzanians stop looking for silly excuses for their pathetic
ignorance. People always say that ignorance is not a defense, but to
Tanzanians, that is the easiest way to escape your responsibilities,
kuelimishwa na nani, acheni ubabaishaji!
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