Julius Nyerere, born on this day in 1922, was a socialist and anti-colonial Tanzanian politician who promoted a Pan-Africanist ideology known as Ujamaa, which means "extended family" or "brotherhood" in Swahili.
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born on April 13, 1922 in Butiama, on the eastern shore of lake Victoria in north west Tanganyika. His father was the chief of the small Zanaki tribe. He was 12 before he started school (he had to walk 26 miles to Musoma to do so). Later, he transferred for his secondary education to the Tabora Government Secondary School. His intelligence was quickly recognized by the Roman Catholic fathers who taught him. He went on, with their help, to train as a teacher at Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda). On gaining his Certificate, he taught for three years and then went on a government scholarship to study history and political economy for his Master of Arts at the University of Edinburgh (he was the first Tanzanian to study at a British university and only the second to gain a university degree outside Africa. In Edinburgh, partly through his encounter with Fabian thinking, Nyerere began to develop his particular vision of connecting socialism with African communal living.
On his return to Tanganyika, Nyerere was forced by the colonial authorities to make a choice between his political activities and his teaching. He was reported as saying that he was a schoolmaster by choice and a politician by accident. Working to bring a number of different nationalist factions into one grouping he achieved this in 1954 with the formation of TANU (the Tanganyika African National Union). He became President of the Union (a post he held until 1977), entered the Legislative Council in 1958 and became chief minister in 1960. A year later Tanganyika was granted internal self-government and Nyerere became premier. Full independence came in December 1961.
In 1962, Nyerere was elected the first president of Tanganyika, a predecessor to modern Tanzania and a newly independent republic. His administration emphasized decolonizing society and the state, also unsuccessfully pursuing a Pan-Africanist East African Federation with Uganda and Kenya.
In 1967, Nyerere issued the "Arusha Declaration", forbidding government leaders from owning shares or holding directorates in private companies, receiving more than one salary, or owning any houses that they rented to others. In compliance with this declaration, Nyerere sold his second home and his wife donated her poultry farm to a local co-operative.
Nyerereβs integrity, ability as a political orator and organizer, and readiness to work with different groupings was a significant factor in independence being achieved without bloodshed. In this he was helped by the co-operative attitude of the last British governor β Sir Richard Turnbull. In 1964, following a coup in Zanzibar (and an attempted coup in Tanganyika itself) Nyerere negotiated with the new leaders in Zanzibar and agreed to absorb them into the union government. The result was the creation of the Republic of Tanzania.
Nyerere's government also aided in liberation struggles elsewhere in Africa, training and aiding anti-apartheid South African groups and helping to depose Ugandan ruler Idi Amin. In 1985, Nyerere stepped down as President and was succeeded by Ali Hassan Mwinyi in a notably peaceful and stable transition of power.
"Unity will not make us rich, but it can make it difficult for Africa and the African peoples to be disregarded and humiliated."
Julius Nyerere
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Shot in the dark but have you tried breath meditation? For everyday low-stakes mistakes, it has been helpful for not beating myself over inconsequential ones. Also if I'm present with myself it's harder to lose perspective.
idk I don't really "get" meditation, or mindfulness, or what being present with one's self means
For me it's breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth. Count 1 on inhale, 2 on exhale, 3 on inhale, etc. Then start over at 1 after reaching 10.
After you do that for a short while, try and notice the sensations in your body, be that emotions, feelings of your weight on the floor or on the furniture, sounds you can hear, even visually notice your surroundings.
Also, while you're breathing, your mind will wander (which is completely normal!) When you realize that happened, gently note the thought you had, realize it's just a thought that may or may not reflect reality, "oh, I'm thinking" and gently push that away as you return to your breath.
To define being present or present with myself, it's like... I don't know about you, but I spend a lot of time--probably too much--listening to podcasts, watching TV/videos, reading intently, or otherwise tuning out reality. Sometimes when you feel bad enough, you kind of need to do something like that to escape from reality or relax. But sometimes it can help to just be in a room, by yourself or with others, and be alone with your thoughts.
Without that kind of check in every day or so, (or over a longer time, weeks, months, etc) for me, everything starts to feel scary and bad and wrong. But if I actually looked at my immediate surroundings, barring an unstable living condition or a scary job, I'm not, like, immediately in trouble while at home or in another safe place. But you can lose sight of that.
I'm alone with my thoughts quite often
I've had therapist suggest breathing exercises and stuff like that and it just don't help me, like it just doesn't do anything for me
Well, one thing I've been told about meditation is that it's a practice, which is ongoing and requires some consistency. Maybe five or ten minutes a day. And the benefits accumulate over time. It doesn't happen all at once, at least for me.
But I do believe you when you say it didn't help. It's not helpful to/needed by everyone.