So everyone wants to be president? Not me,

 

By Jenerali Ulimwengu

In Summary

• If anybody thinks they can become THE leader, why have a leader at all, since everyone seems to know the way

I’m not sure that what’s happening these past few weeks is healthy for the political system of the country, such as it is.

Since we know that a very bad state of affairs can be rendered worse still, we are obliged to agree that even when you have hit rock bottom you can still find some space below, if your vocation is to always strive to do as badly as it is possible for you to do.

For, that seems to be our quest: Take an already bad situation and do all we can to make it as bad as it can possibly be, and then see what happens.

It’s already known that the political system in Tanzania is so corrupted by money that it would take an inordinate number of people and huge quantities of time and goodwill to fix — even it were just to bring the amounts (and types) of money spent at least to acceptable levels of sanity.

Rather than try to deal with that undeniably dangerous situation, our rulers look on as more and more individuals join the fray, and as they jostle for public space and time to declare their desire to join in the macabre dance.

Hardly a day passes without a Tom, Dick and Harry coming up to say he wants to be president. I’m asking myself the same question many people have already been asking: Why has the presidency become so accessible that people who shouldn’t be entrusted with a street corner kiosk think that’s a job they can do — a bit like a loafer fancying himself as king, or Jenerali planning on dating Angelina Jolie?

The question need not remain rhetorical: The presidency has been democratised and taken closer to the people. The office that we used to look upon with awe and wonderment has been rendered ordinary via its occupation by mere mortals, whose prosaic pursuits have opened it up to pretenders who say, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

Get me right: Julius Nyerere was mortal, but not mere; his successors will prove to be both. The cardinal sin on their part has been to try to be philosopher kings without the philosophy. I suspect that if they had had the humility to accept their station in the pecking order of the intellectual kingdom, they might have redeemed themselves by surrounding themselves with some creativity.

Perhaps that is too much to ask for, and it may remain that way for a long time to come. For one thing, as I said elsewhere, the African political advisor simply does not exist. If you think you know politics better than I do, why are you not president instead of me? Good question, by the way.

But two, since we bought the presidency, how do you suggest we repay those who put up the money for the purchase, except by giving them those spots you insist we should give to some egghead advisors who just don’t understand the economic language of IRR (internal rate of return)?

Again, good question, impeccable logic.

Yet, the country as a whole is in for trouble. Clearly, these masquerades we call elections will never deliver leaders worth the name. They will be exploited for a long time to come by the Artful Dodgers who have taken our systems hostage, and over and over again, the people will be prevented from generating the meaningful leadership they so desperately need.

All they will have will be these “even I can” type of jokers, who will never provide leadership for meaningful socio-economic development. As I always say, since my saying so will have absolutely no impact on the course of events, I am prepared to state that this will be the politics — rather, the lack of it — that will keep Tanzania backward for a long time to come.

Simply put, if anybody thinks they can become THE leader, why have a leader at all, since everyone seems to know the way? As someone was asking me in Abidjan last week: Why so many aspirants? My answer: We have democratised the job.

He wasn’t impressed by my answer.