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Well, bully for Magufuli, but it’s hot outside there, you know, and besides I like my pilau

Saturday December 12 2015

You know things are serious when Tanzaphilia comes back into vogue this strongly. It has been informative to read articles and peruse social media as John Pombe Magufuli charms the world with his leadership style.

The best thing that can be said about that is, with all the attention being paid to the region, it had better translate into tourist dollars.

Distant admiration is all well and good, but it would be better to have our friends visit and enjoy the splendours of good old Tanzania, preferably with cold hard cash dollars paid in-country rather than to offshore tour agencies.

That said, it is bad news when the world takes too much of an interest in a Third World country’s leader. Nothing really good has come of this kind of thing since the late 1960s.

It either means that person is surprisingly horrific, more so than your garden-variety despot. Or it means that the individual in question is too good to be true and only one constitutional term-limit change from going rogue all over their citizens’ human rights.

Which is why I propose that it is far too early to conclude anything about President Magufuli except for the obvious points: His reputation for swift decision-making and memorising number-based information wasn’t exaggerated; his nickname fits him well.

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I’ll give him this: For someone who is so straightforward he has a surprising gift for entertainment, and a refreshing lack of interest in or awe of the media.

Tanzanians get to wake up each morning with the anticipation of what the Bulldozer will do. For most citizens this brings a sense of excitement and for others, dread.

His modern-day Robin Hood works have endeared him to people in a way that could not have been predicted when this relative political lightweight somehow found himself becoming a president against all odds.

Fumigating the corruption out of Dar’s port and other institutions, summarily firing anyone within his crosshairs for sub-par performance. What better way to make a few fine enemies while garnering a large crowd of admirers.

Which is where the danger lies with the Magufuli Presidency. How careful is he, how willing will he be to tread the fine line between providing strong leadership and understanding that governance is a collaborative effort in which the will and preferably the freedoms of the people are respected?

It really is too early to tell how far down the road of despotism he may find himself treading, yet I don’t worry about him so much as I worry about his avid fans.

The cult of personality is probably one of the worst political handicaps we face as Africans, and while it is easy to direct criticism at the Big Man the problem really lies with his followers. Some of whom bear a remarkable resemblance to Edward Lowassa’s former handmaidens.

One example springs to mind. I was delighted that Magufuli cancelled the overpriced military beauty pageant that we call celebrating our Independence Day. Perhaps the irony of celebrating freedom with a show of force is not lost on this man.

And of course, suggesting that instead of loafing around eating too much pilau we go out and make our environment cleaner was also an excellent move. But note: I say “suggestion” since I am one of the handful of cranks who believes in civic disobedience with regards to spurious edicts.

So it was disappointing to watch news reports featuring the handful of fellow libertarians who basically refused to go out and engage in state-mandated hard labour.

Many folk were apprehended for no good reason, such as simply disagreeing with the edict or being day-time drinkers or simply being far too lazy, because do you know how hot it is outside? All of which are legitimate reasons to practise the kind of healthy stubbornness that allows zealots to shine in their good works. I like to think of it as “contrasting.”

Now, I am not sure that these spurious citizen arrests are what Magufuli intended to happen but it was sobering to watch slavering minions yell incoherently into microphones about punishing their neighbours for disobeying his presidentialness’s proclamation.

And this was just recently. More than one functionary and official has overstepped their bounds in the past few weeks meting out punishments in an extrajudiciary manner, citing the example of Magufuli’s stinging decisiveness as an inspiration.

At the risk of repeating myself yet again, let me say that it is too early to determine how Magufuli’s regime will go.

I admit to being a cautious enthusiast especially because his “eat the rich” philosophy seriously tickles my proletarian soul. But I also like the ideas of rule of law, reform, equity and most importantly, the death of the personality culture so that people understand the responsibility of living in a democracy is what confers its freedoms.

In answer to all my foreign friends who have been asking ad nauseam whether he is the best thing since Nyerere? Too early to tell.

Elsie Eyakuze is an independent consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report, http://mikochenireport.blogspot.com. E-mail: [email protected]

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