By ELSIE EYAKUZE

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So, as everyone has kindly noted, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has completed her first trimester of gestating her leadership of our beloved United Republic of Tanzania. So lovely to see all the positive feedback, although that much enthusiasm makes me... uncomfortable. Rather than grade Her Excellency on the 'formal' stuff — there is plenty of good content out there already — let me offer three thoughts. 

First, Mama Samia proved herself a relatively “known” quantity with a month of her inheriting the responsibilities of Head of State. The state funeral was a strong opening, supported by a few videos that were circulated of her excellency speaking in her role as Vice President. There were even pictures handed around of her in her youthful activist days where she posed in one of those awkwardly sweet group conference photos... giving us a glimpse of what's probably still going on beneath that collection of tasteful hijabs.

Just right

Unlike her hair, in the 100 days Mama Samia's seasoned statesmanship has shown itself. Her poise was evident from the beginning. Even during what must have been the hardest speech she ever gave, announcing the passing of her predecessor, the calm that she brought to the situation was just right.

She is not given to gaffes, when she does veer off-topic it is often with a lovely anecdote or — even better — a slightly risque joke that is all the more delightful for coming from such a primly composed person. Events with Madam President are crisp and visually appealing and most importantly: they Do. Not. Waste. Time! As a fan of the theatrical aspect of statecraft I am deeply appreciative of this, not to mention her actual oratory.

Ah, those speeches. I didn't actually know that an elected Tanzanian politician could be associated with the word 'succinct.' For an era in which attention spans are shorter than Netflix show runs, this is on point.

And because Madam President is Zanzibari, said speeches are an auditory treat. Confession: more than once I have dozed off very relaxed listening to her outline admittedly boring policies and directives, and had to listen to speeches twice to get the content.

For which I am grateful. This is the second important take-away from the 100 day thing. The steadiness and mechanical dependability of Mama Samia's presidency so far has afforded us a much needed luxury: the option to ignore the 'hard' news, knowing that it will be boring enough on a day-to-day basis that we can go back to focusing on the minutiae of daily life.

We delegate power to representatives so that we don't have to worry all the time! I actually took a break after deciding to wait for the 100 days mark — and the sky hasn't fallen. Well, at least not in Tanzania.

Now, just a few months in, Mama Samia's presidency is becoming “mundane” and to flip the script: this says a lot about where we are as a polity.

Tanzanians might just be mature enough to have a president who is also a woman and get over it right quick, opening the gateway for a future in which our heads of state do not all have to be superannuated conservative company men. We still have a long way to go and I am not sure that in my lifetime we will make the leap fully into the 21st century — but we're clearly capable of trying.

The current roll-back of extreme state hostility towards multi-party democracy, the Fourth Estate, et cetera also help, but I think that maybe as a votership we have grown? So bravo us! May we continue to trek beyond our least attractive political qualities — conservative chauvinism being my main bugaboo.

Lastly, yes, I am determined to keep neutral about the actual politics, even though obviously I like Mama Samia's management style so far.

First of all, the 100 days convention is a relic from a dead white American male (President Roosevelt in this case) and it made sense in that specific context. How and why it caught on and spread out is a mystery, humans are strange. One hundred days is a probation period and president's can't just say, ‘‘No thanks, I don't think this company is a good fit for me.’’

Domestic milestone

Thanks to President Samia's predecessors, I have a much more specific and domestic milestone before I settle my opinions on Tanzanian presidents.

They all start of so well, don't they? Long campaign periods, mucho propaganda, that first blush of young “love” with an incumbent. Ha! 24 months is when the true colours bleed out.

President Samia Suluhu repeatedly reminds us that she is part of the continuity between her predecessor and herself, a true Green and Gold Party Man. When someone tells you who they are? It is best to believe them.

I have seen violations of civic freedoms, and fumblings of constitutional reform processes happen just as we were getting “comfortable” with a self-titled reformer.

A Tanzanian president's potential is a fickle thing. Let's see where Her Excellency's dulcet tones lead us by 2023, shall we?

Elsie Eyakuze is a consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report: E-mail: [email protected]