WHY LEADERS MUST NOT BE MASTERS: MY REFLECTIONS ON NYERERE’S CONCEPT OF UJAAMA ELUSIYAN FRANCIS ‘TOLULOPE Akinlawon Anthony triggered my reflections on the concept of Ujaama when he asked this pertinent question: do you think we can actually have a humble leader in a community? He conjectured that the possibility of a humble-human leader is very slim because the position of power is exposed to pride and exercise of authority. I have been ruminating ever since we had that discussion, though many of us understand Nyerere’sconcept of Ujaama, the more important question is the possibility of anything like that in the interplay of power, pride and fame. The word Ujaama was chosen by Julius Nyerere basically for special reasons. Firstly, it is an African word that emphasizes and connotes the “African-ness” of his policies. Secondly and more importantly, its literal meaning is “family-hood”, so that it recalls the idea of mutual involvement in the family as known in Africa. Ujaama implies a deliberate decision to grow “out of our own roots, but in a particular direction and towards a particular kind of objective: Nyerere maintained, “we cannot, unlike other continents, send rockets to the moon, but we can send rockets of love and hope to all our fellow men wherever they may be. Here we find the basic inspiration that motivated Nyerere to embark on this significant path of communal life? Primarily it is the abolition of the division between master and servant. Secondly, the restoration of respect for the African and his human dignity by eradicating fear and the habit of evading responsibility inherited from the colonial masters. Nyerere sustained that: “our aim is to remove fear from the minds of our people. Our aim is to hand over responsibility to the people to make their own decisions. Thirdly, the elimination and eradication of exploitation and oppression so that the human dignity and equality of every man become the basis of development”. In the African setting, where Ujaama exist, there is no privatilization of properties, no one monopolize things, no oppression, and in fact family hood is very crucial in Nyerere’s concept of ujaama. And it is also crucial to bear in mind that Nyerere’s objective is to make everybody a master. According to him, a true master is the one who serves the community. What Nyerere is saying is that, leadership entails humility. When a person is selected among others to lead his community, it does not mean such a person is better or more intelligent than others. A leader is not supposed to befeared. A leader is someone who is called to serve and that is the prominent aspect of Nyerere’s concept of Ujaama. In different parts of the world today, we have seen leaders who have subscribed to the autocratic system of leadership, they are not ready to serve, for them, their function is to command and rule people with their authority. Some are even ready to serve, but because of what they are made of (perhaps they are not intrinsically good themselves “what Hausa people called“kirki mutumi”) they keep on oppressing the people under them because they have forgotten that one day they shall vacate their positions either by death or by time. Also today, the increasing chasm between the poor and the rich nauseates us and pricks our consciences. Equality and human dignity are losing grounds. The law is deviated in favour of the “haves” while the poor cry endlessly. Thomas More has warned that “all laws are promulgated to this end: that every man may know his duty; and therefore the plainest and most obvious sense of the words must be put on them. To put it concisely the precepts of the law are: to live honourably, to injure no other man, to render to every man his due. Choosing a man when is ignorant of his duty illustrates intolerable foolishness and unspeakable stupidity. If you cannot open your eyes, you will cry! You will open fire with indebted weapons that the poor will pay for till theirelimination! In this chaotic situation we recall Nyerere’s call to the Church: that she must be the conscience of the society. Unless the Church, her members and organizations, express God’s love for man by involvement and leadership in constructive protest against the present condition of man, then it will become identified with injustice and persecution. If this happens, it may cause cohesion, because it will then serve no purpose comprehensible to modern man. Therefore, assemblies of the faithful must daily become more conscious of themselves as living communities of faith, liturgy and charity, especially in this season of lent, we must strive to establish in our community an order of love and justice by means of civil and apostolic action without putting aside humility in everything we do.

WHY LEADERS MUST NOT BE MASTERS: MY REFLECTIONS ON NYERERE’S CONCEPT OF UJAAMA

                                                             ELUSIYAN FRANCIS ‘TOLULOPE

Akinlawon Anthony triggered my reflections on the concept of Ujaama when he asked this pertinent question: do you think we can actually have a humble leader in a community? He conjectured that the possibility of a humble-human leader is very slim because the position of power is exposed to pride and exercise of authority. I have been ruminating ever since we had that discussion, though many of us understand Nyerere’sconcept of Ujaama, the more important question is the possibility of anything like that in the interplay of power, pride and fame.

The word Ujaama was chosen by Julius Nyerere basically for special reasons. Firstly, it is an African word that emphasizes and connotes the “African-ness” of his policies. Secondly and more importantly, its literal meaning is “family-hood”, so that it recalls the idea of mutual involvement in the family as known in Africa. Ujaama implies a deliberate decision to grow “out of our own roots, but in a particular direction and towards a particular kind of objective: Nyerere maintained, “we cannot, unlike other continents, send rockets to the moon, but we can send rockets of love and hope to all our fellow men wherever they may be. Here we find the basic inspiration that motivated Nyerere to embark on this significant path of communal life?

Primarily it is the abolition of the division between master and servant. Secondly, the restoration of respect for the African and his human dignity by eradicating fear and the habit of evading responsibility inherited from the colonial masters. Nyerere sustained that: “our aim is to remove fear from the minds of our people. Our aim is to hand over responsibility to the people to make their own decisions. Thirdly, the elimination and eradication of exploitation and oppression so that the human dignity and equality of every man become the basis of development”.

In the African setting, where Ujaama exist, there is no privatilization of properties, no one monopolize things, no oppression, and in fact family hood is very crucial in Nyerere’s concept of ujaama. And it is also crucial to bear in mind that Nyerere’s objective is to make everybody a master. According to him, a true master is the one who serves the community.

What Nyerere is saying is that, leadership entails humility. When a person is selected among others to lead his community, it does not mean such a person is better or more intelligent than others. A leader is not supposed to befeared. A leader is someone who is called to serve and that is the prominent aspect of Nyerere’s concept of Ujaama. In different parts of the world today, we have seen leaders who have subscribed to the autocratic system of leadership, they are not ready to serve, for them, their function is to command and rule people with their authority. Some are even ready to serve, but because of what they are made of (perhaps they are not intrinsically good themselves “what Hausa people called“kirki mutumi”) they keep on oppressing the people under them because they have forgotten that one day they shall vacate their positions either by death or by time.

Also today, the increasing chasm between the poor and the rich nauseates us and pricks our consciences. Equality and human dignity are losing grounds. The law is deviated in favour of the “haves” while the poor cry endlessly. Thomas More has warned that “all laws are promulgated to this end: that every man may know his duty; and therefore the plainest and most obvious sense of the words must be put on them. To put it concisely the precepts of the law are: to live honourably, to injure no other man, to render to every man his due. Choosing a man when is ignorant of his duty illustrates intolerable foolishness and unspeakable stupidity. If you cannot open your eyes, you will cry! You will open fire with indebted weapons that the poor will pay for till theirelimination! In this chaotic situation we recall Nyerere’s call to the Church: that she must be the conscience of the society.

Unless the Church, her members and organizations, express God’s love for man by involvement and leadership in constructive protest against the present condition of man, then it will become identified with injustice and persecution. If this happens, it may cause cohesion, because it will then serve no purpose comprehensible to modern man.

Therefore, assemblies of the faithful must daily become more conscious of themselves as living communities of faith, liturgy and charity, especially in this season of lent, we must strive to establish in our community an order of love and justice by means of civil and apostolic action without putting aside humility in everything we do.