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.
Nyerere’s 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 — 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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I didn’t know this had a name until really recently. Filling out a lot of job applications today and a big source of anxiety for me is worry if I accidentally typed something wrong and even though I double check before submitting everytime I still distrust my memory and worry that I actually typed something incorrectly / something that would change the meaning of what I wanted to say. I get this way with comments here all the time, regardless of how many times I double and triple check to make sure I typed what I want to say I still worry for hours later that actually I’m remembering wrong and that I didn’t check and that I ended up saying the opposite of what I wanted to say.
When I was still in school I’d never raise my hand to answer questions because I would doubt that I was right even if I knew for 110% that it was the correct answer
I deal with similar shit…. I think it’s part of OCD or something like it
idk if I actually have OCD. I deal with really bad intrusive thoughts and a lot of what I’ve heard about it has sounded relatable but I’ve never been diagnosed. Probably never will be either, I’ve been really soured on a lot of mental health / therapy stuff and don’t bother anymore
I have them too. I get the not bothering anymore. Feels like there’s just not really any point
When my OCD was at its absolute worst, I would wake up multiple times in the night and check the door was locked and the stove was off. I would drive to go visit someone else in a different city, turn around half way through the drive and check the door was locked. Even after a lot of therapy and a lot of my stressor being gone, I still have the urge to double and triple check stuff - I can deal with it now and annoyingly the best way to start dealing with it for me was to completely ignore those urges even when my brain was on fire about it.
oh god I’ve lost so much sleep over intrusive thoughts too. In the past I was always afraid that someone would hurt me in the night and so as I was falling asleep (I sleep on my stomach) I had to turn around and scan the room every couple of seconds. I couldn’t sleep in the dark because then it was harder to check the room so I slept with the lights on. I didn’t get over that until last year. And yeah you’re right, the only way to get over it is just ignoring it. No matter how many times I thought to myself “no one is actually there” it never comforted me and I had to turn around and check. The only thing that worked was ignoring it. God that month or so when I started refusing to turn around but before the intrusive thought really went away I got almost no sleep
what made your OCD get better? I need to overcome this shit but I’m not doing therapy
I got an SNRI, I got Effexor. That helped a lot. After titrating on and figuring out my dose I just… remembered that I had locked the door. And I didn’t get hung up on if I didn’t. I had a very clear memory that I had and confidence that I had.
I did do therapy as well, which I found very useful. I have a job that covers sessions so it wasn’t an expense for me. It was CBT and EMDR based. Don’t discount it. But I also had the stressors in my life gone. I broke up with my ex. I moved out of the apartment. I finished school and got a job, no more financial stress - well, not as intense anyway.
I’m not, like, “cured” because I can almost feel it at the edges especially when work is really bad (the first couple months I was in charge yeesh). But the therapy helped a lot. Between the stressors being gone and therapy, I felt ready to come off Effexor. And I did! It sucked though, coming off an SNRI took like a month and I felt awful the whole time.
I didn’t even see that image til now btw. Guess my comment is redundant lol.