Issa G Shivji

INTRODUCTION

Issa G. Shivji
Mwalimu Nyerere Professor of Pan-African Studies
University of Dar es Salaam

The post-Vasco da Gama epoch of some five centuries, as Pannikar calls it, is a story of the 'West and the Rest'.[1] The West constructed its own story and the story of the Rest. It is a story of plunder, privation, invasion and destruction; it is a story of permanent wars and passing peace.

INTRODUCTION: THE MAN

The purpose of this short paper is to assess the challenge of regional unity like the East African Community (EAC) from the standpoint of pan-Africanism. We use the term ‘regional unity’, or regionalism, to refer to include both economic integration and political association.

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a great nationalist of the first generation of African leaders who struggled for independence. His nationalism was rooted in pan-Africanism, which is what gave it a universal dimension transcending narrow territorial, ethnic or racial nationalisms.

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was a great leader but not an angel. There are his personal qualities like integrity which are inspirational. There are his political practices, some of which need to be assessed and others which cannot stand up to criticism.

The village was dear to Mwalimu's heart but not in any romantic sense, as his Western admirers would want to present it.

European renaissance marked the beginning of the dis-membering of Africa, her body and soul were torn apart as her resources were raped and her beauty disfigured. Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 – ‘good hope’ for the invaders and ‘bad omen’ for the invaded.

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