Tanzanians were in shock Wednesday (March 17, 2021) after the sudden death of President John Magufuli as announced by Vice- President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
A three-week national mourning has been announced in Tanzania for the country's Head of State, who in my opinion, had facilitated the transition to the middle-income status ahead of time in what is now one of Africa's most growing economies.
The official statement on Magufuli's death to many will remain to be a moment and hour that will take years to forget. The Government has announced 21 days of national mourning that will enable Tanzanians of all walks of life to reflect and celebrate the rise, the life and commitment President Magufuli himself had to transform Tanzania so that it benefits all Tanzanians.
Dr. Magufuli's legacy is going to be a joyful one specifically for the future generation, including children who are now enjoying, among other things, free school education and medical care across the country. Questions about the Presidents' legacies are best left to historians writing a generation detached.
But for Dr. Magufuli, we can be sure of a few things that will be part of his national and international memory that will gain global prominence with managing hard and tough times in human history following the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
Dr. Magufuli affirmed Tanzania was COVID-19 free last June, among other things, mocking the efficacy of masks and expressing his doubts about vaccinations that have seen many countries questioning their effectiveness to curb the virus.
To date health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland to mention a few have stopped administering the vaccines. After assuming office in 2015, and particularly when he insisted he would not run for a third term although many thought given what he had done they would have wanted to see it completed, he disregarded such views, believing Tanzania as a country followed the rule of law and had processes and procedures to elect its next leaders openly and transparently to sustained good will left behind by the Founding Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
Stressing his firmness for not even spending an extra day in the State House after his tenure was a demonstration and a way to diplomatically silence his criticisers and repeatedly used it to assure Tanzanians of protecting what he believed was the best interests of this Nation.
Dr. Magufuli's death will in my view be the foundation of unity for many Tanzanians given the fact that Tanzanians are not power-hungry who would like to fill the vacuum left behind by any means and in this case after the death of Dr. Magufuli. Present thinking on governance is turning towards calling for unity and harmony as we mourn the loss of our beloved President. Power politics changes people and people with diverse views with diverse interests.
Amidst a period of sorrow, and as long as we remain aware of how this happens, we will as a Nation remain a United and Strong Nation. I urge fellow Tanzanians to remember the good things Dr. Magufuli has done. He was not an angel. He made mistakes, so let us not remember the bad things - let us remember the positive things he has done for Tanzanians.
He leaves behind a mixed legacy. He will be remembered as a Leader who pursued some successful economic policies since assuming office 2015, including persuading Tanzanians to work hard to earn a living under his famous slogan 'Hapa Kazi Tu'.
Many Tanzanians will point at his second term, which began in 2020, as the onset of the new economic prosperity aimed at elevating Tanzania more on the world map. By the time of his death on March 17, 2021 Tanzania was in my opinion on track towards economic prosperity.
He will always be remembered for his steadiness and firmness, and walking his talk, something that can't be divorced from the current trend of the continent, where voters are more and more in favour of leaders who deliver and ready to defend the interests of their countries. RIP JPM