U.N. ambassador to talk Tanzanian politics, past

IF YOU GO

What: U.N. Ambassador Augustine Mahiga speaks at SU

Where: Schine Student Center, Room 304A

When: Wednesday, 5 p.m.

How Much: Free

Julius Nyerere brought together a broken country. He became the first president of United Republic of Tanzania after the country spent 200 years under colonial rule.

"Nyerere was one of the very important African leaders often not spoken of because he was in power during the Cold War and chose to experiment," said David Sullivan, a part-time professor of African-American studies in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences.

"He experimented by not being a Communist or a capitalist, but instead creating what he called African socialism - this being Nyerere's most important work," Sullivan said.

Augustine Mahiga, Tanzanian ambassador for the U.N., worked closely with Nyerere until the African leader's death on Oct. 19, 1999. He will give a lecture on Nyerere's life Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Room 304A of the Schine Student Center. The lecture will mark ten years since Nyerere's death.

"He was one of the people who knew (Nyerere) the best. He was able to work with him, see him in action," said Wilbert Mahenge of SU's African Initiative, housed in the Department of African American studies.

The African Initiative aims to promote interest and understanding of Africa as a whole, according to the organization's Web site.

Tanzania, a country of about 35 million people, was divided between the German colony of Tanganyika and the British island colony of Zanzibar for almost 200 years. The nations eventually gained independence in the early 1960s and unified under Nyerere's leadership.

In the lecture, Mahiga will touch upon his personal relationship with Nyerere, Sullivan said. Mahiga participated in diplomatic work and policy making with the late president and was also very interested in Nyerere's pioneering of African socialism.

African socialism was formed out of the Arusha Declaration in 1967, which shaped decision making in Tanzania during Nyerere's time and afterwards. Although Nyerere was not one of the most well known leaders outside of Africa, he was very important to the structure and stability of the continent.

"The liberation of southern Africa was something he always had on his mind," Sullivan said.

As lecture takes place on the tenth anniversary of Nyerere's death, Mahiga will probably speak about his death and his absence, which led to fighting in the Republic of Congo, and the internal struggles in Zimbabwe and Uganda, Sullivan said.

Nyerere was important in holding together many countries even after he stepped down as president in 1985.

Mahiga may also touch on Nyerere's education platforms in the country. Nyerere was nicknamed Mwalimu, which means "teacher" in Swahili. Nyerere worked to promote education for the self-reliance and liberation of the Tanzanians.

Mahiga was appointed as ambassador extraordinary and permanent representative of Tanzania to the United Nations in 2003. When Tanzania was placed on the Security Council in 2005, Mahiga was chosen to head the delegation of the country. Before having a permanent seat at the U.N. General Assembly, Mahiga represented the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Italy, the Republic of Delhi, India and others, according to a news release.

bzeisens@syr.edu