In Favor of An East African Community
I assume that none of us is against
some form of an East African Community. It is not feasible to be isolationistic in these days of globalization. Singly, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda do not carry much weight on the global scene, but if united, the block would be hard to ignore. An addition of Rwanda and Burundi to this mixture would bring in some variety in language (French) and history (massacres, unfortunately).
But what areas of cooperation would benefit the people of East Africa? We can have
enhanced economic cooperation, but must we be a
single economy? We can be politically united but do we have to be
one country? The union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar does seem to indicate that we can have a thoroughly integrated East African while remaining Tanzanians, Kenyans, Ugandans, etc (the etc hare meaning, of course, Rwandans and Burundians).
It would be useful, I suppose, to note here that there would be some interesting advantages in having the complete thing (a single country) out of these five entities. The Hutus of the new nation of East Africa would no longer see the rest of their
countrymen as Tutsis. They would not want to machete the "rest of the country" out of existence because the "rest of the country" would then consists of Kikuyus, Chaggas, Baggandas, and above all, the warlike Maasai!
I guess a lot of the opposing people are looking at what they would be
giving, in the event of a federation, and ignoring completely what they would be
receiving. Tanzanians would be giving (
sharing is a more opportune term) what is in Tanzania (land, jobs and natural resources) to Kenyans and Ugandans (etc), but they would be
availing themselves of what is in Kenya and Uganda (a more developed industrial and educational infrastructure, factory jobs, natural resources). Tanzanians have gold (or so they think, for they really have sold it out) but they forget that Kenya almost certainly has oil, and Uganda does clearly have oil in the North.
Tanzanians feel that there is an
English gap between them on one hand, and Kenyans and Ugandans on the other. Being isolationistic will surely keep it that way, but coming together will address the problem. Intermingling freely in one nation is a sure way of spreading out a language. Besides, if you cannot beat them then you should join them. We made a mistake by de-emphasizing English in the seventies; we should not make another mistake by refusing to live with those who did not make the same mistake. Hundreds of Tanzanians like to migrate to the US and be one with the Americans. They do not fear the higher educational and technical skills there, for they know that they will catch up with the Americans. Joining into one country with the Kenyans and Ugandans is a sure way of catching up with them.
The headquarters of the proposed nation of East Africa will almost certainly be in Arusha. Dar (or Dodoma if you like), Nairobi, Kampala (etc) would still have some form of parliaments, but the mother of all East African parliaments would be in Arusha. It is a substantial advantage. By the way, Arusha would provide an excellent excuse for those of us who like to live in the
capital to move from Dar to Arusha. That would be a most welcome move, for we have learnt, over the years, that the weather in Dar is not conducive to human settlement. It is almost impossible to think in the kind of heat that one finds in Dar around this time of the year. No wonder I am just at this moment wondering about what it is that I am really trying to write here!
Augustine Moshi