Does anybody remember the movie About Schmidt?
In the movie, Jack Nicholson plays a depressed senior citizen who, in short order, loses his job, his wife, his daughter to a marriage he disapproves of, and possibly his sanity in the end. Tucked in between are his long, ranting letters to Ndugu, a Tanzanian child he’s decided to sponsor as part of a foster program for African children.
This is one of the few movies or pieces of fiction that will refer to Tanzania in any form. Certainly, Hollywood has had numerous references to Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and even Zanzibar, although here we can safely say that these are more brand items that one might or might not associate with the country. How many people know that Serengeti or Kilimanjaro are in Tanzania? My point exactly. The Serengeti alone probably keeps Animal Planet in business while Kilimanjaro is on more bucket lists worldwide than any other destination. Aside from that, how is Tanzania represented in fiction?
One of the first things I discovered upon my arrival in Tanzania was that President Kikwete’s first name also happened to be Ndugu. Imagine that, right there on the poster at the airport! Was this the kid Jack Nicholson had written to in the movie? A few months later, I found the organizational chart of the ruling party here in Tanzania, the CCM, also known as the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Swahili for Revolutionary Party). Naturally, President Kikwete was at the top. Beyond that you had members of the cabinet, most of whom were also named Ndugu. Wow, I was thinking. So Ndugu is Tanzania’s answer to Mohamed or Jose, I thought. This was until I learned that ndugu is actually a Swahili word for brother or comrade, which is a common formal address in a socialist environment. So much for the president named Ndugu.
With the elections around the corner later this year, two things are already a given. One, Jakaya Kikwete (his actual name) is no longer available for another term in office. Not that it should matter, because the CCM still enjoys wide support throughout the country—around 75%, if we are to believe the latest polls. This support has decreased over the years but is still a more than comfortable absolute majority that should give CCM the presidency for years to come, barring any disaster or unforeseen alliances.
Yet how popular is CCM really? This is like the 75% support enjoyed by Engelbert Humperdinck or Barry Manilow, artists most likely to be featured on most popular playlists in hell. Yet somehow these guys have made millions of dollars and earned golden records. The same way CCM wins elections. CCM is a double edged sword.
The 75% percent support they enjoy in the polls is largely manufactured, if you ask most people here in Dar. The godfather, founder of CCM, and former president of this country, the late Julius Nyerere, supposedly claimed decades ago that he had created a monster and that the country was systematically destroying its own people.
Whether or not the CCM has turned into a Frankenstein that has turned on its own creator is not for me to say. That said, I wonder about that 75% support sometimes, especially in a country where corruption is rampant and condoned within certain government circles. The opposition, for one, has vowed to unite against the ruling CCP. How united they actually will be in the end remains to be seen, given their history of failure during what is now CCM’s 50 year rule.
Enter the journalists: one of the daily newspapers recently wrote that a watchdog group was going to publish the holdings of certain government officials, more precisely the money they allegedly have stowed away in Swiss banks. Add this to President Kikwete’s sacking of Land and Housing Minister Tibaijuka a couple of months ago for corruption, plus the infighting within CCM over Kikwete’s successor, and the next election might not be that cut and dried.
Stay tuned. In the end, you might just find many more ndugus about to receive some long ranting letters, courtesy of their constituents.
In the movie, Jack Nicholson plays a depressed senior citizen who, in short order, loses his job, his wife, his daughter to a marriage he disapproves of, and possibly his sanity in the end. Tucked in between are his long, ranting letters to Ndugu, a Tanzanian child he’s decided to sponsor as part of a foster program for African children.
This is one of the few movies or pieces of fiction that will refer to Tanzania in any form. Certainly, Hollywood has had numerous references to Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and even Zanzibar, although here we can safely say that these are more brand items that one might or might not associate with the country. How many people know that Serengeti or Kilimanjaro are in Tanzania? My point exactly. The Serengeti alone probably keeps Animal Planet in business while Kilimanjaro is on more bucket lists worldwide than any other destination. Aside from that, how is Tanzania represented in fiction?
One of the first things I discovered upon my arrival in Tanzania was that President Kikwete’s first name also happened to be Ndugu. Imagine that, right there on the poster at the airport! Was this the kid Jack Nicholson had written to in the movie? A few months later, I found the organizational chart of the ruling party here in Tanzania, the CCM, also known as the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Swahili for Revolutionary Party). Naturally, President Kikwete was at the top. Beyond that you had members of the cabinet, most of whom were also named Ndugu. Wow, I was thinking. So Ndugu is Tanzania’s answer to Mohamed or Jose, I thought. This was until I learned that ndugu is actually a Swahili word for brother or comrade, which is a common formal address in a socialist environment. So much for the president named Ndugu.
With the elections around the corner later this year, two things are already a given. One, Jakaya Kikwete (his actual name) is no longer available for another term in office. Not that it should matter, because the CCM still enjoys wide support throughout the country—around 75%, if we are to believe the latest polls. This support has decreased over the years but is still a more than comfortable absolute majority that should give CCM the presidency for years to come, barring any disaster or unforeseen alliances.
Yet how popular is CCM really? This is like the 75% support enjoyed by Engelbert Humperdinck or Barry Manilow, artists most likely to be featured on most popular playlists in hell. Yet somehow these guys have made millions of dollars and earned golden records. The same way CCM wins elections. CCM is a double edged sword.
The 75% percent support they enjoy in the polls is largely manufactured, if you ask most people here in Dar. The godfather, founder of CCM, and former president of this country, the late Julius Nyerere, supposedly claimed decades ago that he had created a monster and that the country was systematically destroying its own people.
Whether or not the CCM has turned into a Frankenstein that has turned on its own creator is not for me to say. That said, I wonder about that 75% support sometimes, especially in a country where corruption is rampant and condoned within certain government circles. The opposition, for one, has vowed to unite against the ruling CCP. How united they actually will be in the end remains to be seen, given their history of failure during what is now CCM’s 50 year rule.
Enter the journalists: one of the daily newspapers recently wrote that a watchdog group was going to publish the holdings of certain government officials, more precisely the money they allegedly have stowed away in Swiss banks. Add this to President Kikwete’s sacking of Land and Housing Minister Tibaijuka a couple of months ago for corruption, plus the infighting within CCM over Kikwete’s successor, and the next election might not be that cut and dried.
Stay tuned. In the end, you might just find many more ndugus about to receive some long ranting letters, courtesy of their constituents.
