Yesterday, there was an opening ceremony for one of the major infrastructural projects in the country, the Morogoro road (Ubungo- Kibaha) expansion . The project is monumental for mainly one reason; it would help cut down the traffic coming in and out of Dar-es-salaam by a significant margin. Opposition party, MP of Kibamba Mr. Mnyika was invited, to what was supposed to be a rare bipartisan ceremony in the country.
Coming in, Mnyika was under intense pressure on how he was going to appease the opposition community, especially knowing that he would have been giving his remarks in front of president Magufuli. Many newspapers and social media sites contributed to the pressure on Munyika’s performance in front of the president. For instance, “Faceoff between Makonda and Mnyika in Morogoro road ceremony” was one of the newspaper’s heading coming into the opening ceremony. But being a politician, however, is also having the ability to thrive under such intense pressure.
Mnyika had two options on his table, which he could choose to address the public; to go after the administration and unload opposition frustrations to the president’s face or to take the high road and give a unified bipartisan speech. He chose the first option and let the president had it. As the result, he was hailed as hero to many political commentators and social media junkies. In fact, the clip of his speech was publicized by many social media sites and most likely seen by millions. Maria Sarung Tsehai, popular Tanzanian activist, wrote on her twitter page that, “the great communicator”, speaking of Mnyika,”yaani kwa heashima na tahadhima amerusha ngumi jab right, kasha, uppercut ikifuatiwa na left hook”. She describes how articulate and skillful Mnyika spoke of the president.
Personally, I would have taken a different approach. For the sake of the bigger picture, I would have totally stayed away from throwing cheap shots and jabs at the president in such a unifying bipartisan event, like the expansion of the road project which runs across the vast of his Kibamba constituency. What is at stake here, let’s face it, is finding a sustainable solution to the universal, chronic traffic problem facing the vast majority of Dar-es-salaam. The traffic problem in the country is not a CHADEMA problem or CCM problem; It is an everyday average citizen’s problem. So its solution shouldn’t be partisan. The basis of the opposition should not be to oppose everything the government does, good or bad, but rather try to find the common grounds to help develop the nation and its people.
Yes, there will be times when the opposition have to disagree with the ruling party, but in cases where it is for the good of the nation and the people, it is very important and mature for any politician to consider the people first before politics. In my opinion, this is where most of our opposition parties always get it wrong. They should be able to apply the carrots and sticks approach when it comes to the current administration’s performance. Give credit when the credit is due while reserving the right to fiercely oppose the bad and ugly when necessary.
Mnyika did neither do justice to himself nor his constituency by not acknowledging the importance of the project. It was a chance for him to show his people that he is better than the same old dirty and amateur politics that have plagued our country for such a long time. He would have been a giant simply by staying above the fray in his speech and by congratulating the current administration for initiating this major project. He could have taken his time to let the people that will be affected by this project know why this project was very important and beneficial for the region, whilst perhaps, pointing out a few issues that might have gone awry in the process.
If I were his speech writer, I would started with something along the lines of: “Mr. President, our opposition to your policies and some of the decisions you have taken in running your administration have been as clear, as day and night. However, today, I refuse to use this moment to voice out my opposition, especially in the face of the opening of this very important project, which is widely beneficial to the residents of my constituency and the city at large. On behalf of my constituency, I would like to thank you for putting this project together; however, overdue it is, to provide a solving solution to our traffic problem”.
This particular approach perhaps would have been unpopular to the many in the opposition community as well as certain people or audiences in social media. Also, would probably not win him YouTube contest. BUT, I am very certain that, it would have struck a chord to the majority of the constituency as well as middle of the road, reasonable Tanzanians, like many of us.
Dec, 20, 2018
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