In the 1970s and 80s, one of the most feted scholars in the mother continent was, obviously, none other than the globetrotting Prof. Ali Mazrui.
The Mombasa born scholar could be seen lecturing in some of the most prestigious universities and scholarly institutions in the US, UK, Europe and Africa.
Notwithstanding, he never missed a chance to deliver the same at the University of Dar es Salaam, whenever he was here. Then, be reminded, the university was a hotbed of revolutionary ideas. These ideas were encouraged by the then President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
It is for this reason that the university attracted, and collected, several renowned scholars from around the globe including; the likes of Dr Walter Rodney, the author of the ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’, he was from the Carribeans: Prof Dan Wadada Nabudere and Prof Mahmood Mamdani, from Uganda (and father of the current New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani); Prof Jonathan Dinman and Prof Goran Hyden from the US; Prof Ibrahim Hussein, from Tanzania and Dr Keorapetse Kgotsitsile from South Africa, just to mention a few.
But above all, Prof Mazrui had a love – hate relationship with Mwalimu Nyerere, whom he described, variously, as an intellectual ‘dictator’ or philosopher king.
He would wonder, loudly, how a poor country like Tanzania had a far reaching international influence, and how Nyerere was a darling of his poor people and other powerful leaders in the world, despite the poor economic situation obtaining in his country. ‘Tanzaphilia’, he christened this disease.
Therefore, whenever he was in Dar es Salaam, the university’s Nkrumah Hall would overflow with knowledge – – thirsty students and lecturers, all wanting to drink from the well of Mazrui’s scholarly knowledge and wit.
Apart from these public lectures, I mostly remember Prof Mazrui for his later scholarly documentary on the absurdity of the Africans – a dramatic and intellectual discourse on the ‘Africans Tripple Heritage.’ This was a tragic – comedy analysis of the bizarre social, political and economic landscape obtaining in the continent.
Years later I would remember Prof Mazrui’s insightful mind of the African tragedy, when I read about the death of a popular Cameroonian pastor, Franklin Ndifor.
Apparently, the pastor, popularly known as Prophet of the Kingship International Ministries Church, claimed that, through divine providence, he was able to cure Corona virus patients.
Hundreds of Covid-19 patients flocked to his church where the ‘Prophet’ would simply lay his hands on them, and ‘voila’, they would be cured. But it did not take long before the coronavirus caught up with him and he died of it.
His death was such that police had to use force to gain access to his residence in Douala, as several of his supporters blocked entrance, praying for his resurrection.
The supporters claimed that he was not dead, but he was rather on a spiritual retreat with God and he would return soon!
The latest tragic – comedy, among many others, to engulf Bongoland, is the current raging belief that if one touches a shoulder of a male, that male will immediately lose one’s private parts!
The belief has reached a stage whereby people have lost their lives for ‘allegedly disappearing’ private parts whose shoulders they touched. And a lot more have been jailed.
Amidst all this tragic – – comedy not a single person has been proven to lose one’s private parts.
Oh! How I wish Prof Mazrui was around to put a spana to these wild allegations!
