Is Magufuli speed causing insomnia in the opposition camp?

I knew it was not because of marking errors, a miracle or new teachers. Since Magufuli came to power, civil servants know they must deliver. Seven of the bottom performing schools were from Zanzibar. Magufuli effect does not cross the sea?

You must have heard of the headmaster who ran outside and picked a broom to sweep the school grounds when he heard President Magufuli was passing by. All classes had teachers and he was afraid he would be seen as doing nothing.

It is no longer business as usual. Tanzania public schools have the similar teachers as those in private schools. Supervision and strict work ethic was sorely lacking in public schools. Whenever government schools have performed poorly in the past, we have blamed everything except teachers.

Bad syllabus, lack of books and classrooms, low salaries, as if more money improves teaching intelligence. Indian PM Modi had this to say of JPM when he visited Tanzania in June, this year, that Magufuli has a vision for nation building that the PM shares of his native India.

You should have seen Narendra Modi beating drums in tandem with John Magufuli at the State House entrance. I do not remember any other president who managed make another head of state beat drums with him.

Inspiring and entertaining stuff. Dr Magufuli is the current chair of the five-member East African Community (EAC) which is unusual. Why? Because in 2016, the chairmanship should have rotated to another East African president.

In March 2015, President Kikwete took over the chair from Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. How come the rotating chair became stationary when JPM walked into the EAC? Perhaps East African leaders see something in Magufuli which some prominent Tanzanians do not.

They just decided to let Tanzania lead the community for the second year running so JPM can fight corruption and bring efficiency into the organisation. Two months after he took over, cost-cutting measures have been introduced in the EAC.

Action speaks volumes, always. When JPM made his maiden trip of his presidency outside of Tanzania, where did he go? To London? Washington? Tokyo? No. Not even Moscow.

Am not sure of his socialist or capitalist leanings but he chose Rwanda as his first port of call and Prezzo Kagame became his buddy almost overnight. MV Magufuli was on the move.

Before you could say Mary had long legs, Rwanda announced it would team up with Tanzania to have build railway link from Dar to Kigali. This was the coup de grace to the coalition of the willing whose standard gauge railway in the EAC’s northern corridor was already under construction in Kenya. A firm handshake, and the deal was done between the two men of few words.

Remember already Magufuli had engineered, whether by accident or design, a major upset in one of the most lucrative regional economic projects. How he managed to wrestle the meat from the jaws of a neighbouring lion I don’t know. But it happened during his first meeting of EAC leaders.

To some of us it was like a bolt in the blue sky when Prezzo Yoweri announced that the US $4 billion oil pipeline from Uganda would go through Tanzania to Tanga port instead of Mombasa in Kenya.

Whatever was written in Magufuli’s oil pipeline tender documents to Uganda must have been musical. In a flash, our neighbours kissed goodbye a Kshs 400 billion meal ticket. The Magufuli touch.

In July 2016, Kagame did a ‘revenge’ act by visiting Tanzania with his missus. The official picture showed Jeanette Kagame and Janeth Magufuli flanking the two powerhouse presidents of East Africa.

Since then, any young girl named Janete of any spelling dreams of marrying a future president of something or somewhere. That photo should be framed and prominently displayed in every Rwandese and Tanzanian embassy to show why success in regional cooperation requires a personal touch and top level networking.

The warm relations between Rwanda and Tanzania in 2016 are a far cry from the frosty atmosphere that prevailed before Magufuli came to power. How he did it might be a state secret but JPM surely must be hiding an ace up his presidential sleeve.

The Financial Times of London has had quite a few things to say about president JPM. In June, it featured an article saying Tanzania has at last found the leader who will awaken the ‘sleeping giant’ of East Africa.

According to the FT, Africa has seen its fair share of leaders who start out with excellent credentials and a good agenda but end up overstaying their terms to turn autocratic and ineffective.

So far the new Tanzanian president seems to do exactly what he says. The so-called sleeping giant is rich in gas and minerals and a large population.

The Magufuli crusade against corruption, waste of public resources, laziness, ghost workers and tax evasion is necessary to ensure ordinary Tanzanians benefit from the abundant national wealth.

Already Tanzania has recorded the fastest economic growth in Eastern Africa in 2016 according to the international monetary fund (IMF). At this rate, Tanzania will overtake Kenya as the regional economic powerhouse in the not-too-distant future.

What did Kagame say again when Magufuli visited Kigali?

This is a man I can work with. Why is the official political opposition struggling just to shake his hand? What are they scared of? I believe the government-in-opposition must join President Magufuli to fight corruption, waste of public money, laziness and inefficiency in the public sector in order for them to stay relevant.

The planned nationwide strike will not put food on the table for anybody. But it has created so much jitters in people used to peace and tranquillity that some religious leaders are praying for common sense to prevail.

The fight for personal and media freedom is relevant but it is not the top priority right now for the majority of Tanzanians.

tnaleo@hotmail.com ; cell:0713-246136