Of Magufuli and ‘Big Man’ syndrome

Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi bear a cunning resemblance in their style of running office.

I watched in horror and bemusement a film going round on social media as Mr Magufuli stomped into Julius Nyerere International Airport and raged at the state of things. Two of the security scanners at the airport were malfunctioning in this age of terrorism and narcotics. And Mr Magufuli’s search for answers is nothing any civil servant looks forward to.

In deference, the visibly rattled airport officials compounded their predicament by talking out of turns. Obviously because they were caught off-guard by the unannounced visit, none of them was sure when the scanners stopped working or who and when a report had been made to the Executives about the potentially grave breach of security. It was nearly comical were it not a serious matter.

I also watched as Dr Matiang’i riled at a headmaster in Kitui County who between inaudible mumbles couldn’t explain how the school had used government funds in a school where students shared text books between eight of them; a travesty if you asked me. To make matters worse, the teacher had even reported for work late on a day the minister was making an impromptu visit. Many of us will admire the energy these two are getting on with their work. The #whatwouldmagufulido (I am not sure about a #whatwouldmatiang’ido) has been trending for a while now.

In a society where the behemoth called civil service is known more for its lethargy, Mr Magufuli and Dr Matiang’i ‘s zeal offers a fresh breath of air. It resonates well with taxpayers inured to a state of little or no service despite paying taxes. Recall the age of the coat and the chair? If only more ministers and presidents did the same, how would life be? Many ask, yet therein lies the problem.

Evidently, the stunts are working, witness the stampede on social media to congratulate the leaders. Whether it is all showmanship is neither here not there. But several questions come into mind when you consider these acts: was Jacob Kaimenyi (his senior at the University of Nairobi) a worse off minister than Dr Matiang’i; or was Jakaya Kikwete an ineffectual leader than the hands-on Mr Magufuli who incidentally worked in Mr Kikwete’s Cabinet?

But the moral is that the Mr Magufuli and Dr Mating’i’s style is nothing close to the theatrics literature students came across in Nikolai Gogol’s famed novel ‘The Government Inspector’. In fact, it speaks about what holds us back as a people: the culture of average that involves putting in the bare minimum; a culture where effort is inversely proportional to pay. Like in Soviet Russia, most of our civil servants at most times, pretend to work and get paid handsomely. Sadly, this culture ensures that we make do with mediocrity because we know we cannot be held to account for the average effort.

There is something sinister about our culture because to work, we must have a man standing behind our back with a whip. See, even on the road. Travelling in a matatu sometime back, I wondered why the matatus moving in the opposite direction would flash at us and with their hands; the driver would pass a message to our driver.

To me, it meant nothing much. Then suddenly, the driver motioned all of us to tie our seat belts. Forget that a few of us had travelled half the journey without belting up. There was no need explaining things or repeating a second time, for we all looked for the dirty belts amid the human bodies squeezed into the contraption. For those whose tongue and buckle couldn’t match, they furtively held it together as the police officer stole glances at the occupants of the vehicle and walked to the side of the road for that “crucial encounter” between a police officer and the tout.

So the presence of Traffic Police officers in the next stretch was motivation for the passengers to strap themselves. It is atrocious that it had nothing to do with the proven fact that it saves lives in case of an accident. Back to Mr Magufuli and Dr Matiang’i, assuming that each of them visited every public office and public school, how much time will they have for their core role, which is policy formulation?

And where will it end? The other worry is that such a style then risks inviting road-side declarations that know no method and structure. And then the Big Man Syndrome that is to a large extent, the reason for some of Africa’s dubious history.

For example, it would help if Mr Magufuli ensured that structures and institutions that enhance governance and democracy flourished rather than waylay public officials at pains to justify what they do. What happened when he left the airport? Or what happened when Dr Matiang’i left the school in Kitui?

The answer to impunity and the abuse of office is to invest in institutions that guarantee democracy and governance. It will take time, but it is worth it. Kenya’s hope to break away from the Big Man Syndrome was in the 2010 Constitution.

The clamour to ring-fence key institutions like Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary and the IEBC is informed by the reality of the past. I leave it to you to decide whether that has worked in view of the current realities.