Despite having trained in Paris for two years, Addis may be was another turning point because it was a school of diplomacy in its own right, because it was where one learnt the art of diplomacy because of the interactions with the international diplomats.
This interaction broadened my scope and sharpened my skills in the diplomatic arena, however, after that stint I later went on secondment with the UNHCR.
At that time Salim Ahmed Salim was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and he got the nod to release me from President Nyerere.
Our paths with Benjamin Mkapa crossed in 1975, I had just returned from France and he was foreign minister and we worked very closely including going on several missions across Africa and beyond.
In those early days, he played a great role in sharpening my skills because he was a very adept and skillful diplomat himself, I was rather fortunate to have learnt so much from him at that early age.
And as we all know when you are young you tend to emulate what the elder brother is doing especially when it is positive.
In early 1995, I was stationed in Mozambique with the UN and Mr Mkapa came to Maputo by then he was minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, at that point Tanzania was preparing for the first ever elections since the return of multi-party elections.
In the conversation that ensued later after he was done with his assignment, I asked him to come home for dinner so that we can talk and plan for November. My main interest at the time was for him to go back to the foreign ministry to put things right because we believed that the ministry was not what it once was.
âOnce the elections are over, letâs hope the new president will give you back your ministry,â I told him.
Little did I know that he was also aspiring to run for the presidency of the United Republic of Tanzania, to me this was also an art of some kind by keeping certain things secret until the right moment when he could divulge.
But even after he had been nominated by his party (CCM) to become the flag bearer in the October General Election, he remained the calm and simple person that I had worked with for over two decades.
In my own personal assessment, I was indeed confident that he would make it in that election and even when I visited him, I had the guts to say it to him that from the look of things, he was going to be the next president.
After he was sworn-in as Tanzaniaâs third President, his focus was mainly on strengthening the economy which was making a transition into the market economy and as a result, he instituted many things that has kept Tanzania on her feet to date.
This was not a simple task, because to change the mindset from Ujamaa to liberalised economy required understanding and tact on how navigate the waves at the time. This was gigantic task!
