Is there a controversy over the creation of the name Tanzania, which was given to the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, 61 years ago?
A Tanzanian of Asian descent, Mr. Iqbal Muhammad Dar (R.I.P.), called a press conference in Dar es Salaam in September 2003, when I was with the Daily News, to claim that he was the sole winner of a competition commissioned by the government in 1964 to find a better name for the newly formed union.
The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar was deemed too long. £10 (200/-) would be paid to the winning creator of the new name, which should be easy to pronounce and with hints of the names Tanganyika and Zanzibar, said the government advertisement in the Tanganyika Standard.
Like me, you might wonder why Mr. Iqbal lodged his claim nearly four decades after the competition. We found out that the claimant, who was born in Tanga in 1944, the son of Dr. Tufail Ahmad Dar, left the country with his family one year after the Union, to settle in Birmingham, England.
It also transpires that for about 10 years before he resurfaced to claim his record, he suffered a crippling illness that confined him to bed. That should knock down the query about time lapse.
However, our little research, whose findings were published on the front page of the Daily News on 29 September, 2003, showed that the name Tanzania was tendered by not one, not two, not three but 16 competitors in total.
This was announced by the President, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere himself at a brief press conference at State House in Dar es Salaam on 30 October, 1964. He did not name the 16 winners but he said they’d share the prize money, £10 (Shs 200), equally.
That worked to Shs 12.50 for each of the 16 participants, who tied. Not much exactly, considering the full amount was meant for one winner. The competition was conducted by a respected Select Committee, chaired by Mr. Oscar Kambona, then Minister for External Affairs, which submitted its recommendations to Mwalimu’s Cabinet for final decision.
It appears the sponsors only expected to get one winner. The emergence of 16 participants giving the same name that impressed the Committee was not anticipated and thus not covered by the rules.
What an oversight. One solution would’ve been to award the £10 to each of the winners and the nation would’ve budgeted £160 (Shs 3,000), but where’d that come from? We must accept that sharing the available amount was also an option.
In addition to the cash, each of the 16 winners was awarded a medal. It’s unfortunate that Mr. Iqbal passed on early this month, because he could help us to know why he claimed to be the sole winner.
My guess is that the awards were handed over separately, which I think, created ambiguity. The letter transmitting the medal simply said it was presented by the Ministry of Information and Tourism to the recipient ‘in recognition of the achievement of choosing (sic) the new name of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar namely Tanzania.’ No mention of sole or 16 winners.
I think government communication failed us for making such ambiguous statements and not listing names of the other recipients.
According to records, the competition attracted 1,534 entries from Tanzania and other African countries as well as Italy, Germany, Poland, China, Australia, Sweden, India, and Russia.
You wonder whether the entries from foreign countries were from foreign nationals, Tanzanians living there or both. Whatever the case, someone owes us an explanation: How was the name Tanzania created?
The writer is a Media and Communication Consultant. amkumbwa@ymail.com
