At one point in history, charismatic leader Julius Kabarage Nyerere wanted Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Uganda to become one nation.
Nyerere started the campaign to have the four come together and join into one federal state.
By that time, Tanzania was into Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Tanzania had up to 12 million people and Zanzibar around 300, 000 people.
The outspoken leader approached Kenya’s founding father Jomo Kenyatta and Uganda’s Milton Obote with the idea.
“I wanted us to come together. My aim was for Kenyatta to become the president of the federation government,” Nyerere once said during an interview.
He added: “My ambition was for Kenyatta to appoint me the permanent representative of the East Africa Federation at the United Nations.”
Kenyatta and Obote was however noncommittal on the proposal.
Zanzibar’s Sheikh Abeid Karume however bought into Nyerere’s overtures and agreed they form a federation.
He proposed they have a single government after coming together. That is how Tanzania came to be with Nyerere as the President and Karume the Vice President.
Had Kenyatta and Obote agreed to the proposal, we would today have been under one federal government.
Maybe this would have dealt a blow to tribalism which has become Kenya’s worst nightmare!