Julius Nyerere was the rarest thing in African politics — a leader widely considered personally honest who nonetheless drove his country into economic catastrophe. The former schoolteacher led Tanzania to independence, implemented ujamaa — a program of forced collectivization he called "African socialism" — and voluntarily stepped down from power when the experiment failed. He remains the only African founding father to resign peacefully and acknowledge his own mistakes.

This episode traces Nyerere from his chieftain's household through the independence movement, the Arusha Declaration, the ujamaa disaster, and the voluntary resignation that distinguished him from every other African leader of his generation.

• Nyerere's education in Edinburgh and the teaching career that gave him the nickname Mwalimu (Teacher)
• The independ ...