ABSTRACT

In the slavish imitation of an alien way of life, the African created in himself a kind of desire for western ideals, value and culture, and devaluing of things. African and thus confirmating the progress and success of the western process of dehumanization. As a result, the African has not been able to live authentically up to his cultural ideals and aspiration as African and as such, suffers alienation, identity and personal conflict. Therefore, to live authentically as Africans, in his cultural characteristic as being with, which is simply his tendency to stick together as a member of a family for self discovery and recovery, Nyerere postulates that the African must have nostalgia for traditional humanistic worldview which is expressed in Ujamaa the traditional African love for children, the family, for wholesome personal relations, community and hospitality, which gave meaning and purpose to traditional life and characterized the African as humanistic.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO STUDY

Philosophy seeks generally to reflect the sociopolitical situation of a given time. Sociopolitical situations raise many questions in the minds of people and thus give rise to reflection and philosophizing.1 Mans inhumanity to man, exploitation, alienation, racism, colonialism, neocolonialism and capitalism have destroyed African original socialistic mentality or African communalism to the point of extinction. This ugly situation continued until the first half of this century which saw the rise of nationalism in Africa.

Such scholars as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Leopold Senghor and Julius Nyerere having acquired higher education abroad returned home to fight against political and economic domination, and began national movements aimed at putting an end to colonialism in Africa. This was the beginning of the end of colonial exploitation in Africa.2 On gaining independence, African countries began to search for a socialpolitical system that is embodied in African traditional culture.

Nyerere chooses the word Ujamaa familyhood with the hope to create a selfsustaining classless society in Tanzania where everybody enjoys equal rights and shared equitably in the available resources, because for him, Africans have been misused by Europeans. We have been oppressed a great deal, we have been exploited a great deal, we have been disgraced a ...Get Complete Material.