Aspect of Nyerere's Political Philosophy: A Study in the Dynamics of African Political Thought

Abstract

Plato and Aristotle described a society's leader as naturally selected by Divine Providence. They call him a "Prince" or the "Philosopher King." These characterizations remotely size-up Tanzania's Julius Kambarage Nyerere whose rise to prominence is quite fascinating. A "King" he was not. A "Prince" that he was. His own people rendered him great respect and called him "Mwalimu, " the "philosopher, " the "thinker." The term "Mwalimu" ordinarily means "teacher" but when reverence is injected into it, it means "thinker" or "philosopher." Nyerere schooled in adulthood and became the first Tanganyikan to earn a Master of Arts degree. He accomplished the feat in 1952 at Edinburgh, Scotland. The five years he spent in colonial Britain were years of genuine universal nationalism. Pan-Africanism was in full swing since 1945 calling for self-determination for African peoples then under European imperialism and colonialism. And, following World War II and the formation of the United Nations in 1945, the flame of Tanganyika's nationalism was lit and Nyerere was its bearer. He led Tanganyika to independence by 1961 and to union with distabilized Zanzibar in 1964 to form the current Tanzania. Nyerere was at the helm in Tanzania for over two decades earning for himself and for his country international respectability and domestic tranquility.