Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere's philosophy, contribution, and legacies

This article discusses Nyerere's African socialism (ujamaa), philosophy of education for total liberation of society, and philosophy of Pan-Africanism. The article argues that by actively using traditional African values and principles of communalism, collective production, egalitarian distribution, and universal obligation to work, Nyerere's philosophy of African socialism provided the socialist project with an indigenous African identity that was grounded in African historical memories and realities. Both the philosophy and the practice also presented the possibility of constructing socialism in non-European peripheral capitalist societies. A combination of hostile internal and external contradictions, past and present, however, made what was historically necessary historically impossible. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that Nyerere's philosophy of education challenged the relevance of colonial education and contributed to the global conversation about the pedagogy of liberation. In addition, the article maintains that Nyerere's philosophy of Pan-Africanism influenced Tanzania's unrivalled contribution to the total liberation of Africa.