Study Of Nyerere's Contribution To Tanzania's National Integration

There are two views on how to define Africa's ethnic body in our academic circle. One calls it tribe, and the other calls it nation. Actually, nation is the best choice to define it, either from the perspective of the developing stage of Africa's ethnic body, or from academic norm. African countries became independent one after another after the second world war. However, at the first beginning, most of the countries have not achieved the national integration, then, the country became the main driving force to promote national integration. National integration is to integrate nations of individuality into a whole with common feeling and distinction on the basis of respecting differences and accommodating diversities. National integration is different from national assimilation. National integration emphasizes the co-existence of ethnic bodies, the pursuit of unity of state power and national pattern and object to ethnic separation simultaneously. National assimilation refers to the social phenomenon or process that some nations' loss of their ethnic identity in the process of ethnic communication and acceptance of other nations' identity, and then, become an integral part of other nations. Theoretically, there are six stages: co-existence, contact, competition, conquest, compromise and aggregation, for different ethnic bodies to do through in order to achieve integration. However, actually, African countries have their own characteristics of national integration after their independence. The means of national integration is various, so that cultural, legal, political and religious means can be used.The independent Africa always suffers from the chaos of war. most of which are caused by conflicts between nations. These wars destroy the stability of the country, slow down the development of economy and threat people's rights to exist. So, in order to realize social stability, promote economic development and protect people'sinterests, national integration is very necessary.Tanzania faced the same problems as other African country during the early daysof independence, such as: there are more than 100 ethnic groups; the slowdown of socio-economic development; regional differences are significant. These problems become the potential elements that trigger ethnic conflicts. Therefore, it is necessary to promote national integration and national stability. Nyerere made a great contribution to Tanzania' national integration. Politically, he carried out ujamma movement. Culturally, he unified language, popularize education and made the region play an active role. He promoted the national integration by multi-angle and all-directional means. In that way, he integrated more than 100 nations in Tanzania so that Tanzania can be stable after its independence, which is the best explanation of Nyerere's national integration policy. His methods of national integration can inspire other African countries that face similar problems.