*Table of contents

*Geographical location of Africa and Nigeria in particular.

*Concept of an African personality

*Imperialism, post colonialism and some of the problems facing Africa

*Introduction

*Biography of the case study(Jomo Kenyatta )

*Jomo Kenyatta entry into politics

*Kenyetta legacies

*conclusion

*references

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF AFRICA

Africa , the second largest continent (after Asia ), covering about one-

fifth of the total land surface of Earth . The continent is bounded on the

west by the Atlantic Ocean , on the north by the Mediterranean Sea , on

the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the

mingling waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Africa’s total land area is approximately 11,724,000 square miles

(30,365,000 square km), and the continent measures about 5,000

miles (8,000 km) from north to south and about 4,600 miles (7,400

km) from east to west. Its northern extremity is Al-Ghīrān Point, near

Al-Abyaḍ Point (Cape Blanc), Tunisia; its southern extremity is Cape

Agulhas , South Africa; its farthest point east is Xaafuun (Hafun) Point,

near Cape Gwardafuy (Guardafui), Somalia; and its western extremity is

Almadi Point (Pointe des Almadies), on Cape Verde (Cap Vert),

Senegal. In the northeast, Africa was joined to Asia by the Sinai

Peninsula until the construction of the Suez Canal . Paradoxically, the

coastline of Africa—18,950 miles (30,500 km) in length—is shorter

than that of Europe, because there are few inlets and few large bays or

gulfs.

Off the coasts of Africa a number of islands are associated with the

continent. Of these Madagascar , one of the largest islands in the

world, is the most significant. Other, smaller islands include the

Seychelles , Socotra, and other islands to the east; the Comoros ,

Mauritius, Réunion , and other islands to the southeast; Ascension , St.

Helena, and Tristan da Cunha to the southwest; Cape Verde , the

Bijagós Islands, Bioko , and São Tomé and Príncipe to the west; and the

Azores and the Madeira and Canary islands to the northwest.

The continent is cut almost equally in two by the Equator , so that most

of Africa lies within the tropical region, bounded on the north by the

Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn . Because

of the bulge formed by western Africa, the greater part of Africa’s

territory lies north of the Equator. Africa is crossed from north to south

by the prime meridian (0° longitude), which passes a short distance to

the east of Accra , Ghana.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF KENYA

Kenya, country in East Africa famed for its scenic landscapes and vast

wildlife preserves. Its Indian Ocean coast provided historically important

ports by which goods from Arabian and Asian traders have entered the

continent for many centuries. Along that coast, which holds some of

the finest beaches in Africa, are predominantly Muslim Swahili cities

such as Mombasa , a historic centre that has contributed much to the

musical and culinary heritage of the country. Inland are populous

highlands famed for both their tea plantations, an economic staple

during the British colonial era, and their variety of animal species,

including lions, elephants, cheetahs, rhinoceroses , and hippopotamuses.

Kenya’s western provinces, marked by lakes and rivers, are forested,

while a small portion of the north is desert and semidesert. The

country’s diverse wildlife and panoramic geography draw large

numbers of European and North American visitors, and tourism is an

important contributor to Kenya’s economy, and the capital city of Kenya is Nairobi.

THE CONCEPT OF AFRICAN PERSONALITY

The concept of African personality generally refers to

manifestation of cultural uniqueness among Africans as reflected in

their behavior, social norms, customs, values, beliefs, religious zeal,

attitude, explanations of the cosmos and the supernatural, social

and political systems historically or in contemporary times.

The concept of the African personality has been addressed by many

past and contemporary Africans and Afro-Americans. It has been

defined differently when used to designate all the black people with
an African heritage; mainly those of the Caribbean island and the

United states of America. Let us examine a few of these definitions.

Some of which do not precisely define the African personality but

merely seek to describe and explain the personality and cultural

uniqueness of Africans.

Possible “psychology is not the appropriate word, but I do believe

that there is distinctively African way to looking at things of

problem solving and indeed of thinking we have our own logic

system which makes sense to us, however confusing it might be to

the westerner. If we were from my own observation to try to

summarize the difference between African and western psychology

and I would say that the westerner has a problem solving mind

whilst the African has a situation experiencing mind.

In the words of D. Chisiza

There is a tendency in the west, whether the westerners themselves

know it or not, for people to assume that man lives to work. We

believe that man works to live. This view of life give rise to our high

preference for leisure. With us, life has always meant the pursuit of

happiness rather than the pursuit of beauty or truth. We pursue

happiness by rejecting isolationism, individualism negative

emotions, and tension on the one hand; and by encouraging

positing emotions and habitual relaxation and by restraining our

desire on the other.

The argument about the “African personality” arises mainly from

two schools of though. One is the western and western – oriented

scholars who express the view that the African does not exhibit

western traits of though and culture because he is not yet civilized.

Therefore, they believe what is needed is to provide him with

western knowledge and culture so that eventually he will become

like the westerner.

IMPERIALISM, POST COLONIALISM AND SOME PROBLEMS FACING AFRICA.

The policy of forcefully extending a nation's authority by territorial gain or by the establishment of

economic and political dominance over other nations. However,

From the mid-1900s to 1994, African states narrowly escaped imperialism

and gained independence. Due to conflicts during the Cold War,

tension between the USSR and the United States in Egypt, the
United States interfered on the Egyptian side. The United States did

this so the USSR wouldn’t get involved. The United States

interference increased their power in Africa. As a secondary result,

France and Britain’s power was decreased. This helped led to

African independence. Also, to challenge the USSR who was looking for allies in

Africa, the United States supported anti-communist independence

movements. During the Cold War, the United States was trying to

prevent the stop of communism and Soviet ways. The

USSR also helped independence movements. They did this by

sending military help and money. All of these events in the Cold War helped Africa gain

independence. In 1951, Libya, with support from the United

Nations, became the first independent African state. In the next

few years, countries such as Sudan and Tunisia followed, On April 27, 1994, apartheid ended in South

Africa when

Mandela was elected.

Although the Africans were greatly relieved to finally be free,

conflicts left over from the long-lasting colonial rule still affected

the African economic, political and social aspects. The economy of

post-colonial Africa was the worst conflict left by the Europeans. In the 1960s and 1970s, attempts were

made to

implement economic systems, such as socialism and capitalism. These attempts usually failed because

the

economy could not support them. Conflicts increased in the 1970s

when prices of African products decreased and debt increased.

Also in the 1970s, the Africans also greatly suffered from disease.

In this time period, a disease known as Ebola killed thousands of

people. More recently, the number of Africans affected by Aids has

greatly increased. Two thirds of the people who

die from HIV/Aids are African people. Along with a poor economy

and several diseases, Africa struggled, and still does today, with

food and water. The people faced illness due to the lack of clean

water available. Additionally, famines have occurred in 2010, in

the West African region and in 2011, in the Horn of Africa. For the African political aspects, colonial rule

was

so extensive that the Africans didn’t really know how to run

governments effectively. Most African states turned to military

dictatorships. In some cases, the military overthrew the

government example of such states is Nigeria . Dictatorships and authoritarian

governments were put into place to solve the lasting ethnic,

religious, and tribal conflicts but to know avail.

Introduction

Jomo Kenyatta is one of the most important figures in modern

Kenyan history one whose impact and legacy is being felt in and outside the shores of Kenya, Africa and
the world at large. He is known to be a peaceful man, a Christian and a freedom fighter of his people.
Little wonders that he became the country's first prime Minister and then the first ever president of the
Kenya Republic. While studying this great personality and all the immense knowledge that would be
acquired here would further prove that the study of post colonial African personality is more than a
biographical study of prominent African men and women.

Who Was Jomo Kenyatta?

In the United States, it's George Washington. For Mexico, Father

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. In India, Mahatma Gandhi . Most countries

that were once colonies of European empires have a few key figures

who they see as the founders of their modern nations. For the

nation of Kenya , that figure is Jomo Kenyatta .

Kenyatta was a leader in the Kenyan independence movement, a

strong supporter of a Kenyan government controlled by native

Africans, and the nation's first prime minister as well as its first

president. For Kenya, he was Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and

Paul Revere all rolled into one. To many Kenyans, he was Kenya.
Jomo Kenyatta

Early Life

Jomo Kenyatta was born Kamau Ngengi in what was then British

East Africa sometime in the mid 1890s. His tribe of Kikuyu people

did not keep track of birthdates in terms of calendar years, so the

exact date is unknown. He was ten before ever encountering the

European people of the British protectorate while at a Church of

Scotland mission for surgery.

As a young boy, Ngengi was fascinated with the idea of the world

beyond his village and later ran away from home, joined the mission

and received a basic education. He was baptized Johnstone Kamau

in 1914. It wasn't long before Kamau left the mission for the city of

Nairobi, one of many Kikuyu youth being drawn to the cities in that

time. In Nairobi, he adopted the name Kenyatta, the Kikuyu term for

a belt he wore, worked his way into a post on the town council,

married and started a family.

Entry into Politics

In Nairobi, Kenyatta was introduced to the East Africa Association , a

protest movement against the white, European government that had

recently formally transformed Kenya into a British colony and seized

a great amount of Kikuyu lands. Kenyatta became deeply involved

with the organization, later renamed the Kikuyu Central Association .

On behalf of the KCA, Kenyatta travelled to London in 1929 to

protest against British plans to essentially combine Kenya, Uganda,

and Tanganyika.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Kenyatta travelled, studied,

wrote, and became a leading figure in Kikuyu and African rights in

Kenya. He helped articulate the goals of the KCA to the British

people through editorials and lectures, he generated an academic

awareness of Kikuyu issues through his book Facing Mount Kenya ,

and he helped organize the fifth Pan-African Congress, chaired by

W.E.B. Du Bois, to encourage cooperation between black Africans

under white rule. In this time, he adopted the name Jomo, which

meant Burning Spear. In these years, Jomo Kenyatta was really born

as a major political figure.

Back in Kenya

Now, anyone who's studied any independence movement knows it

doesn't all go smoothly for the leaders. In 1946, Kenyatta came back

to Kenya as president of the Kenya African Union, an organization of

Kenyans fighting politically for independence. However, not everyone

fought along the same lines.

In 1952 a series of Kikuyu groups started a very violent uprising

against the British called the Mau Mau rebellion . Although Kenyatta

was not involved in this movement, he was arrested. Nevertheless,

in the 1950s and 1960s the world was changing. Britain was facing

major pressure to decolonize most of its remaining empire and

started preparing Kenya for self-rule. Kenyan nationalists formed

their own political party, the Kenya African National Union, and

elected Kenyatta the president, despite his still being imprisoned.

Kenyatta reassured the anxious nation by claiming that Europeans

should be allowed to live peacefully alongside Africans as equals,

and in 1961 he was released from prison. Finally, in 1962, Kenyatta

was invited to the London Conference to negotiate the constitutional

terms of Kenyan independence. On December 12, 1963, Kenya

celebrated its independence with Jomo Kenyatta as its prime

minister. That title was changed to president a year later

KENYETTA LEGACY

Jomo Kenyatta died in his sleep on 22 August 1978. Daniel arap Moi

took office as Kenya's second president, and pledged to continue

Kenyatta's good work - under a system he called Nyoyo , a Swahili

word for 'footsteps'.

Kenyatta's legacy, corruption notwithstanding, was a country which

had been stable both politically and economically. Kenyatta had also

maintained a friendly relationship with the West, despite his

treatment by the British as a suspected Mau Mau leader.

Along with his written testament to the culture and traditions of the

Kikuyu, Facing Mount Kenya , Kenyatta published, in 1968, a memoir

of reminiscences and speeches ”” Suffering Without Bitterness.

Notes

1 Kenyatta maintained he did not remember the year of his birth.

Many sources now cite 20 October 1891 as the correct date.

2 Kenyatta refers to his grandfather in his book Facing Mount Kenya

as a seer and a magician.

Conclusion

Haven seen from the above, Jomo Kenyatta is indeed an excellent and interesting personality that is also
worthy of study. Through this study,I attempt to examine the leadership style, trials and patterns in
response to political and socio Economic underdevelopment of the African states. Through his life we
have come to learn a great deal of the post colonial Africa and revolt or African resistance to colonial
rule and imperialism. He is seen as an African hero for his good works. Indeed the study of African
personalities in history is more than a biographical study of prominent African personalities.

References

Boddy-Evans, A. Jomo Kenyatta - Part 1: From Early Days to His

Political Awakening from About.com. Available at

www.africanhistory.about.com online. Accessed on 13 July 2015

Anderson, David. 2005. Histories of the Hanged: Britain’s Dirty War

and the End of Empire. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Barnett, Donald L., and Karari Njama. 1966. Mau Mau from Within:

Autobiography and Analysis of Kenya’s Peasant Revolt . New York:

Monthly Review Press.

Berman, Bruce, and John Lonsdale. 1992. Unhappy Valley: Conflict in

Kenya and Africa . London: James Currey; Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya;

Athens: Ohio University Press.

Buijtenhuijs, Rob. 1982. Essays on Mau Mau: Contributions to Mau

Mau Historiography . Leiden, Netherlands: African Studies Center.