A CRITIQUE OF EJIOGU AMAKU’S REJECTION OF AFRICA’S COMMUNALISTIC ONTOLOGY.

Abstract

The question of the Africanness (or otherwise) of communalism is an intractable discourse in African Philosophy and Studies. This paper undertakes the simple task of carrying out a critique of Ejiogu Amaku’s sweeping rejection of the communalist ontological foundation of Africa. And in carrying out this critique, the paper helps to show: one, that Amaku’s understanding of Communalism is truncated and myopic; two, that the reasons given for his rejection of African communalism are confusing, contradictory and logically flawed; and three, that communalism is African because it is human. Employing the expository, hermeneutic and analytic methods, the paper concludes by presenting communalism as an ontological mode of being, not just for Africa but for the human species, using the analysis of two African philosophers, Chukwuemeka Nze and Chibudum Okolo.