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EXPLORING BELONGINGNESS AS A COMMON STRAND IN AFROMODALS 

 

Jude I. Onebunne, PhD 
Department of Philosophy 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 

juno,anyi@gmail, +2348112118464 

ORCID iD: 0000-0002-89956097 

 

ABSTRACT 

Belongingness remains the African metaphysics of to be while Afromodals are African ways 

of to be. Afromodals are African modalities of being and belongingness. They are the African 

models for communalistic existence and a communitarian mode of being and belongingness. 

Afromodals are the African metaphysicaal modalities of realities as well as the existential locus 

of interconnectedness of realities in the African worldview.  Being is always in one way or 

another. That is to say that being belongs. In African philosophy, especially in African 

metaphysics, there are different modalities of this associative nature of belonging, which is 

represented in the concept of afromodals. Afromodal is an African way of appreciating the 

modality of to be. Using the method of critical interpretation, the researcher finds out that 

belongingness is a common strand in the afromodals.  

Keywords: Belongingness, afromodal, being, strand. 

APPRECIATION OF AFROMODAL 

Onebunne (2025) is of the opinion that Afromodal is an African concept that encapsulates all 

the attitudinal relationships of valued love and every form of responseability of the other. 

Afromodal is a conceptual framework and a neologism which upholds the genesis of the core 

of African communal philosophies and critical modalities such as igwebuike, ubuntu, 

egbebereugobere, onyeaghananwanneya, birikambiri, kwetuism, njikoka, consciencism, 

ibuanyidanda andseveral others which share common philosophical threads and dealings 

within the African roots but increasingly and manifestly very inclusive of all traditions and 

languages. The Afromodals are the above-named concepts. Afromodal is phonetically pan-

African—not overly language-specific, but influenced by indigenous tongues. It instills a sense 

of warmth, connection, community, life, peace, and solidarity (Onebunne, 2025).  

Continuing Onebunne (2025) insists that Afromodals reflect the African sense of having shared 

walks, solidarity, cooperation, interdependence and mutual responsibility. These ideas describe 

subtly distinct facets of a shared conviction that human life is fundamentally relational, not 

individual. Afromodal, while not yet firmly established in scholarly literature, is a conceptual 

position or philosophical modality developed from African worldviews and epistemologies. It 

captures the interplay of African cultural principles, especially those that emphasize 

community, shared humanity and moral responsibility. Thus, afromodal thought serves as a 

perspective through which the shared nature of human behaviour is analyzed and venerated, 

mirroring African ideals of unity,  collaboration and accountability. Afromodals, therefore, 

have foundational elemental pillars such as relationality, solidarity, mutuality, interdependence 

and harmony, et cetera (Onebunne, 2025).  



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All in all, the afromodal is an African philosophical attitude towards life, of solidarity, 

deliberate cooperation and ethical responsibility. It embodies the African way of seeing human 

beings not as isolated units, but as axes in a network of moral, social and spiritual relations 

(Onebunne, 2025). Afromodal is all about the philosophy of African modality, that is, a 

philosophical modality that explores the various aspects of African values and beliefs, both in 

traditional and modern practice. Therefore, afromodal is a form of connectedness. Cambridge 

Dictionary (n.d.) defines connectedness as the state of being connected and having a close 

relationship with other things or people. It is the state of being joined or linked. It is a feeling 

of belonging to or having affinity with a particular person or group. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) 

defines being connected as an adjective to mean joined or linked together; having the parts or 

elements logically linked together, and having social, professional, or commercial 

relationships. As an adverb, it is connected, and as a noun, it is connectedness. Harper Collins 

maintains that in British English, connectedness is the state of being connected (HarperCollins, 

2019). The idea of connectedness leads to the view of the state of being connected. Afromodal 

is a form of connectedness of African modalities of beings and models of existential interaction. 

Afromodal is a form of modality.   Afromodals are the modalities of being or belonging in 

African-Igbo ontology. Onebunne (2025) maintains that afromdal is an existential modality 

that is humanocentric. Beyond the idea of Eurocentricism, afromodal is Afrocentric as well as 

cosmocentric because the conceptual idea it projects is within the bounds and range of positive 

human relationships and interaction. Afromodal is a human effort towards humanity’s unified 

common effort for survival and other existential operations as social human beings. This idea, 

therefore, makes afromodal a philosophical stance that confronts people’s worldview as well 

as their reality. More so, afromodal is an idea based on human endeavours to challenge man's 

inhumanity towards man through a collective familial communitarian common-front. Hence,  

it faces all onslaughts of inhumanity by virtue of communal humanism. Afromodal thus 

emerges as a philosophical and socio-ethical matrix based on African communal and or 

collective systems of epistemic thought, aimed at wrestling with the intractable fact of human 

sociality. Onebunne (2025) maintains that an afromdal is an existential modality that is 

humanocentric. The tapestry of afromodal is premised on a common front held by people who 

share a similar worldview and cultural solidarity in opposition to structures of dehumanization 

and deafricanization. By this, afromodals are in tandem with all expressive manners of African 

spirit born during the colonial era and more in the midst of painful post-colonial manifestations 

as well as the contemporary post-coloniality. As an African modality, afromodals are not only 

reactive but constructive by validating the humanity of Africans and liberating them as such. 

Afromodals succinctly become pathways towards healing from historical trauma via the 

rehumanization of Africans and their rehumanization. Based on these facts, afromodal is also 

a modality of African humanism (Onebunne, 2025).  

APPRECIATION OF BELONGINGNESS 

Etymologically, the word ‘belongingness’ is a compound word that can be broken down into 

constituents thus: be – (l) on (be on), be – (l) on going, be – long and belonging. It is equally 

an apprehension of belongingness as the African Metaphysics of to be. However, each epoch 

of human history has had things to decry, and issues and problems have demanded urgent 

attention and remedy, just like our own present epoch. Similarly, belongingness has been a 

fundamental aspect of African philosophical and communalist engagement. Belongingness, we 

must note, has been a fundamental cultural trait within the exigencies of African philosophy. 

In the words of Iroegbu (1994), “belongingness is an abstract term, an ontological one that 

specifies that a thing is, because it belongs”. Put another way, belongingness is the African 



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Metaphysics of to be. That is to say that being belongs and this belongingness is a fundamental 

condition for a thing to be considered a reality. To this end, being and belongingness are said 

to be ontological.  Reality, therefore, is better known and understood by the concept of 

belongingness. In other words, reality, or being, in its total manifestation, is a process involving 

belongingness. In this form of belongingness, reality is a given that needs continuous existential 

understanding and development. Without belongingness, there would be no discussion on 

being or to be. Whatever is part of reality belongs to something (Onebunne, 2019a).  

To understand belongingness, it must be understood in its relation to others.   Belongingness, 

however, overshadows these existential facts of operations. This notion of belongingness is 

clearly reflected in John Donne’s poem: “No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a 

piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am 

involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee”. 

Belongingness is a fundamental quality in understanding every existential reality. It identifies 

realities such. However, being’s nature is in belonging. Its role is in belonging. Its mode and 

operations are in belonging. Belongingness, as such, is the ontological value of being. Iroegbu 

(1994) opines, solidarity of belongingness in being and solidarity of being in belongingness, in 

the manner in which we exist and relate in the reality of being and belongingness thus: 

Belongingness holds that our existence as human beings, as well as our integral participation in 

the society in which we find ourselves, are to be defined by our being given the sense and 

substance of belonging.  Belongingness adequately describes the modality of any existing 

reality. Iroegbu (2004) tries to maintain that belongingness specifies that a thing is because it 

belongs. Belongingness can be conceived in various ways, either as participation or possession.  

In the hermeneutics of belongingness, the various contents or senses of the concept of 

belongingness are thus:  be-on, be ongoing, be-long, be-longing, belong. These four analytic 

contents, according to Iroegbu (1995), substantiate the various contents or senses of the concept 

of ‘belongingness’. Iroegbu calls them the sub-themes of belongingness as: 

 Be- (l)-on (Be on): This analytic theme would not be clearly understood if it is not explicated 

side by side with its contrary: “be off”. To be on is to escape not being off, or not to be off. 

This is because either one is on or one is off. To be is to be on. Being-on is being. Being is 

being-on. Being-off is not to be, to cease to be, to cease to exist, to be nothing. As Iroegbu 

(1995) stressed this issue “the belong” involved in belongingness is a turning-on of being 

as general and abstraction into being as concrete expressible entity.  

 Be-(l) On-Going: This is the second stage of the etymological understanding and 

hermeneutic appreciation of the word, belongingness. For Iroegbu (1995), “…it is a form 

of ongoing and the ongoingness of being means that somebody who belongs today cannot, 

all things being equal, be regarded as not belonging tomorrow, unless at the price of 

annihilation.”Be Ongoing is an assertion as well as continuity—a kind of ongoingness. In 

the words of Iroegbu (1995), ongoingness is an existential constituent of being-in-

belongingness. The ontological consequence is that being is being in so far as it is ongoing. 

 Be-Long: This is the third content of belongingness. It expresses a form of relationship and 

or relational presence. In belongingness, a being is fulfilled since to belong means to keep 

on, settle, abide or live long in being. To belong is to prolong the belongingness of the 

being. Through belonging, be-long or to belong relates reality to another. For Iroegbu 

(1995), to belong means: To stay, abide or live long. Long live belongingness. 

Belongingness lives long. Belongingness means that the subject of Uwa stays long in 

being. Here, time is brought in. Being is expressed in time and space. To be is to be long: 



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long in existence, long in goodness, long in prosperity, long in communion with others, 

while on-going may be open-ended, being-Long stretches it still further unto 

everlastingness. 

 Be-Longing: Belongingness entails a decision to stay on concretely. It is a desire to remain 

and continue its concrete existence. It brings in and stresses the personal element: the 

longing for life, for being. For Iroegbu (1995), “to belong is to be in the desire for life.  It 

is the will to march along in life.” Stressing further, he notes: the be-longingness, being-

in-longing, or the longing for continued existence explains the natural inclination for self-

preservation in all creatures. 

In sum, belongingness is ‘the reality of whatever is in so far as it is, being a part of, therefore 

belonging to reality (Uwa), (Iroegbu, 1995). Belongingness, however, is derived from the basic 

understanding of reality. It has a character of identification with and within a community. 

Moreover, in such a societal disposition, belongingness finds a powerful basis and sustenance. 

All these are seen in the developmental structures of African communalism. As Iroegbu 

reiterates, belongingness implies the basic commonness that makes a given African community 

as such. For Iroegbu (1995), belongingness constitutes the most important mode in which being 

expresses itself. Although he holds that “belongingness” is an abstract term, an ontological one 

that specifies that a thing is, because it belongs, he articulates the idea of belongingness within 

the context of the theory of communalism. Hence, the specific articulation and understanding 

of belongingness embodies various definitions and meanings: conceptual, psychological, 

existential and physiological. Moreover, what should be noted here is that communalism makes 

belongingness an indispensable conceptual starting point. Belongingness, according to Iroegbu 

(1995), therefore, is the synthesis of realities seen in the statement that to be is to belong. To 

belong is to be.Moreover, the principle of autonomy, which is often referred to as EBUB, that 

is, an afromodal: egbebereugobere, shows the communitarian aspect of the individual in the 

African community he or she belongs to. However, Okere (1983) sees EBUB as an African 

concept of justice and peace. To each one his due.Live and let live.Be and let be. According to 

Okere (1983) maintains that “…the rhetorical balance in these expressions, with their frequent 

nods to alliteration and repetition reflects the will to use balance, equity and fair measure to 

gauge and order human relations, to have them reconciled, balanced and fair, to base them on 

justice”, (p.86). For him, this aphorism, Egbe bere, Ugo bere. Nke si ibe ya ebela, nku kwaa 

ya, (Let the Kite perch, let the Eagle perch, whichever would not let the other perch should 

have his wings broken), espouses a philosophy of total fairness and champions Igbo ethics. 

Okere appreciates this aphorism more from a moral interest, as it controls social peace and 

harmony. However, he must be aware that concepts like justice and peace are community-

bound, that is, they are realizable in a community life and setting. It is, therefore, within the 

context of human interaction and relation as well as being-with-others that one can speak of 

and demand justice, peace and fair play. In a rigorous sense, as human beings belong, so they 

relate; hence, belongingness allows the need for harmony and respect. In the same view above, 

Okere submits thus: To talk of society is, of course, to talk of a plurality of persons, of groups, 

of interests, political, religious and economic interests. These interests are often misaligned and 

at cross purposes and need to be reconciled and harmonized. Okere further reiterates: “men 

relate to each other singly or in groups, and justice, Egbe bere Ugo bere, governs this 

relationship if each gives to the other his due. This is a normal and proper way people live 

together by letting each other be who they are and have what they have, not crossing 

boundaries, not stepping on toes; letting things be in their due and proper place, arranged, 



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aligned, beautiful. When this is the case, there is peace, udo, ndokwa, everything in its place, 

in order”.  

Iroegbu nevertheless went beyond understanding the referred aphorism, Egbe bere Ugo bere, 

only as an African concept of justice and peace, to seeing it as an ontological principle. 

According to him, “Egbe bere, Ugo bere as an ontological principle re-enacts the hermeneutic 

contents and existential significance of belongingness. It expresses the essence or Kpim of 

reality, what a being is, is its activity of perching. To perch is to be…”The Egbe and Ugo are 

only in potency until they perch. Perching is a part of belonging. Belonging is seen in the act 

of perching. Moreover, as for Iroegbu (1995), the act of perching is the process of acquiring 

being. To perch, therefore, is to belong; perching is belonging. To fully perch is to fully be. 

Belongingness, for Iroegbu then becomes an “arrangement of the fundamental structure of 

society (laws, duties, privileges, positions, jobs, offices, advantages and incumbents of the 

community), such that it incarnates and manifests the commonness of origin, of history and 

general destiny of all the members of the community, (Iroegbu, 1995). The concept of contact 

is a backdrop for a person’s realization of his belonging as a being immersed in his community. 

This is summarized in the saying; I am because we are. This is a communitarian view. 

Belongingness is, therefore, a fundamental quality in understanding whatever is. A relation 

defines everything; that is, a thing or being is in relation to something, or with an attribute of 

engaging in something. 

THE CONCEPT OF STRAND 

A strand is a single thin length of material that can be on its own or combined with other strands 

to form more complex structures. The notion is not limited to any single domain: In biology, 

DNA is a double helix of two complementary strands carrying genetic information. Similar 

strand-based structures can be seen with hair, strands of muscle fibres, and strands of 

connective tissues that provide tensile strength based on their arrangement. They twist strands 

of cotton, wool or synthetic fibres into thread or yarn, which is then woven into fabric. How 

these strands are arranged gives the material its properties. Strands manifest as wires in electric 

systems in physics and engineering, conducting current or data. Therefore, rope is a strand of 

strands twisted together and is stronger than any element alone. Strands, conceptually, also 

stand for related things in narratives or arguments- a plot thread that runs through a book or 

film, for instance, is known as a narrative strand. Ridges can correspond to singular paths or 

chains of causation within complex systems. Strand holds a profound critical duality- both one 

and many, both singular and a feature of greater wholes. This paradox reflects deep 

philosophical tensions between individuality and collectivity, autonomy and interdependence. 

 Strand itself is a dependent origination, manifesting itself through strand-based structures—

nothing exists in and of itself, all phenomena arise from a relationship to each other. The 

strength of a rope comes not from its strands but rather from their interweaving arrangement. 

Moreover, most powerfully of all, strands manifest the philosophical tenet that inextricable 

systems emerge from simple pieces in relationship, suggesting that connection itself might be 

the central creative principle of the universe. Thus, Heraclitus could find an expression of the 

logos in strands, that is, the physical embodiment of logos, the order connecting discrete 

elements. Strands are made visible by their haptic connection, suggesting that separateness is 

what we are stripped down to, but often proves illusory. In the same way, from an existentialist 

standpoint, strands represent our radical isolation and yet unavoidable interdependence. Like 

Sartre’s idea of being condemned to freedom, each filament coexists intact while being affected 

by and affecting all others. Strands also shed light on epistemological questions about 



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relationships between parts and wholes. Strand has the same conceptual meaning as stream. 

Stream according to Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) is a ray of light, a prevailing attitude or group 

and a dominant influence or line of development 

Beyond other lexical meanings, a stream is a focused sequence of learning in a curriculum that 

meets the interests of the student, whether it be career goals or academic goals. It provides 

opportunities for specialization by combining subjects together into pathways, such as science, 

arts, or commerce. Streams allow for an education more carefully tailored to learners’ strengths 

and aspirations, developing depth of knowledge and skill in specific areas. This method 

improves feasibility, engagement, and readiness for postsecondary education or employment. 

The stream system accommodates individualized learning in a meaningful and unified context 

while upholding a commitment to a shared body of general knowledge and learning across the 

disciplines. The essential concept of stream is a curated sequence of learning, arranged in a 

way that best serves students based on their interests, academic pursuits, or career aspirations, 

all of which align within the same curriculum. It enables students to pursue a more streamlined 

curriculum, allowing them to take subjects in streams with specific subjects grouped together; 

for instance, science, arts, or commerce. Streams can help structure education around learners’ 

strengths and interests, allowing for depth of knowledge and skills to be developed in targeted 

areas. Such an approach strengthens relevance, motivation, and readiness for post-secondary 

education or the world of work. The stream system organizes learning into coherent tracks, 

supporting personalized and purposeful education, all while ensuring a broad base of general 

knowledge in all disciplines.  Streams and strands, therefore, are used in the above contexts to 

show the modal relationship of belongingness in afromodals. 

THE STRAND OF BELONGINGNESS IN AFROMODALS  

The afromodals are: igwebuike, ubuntu, egbebereugobere, onyeaghananwanneya, birikambiri, 

kwetuism and ibuanyidanda et cetera. Strand, as in stream, connotes a single thin idea running 

through a conglomerate of related ideas. It denotes a commonness of uniquely related views. 

Furthermore, in our context, belongingness is a labyrinth running through and across all the 

afromodals depicting interconnected concepts that are of African models and origin. This view 

is Afrocentric. Belongingness as a strand runs through the afromodals as it is located within 

the operations of the afromodals. Consequently, belongingness is expressed more within the 

context of basic community living and communal interaction.  

Belongingness, as a strand in afromodals, emphasizes communal interconnectedness and 

identity within African philosophical thought systems. It reflects the relational ontology 

prevalent in African cultures, where the individual exists through and with others (Mbiti, 1969). 

Afromodals highlight the modalities of being rooted in collective existence, reinforcing that 

personhood is achieved through social harmony and mutual recognition (Ikuenobe, 2006). 

Belongingness, therefore, embodies the lived experiences of inclusion, mutual care, and 

cultural embeddedness that shape educational and social practices. It offers an epistemic lens 

through which African identity is not only affirmed but dynamically cultivated within 

community contexts (Gyekye, 1997).  

Belongingness is the human demand to be an accepted member of a group.  It illuminates how 

interconnectedness fundamentally shapes African thoughts and worldview. Belongingness, 

therefore, is an Afrocentric model of approach to communal interaction and existence. From 

an African perspective, the philosophical traditions articulated in European binders’ stress 

communal identity and social harmony over the emphasis of individualism found in Western 



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philosophy. This is perfectly captured within Mbiti’s famous dictum, I am because we are, and 

since we are, therefore I am (Mbiti, 1969). This ontological principle situates the self as 

fundamentally relational. This view is further developed by Ifeanyi Menkiti (1984), who notes 

that "It is the community which defines the person as person, not some isolated static quality 

of rationality, will, or memory" (p. 172). For Menkiti,  one becomes a whole person only 

through integration in the community. In traditional African societies, the sociological structure 

strengthens feelings of belongingness with the extended family, age-grades and communal rites 

of passage ceremonies. Meyer Fortes notes that the irreducible component of social life in 

varied African societies is constituted by kinship bonds (Fortes, 1969). More recent studies 

validate these trends. Oppong’s (2006) multi-country study of social support networks in sub-

Saharan Africa found that “extended kinship networks continue to serve as the primary social 

safety net and source of identity even amid rapid urbanization” (p. 89).   

 Belongingness, as a thread in Afromodals, invokes the connectedness of belonging to one 

another through identity-related concepts in African philosophy. It embodies the relational 

ontology characteristic of African cultures in which an individual is through and with others 

(Mbiti, 1969). Afromodals emphasize the modalities of being grounded in collective existence, 

reiterating that personhood is realized within social harmony and mutual acknowledgment 

(Onebunne, 2025; Ikuenobe, 2006). Belongingness, then, reflects the lived experiences of the 

inclusion, mutual care and cultural embeddedness that influence educational and social 

practices. It provides an epistemic perspective in which African identity is both confirmed and 

actively developed in the context of community (Gyekye, 1997). Belongingness is, therefore, 

stranded or streamed in all the afromodals like igwebuike, ubuntu, egbebereugobere, 

onyeaghananwanneya, birikambiri, kwetuism, negritude, ibuanyidanda, consciencism or 

Nkrumahism and njikoka, et cetera. 

Belongingness in Igwebuike 

Belongingness as a strand in Igwebuike, an Igbo-African philosophical framework meaning 

"there is strength in unity", captures the essence of our being together as an identity. It confirms 

that the individual is not an isolated being adventuring as a solitary stranger into a strange world 

of objects. However, it is instead embedded in a network of relationships, in which personhood 

is actualized through interconnected participation (Kanu, 2015). Igwebuike argues that 

belonging is being in solidarity, it is providing and drawing strength from the group. This 

interconnectedness nurtures a moral responsibility to others and thus enhances peace, 

interdependence, and shared responsibility (Kanu, 2016). At the bottom line, belongingness is 

ontological and epistemological. It organizes how knowledge is both acquired and lived in the 

space of acquaintance. It goes beyond physical space, reaching into cultural and spiritual 

dimensions as well, situating identity within the values and experiences that bind a group 

together (Edeh, 1985). Igwebuike thus renders belongingness not only a social construct, but a 

foundational axiom of African metaphysics. 

 

Belongingness in Ubuntu 

Belongingness in Ubuntu (a Southern African philosophy meaning “I am because we are”) is 

foundational to understanding personhood and community. It argues that human identity is not 

formed in isolation, but emerges in the context of relationships and shared humanity (Mbiti, 

1969; Tutu, 1999). In Ubuntu, belongingness means being embedded in a web of mutual 

respect, empathy and care. It challenges the neoliberal perspective that the well-being of each 

individual is independent of others, which is a view that reinforces individualism and 

exclusivity (Ramose, 2002). Within this framework, belongingness constitutes a right and a 



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responsibility: one belongs when one enhances the community through community and through 

affirming others’ dignity. The essence of Ubuntu is in this ethics of care and interdependence, 

which embodies a holistic worldview, whereby belongingness is manifested as an experience 

of unity, trust and shared purpose, which is central to social cohesion, education and 

governance in African societies (Letseka, 2012). 

 

Belongingness in Egbebereugobere 

Egbebereugobere, an Igbo philosophical dictum that translates to “live and let live captures 

the disposition of coexistence, goodwill and mutual respect. Within this framework, 

belongingness symbolizes a communal ethic and paradigm of being where individuals are 

valued not in isolation but by virtue of their capacity to accommodate and support other 

members of the community (Edeh, 1985). Moreover, it generates inclusivity — the acceptance 

of different identities, opinions, and roles in a shared social arena. As articulated in 

egbebereugobere, belongingness is maintained through reciprocity or peaceful coexistence, 

which highlights that the community thrives when each individual makes way for others to 

thrive (Nwala, 1985). It promotes social harmony and guarantees that no person is excluded 

or marginalized. Thus, belongingness is not just passive presence but an active, moral 

commitment to one another’s well-being, equity,  and upliftment, echoing with rich sound in 

African educational, political and cultural systems dominated by collective wellbeing (Iroegbu, 

1995). 

 

Belongingness in Onyeaghananwanneya 

Moreover, Onyeaghananwanneya, an Igbo saying that means “let no one abandon their 

sibling,” reflects a deep ethic of solidarity and collective responsibility. Belongingness in this 

philosophical vein stems from kinship, mutual care and a duty to pull others up as one gets 

ahead. This culture embodies an integrated cosmology in which no individual achievement is 

fulfilled outside the context of family wellness (Iroegbu, 1995). As Edeh (1985) opined, in 

onyeaghananwanneya, belongingness means that you are not allowed to abandon others or 

marginalize them in your community life; hence, it functions as a duty and empathy within 

communal life (cf Sorrell, 2020). This principle fosters social justice through the mutual 

sharing of resources,  opportunities, and emotional support, a concept that underpins the sense 

of community and is a trait vital in African communities. It is understood here that biological 

ties do not matter, that anyone could be part of the community; thus, togetherness and 

communalism become moral obligations in public and private life (Nwala, 1985). It is a 

philosophy that is lived, and it has profoundly influenced African education, governance,  and 

cultural identity. 

 

Belongingness in Birikambiri 

Birikambiri, an Igbo saying that means let us remain or even more: live and let me live, 

emphasizes the importance of co-survival and interdependence. This aspect of belongingness 

speaks more to maintaining and preserving relationships, and staying together as one, 

particularly during tough times. It emphasizes that members of the community have a 

responsibility toward each other, hence none should be lost or left behind in the community 

(Iroegbu, 1995). In birikambiri, belongingness means intentionally showing up for others and 

affirming their humanity and their worth as people. This creates and influences resilience and 

togetherness, which claims that the strength of the people lies in enduring bonds and collective 

responsibility (Nwala, 1985). It repels isolation and propels a model of coexistence in which 

individuals are morally bound to make sure each other thrives and survives. A strand of African 



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communalism, birikambiri frames belongingness as a social condition but also as an ethical act 

that is fundamental to African education, leadership and cultural identity (Edeh, 1985). 

 

Belongingness in Kwetuism   

Kwetuism, as a word from kwetu, is derived from the local Swahili dialect and means “our 

home”. Kwetuism is a philosophical concept built around rootedness, a sense of communal 

identity, and the importance of place in African thought. Community is kwetuism; a profound 

spiritual attachment to land, ancestors, and fellow members, where ontological identity finds 

its place in a collective cultural and historical space (Nyerere, 1968). It expresses the idea that 

one’s identity is incomplete without acknowledgment of one’s roots and engagement in 

communal life. In this paradigm, belongingness comes with responsibility, reciprocity and 

intergenerational continuity—everyone has a role that they play in the preservation of the 

communal balance and evolution (Mbiti, 1969). Kwetuism rejects alienation and insists that 

genuine belongingness happens in the sharing of the values, memories and dreams of one’s 

people. It, therefore, influences African education, ethics and governance by rooting human 

dignity in communal rootedness and solidarity (Ramose, 2002). 

 

Belongingness in Ibuanyidanda  

Ibuanyidanda is an Igbo-African philosophical framework of purpose, meaning given by 

Innocent Asouzu, which states “no load is insurmountable for collective effort.” Ibuanyidanda 

creates a sense of belongingness through complementary relationships and communal synergy 

by accepting each singularity as an essential component of the whole (Asouzu, 2004). It tells 

us that human beings realize our wholeness not alone but in interdependence with one another. 

By this perspective, belongingness is thus a functional and ethical requisite—everyone belongs 

as a meaningful participant in common enterprises, transcending limits in and through 

cooperation (Asouzu, 2007). It encourages diverse thought for a better community. 

Ibuanyidanda, as belongingness, has ontological implications as it is an ontological reflection 

of the dynamic oneness of being in its communal nature as Africans live their reality. It 

promotes African education, leadership, and development through holistic engagement, 

equality, and the reinforcement of those mutually esteemed among them. 

 

Belongingness as a Strand in Ujamaa 

Belongingness is central to Ujamaa, Julius Nyerere’s African socialism, which reimagined 

nationhood through kinship-based communalism. Rooted in the Swahili term for "familyhood," 

Ujamaa emphasized that individuals exist as part of an interdependent whole (Nyerere, 1968). 

Belongingness manifests in the shared labour systems, collective ownership of land, and 

village-based life that reinforces mutual responsibility. Nyerere argued that African society 

must “recognize the inherent dignity and equality of all” within a communal ethic (Nyerere, 

1968). This strand affirms identity through active participation in the community, where each 

person's worth is derived from their contribution to collective wellbeing (Shivji, 2009). Thus, 

Ujamaa’s belongingness is not merely social inclusion, but ontological, anchoring it in 

relational solidarity. 

Belongingness as a Strand in Negritude 

In Negritude (championing the fact that black matters), belongingness is articulated through a 

reclamation of Black identity and a collective African consciousness. Founded by poets and 

intellectuals like Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor, Negritude emphasized solidarity 

among peoples of African descent, resisting colonial alienation by affirming shared cultural, 

historical, and emotional ties (Césaire, 2000). Senghor described Negritude as “the sum total 



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of the values of the civilization of the African world” (Senghor, 1965), where belongingness is 

not geographical but spiritual and cultural. This strand fosters a sense of homecoming for 

diasporic Africans through language, rhythm and ancestral memory, positioning blackness as 

a unifying ontology (Wilder, 2005). Belongingness in Negritude thus transcends borders, 

nurturing identity through poetic resistance and cultural affirmation. 

Belongingness as a Strand in Consciencism or Nkrumahism  

In Consciencism, belongingness is conceptualized as the ethical and ideological unity 

necessary for post-colonial African identity and development. Kwame Nkrumah proposed that 

Africa’s liberation requires a synthesis of traditional African values, Islamic heritage, and 

Western influence into a cohesive philosophical framework (Nkrumah, 1964). Belongingness 

emerges through this ideological integration, ensuring individuals see themselves as part of a 

historical continuum and collective destiny. Nkrumah emphasized that a “philosophical 

conscience” is essential for forging national solidarity and resisting neocolonial fragmentation 

(Nkrumah, 1964). By rooting identity in communal consciousness rather than imposed 

divisions, Consciencism affirms belongingness as both a political and metaphysical stance, 

where being is validated through commitment to collective emancipation and socio-economic 

justice (Wiredu, 1998). Thus, belongingness in Consciencism is transformative: it binds 

personal identity to Africa’s holistic liberation. 

Belongingness as a Strand in Njikoka  

Belongingness is an important strand in Njikoka, the Igbo-African idea of complementarity 

initiated by Innocent Asouzu. Njikoka, or "unity-in-diversity" or "integration," posits that all 

beings are interdependent and find meaning only through their relations with others (Asouzu, 

2004). Within this theoretical framework, belongingness is not just social inclusion, it is an 

ontological imperative, where everything that exists makes up a complementary web where 

nothing is sufficient unto itself. The essence of Asouzu's claim that "to be is to be in mutual 

complementary relationship" (Asouzu, 2007) is that what it means to be human comes forth 

from this interdependence. In Njikoka, however, belongingness is also an ethical commitment 

to recognize and affirm others as necessary parts of one’s flourishing. It helps us reject the 

exclusivity and binary of worldviews and cultivates a way of being that moves through 

principles of harmony and relationality in thought and action. The Ibuanyidanda maxim: “No 

task is insurmountable when the relevant missing links are harmoniously integrated” (Asouzu, 

2007) captures this principle. And so, Njikoka re-configures belongingness as both an 

existential condition and a moral imperative, necessary for authentic human cohabitation. 

BELONGINGNESS AS BEING-WITH IN THE AFROMODALS 

Belongingness is in line with the concept of being-with, which centers on relational existence 

as the foundation of personhood. Drawing from both African communal ontology and 

Heideggerian existentialism, Being-With (Mitsein) emphasizes that human beings are always 

already in relation with others (Heidegger, 1962). In African philosophy, this is echoed in the 

idea that “a person is a person through other persons” (Mbiti, 1969). Belongingness, therefore, 

is not a secondary condition but the ontological ground of existence. It manifests in mutual 

recognition, co-presence, and interdependence within the community. The African mode of 

being-with reflects the African-modals-lived ethics where identity is co-constituted through 

shared humanity. Thus, belongingness is the essential mode of being, where the self is 

incomplete without the other, and existence is a web of co-belonging that affirms dignity, 

responsibility, and social harmony. Equally, in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, 

belongingness is embedded in the embodied, intersubjective nature of being-with. He argues 

that human existence is fundamentally relational, grounded in the body’s openness to others 



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and the world (Merleau-Ponty, 1962). Belongingness arises through inter-corporeality, the 

mutual, bodily recognition that we exist with and through others. This relationality is not 

abstract but lived, as our perceptions, gestures, and expressions are shaped by and directed 

toward others (Merleau-Ponty, 1968). Belonging, then, is not a fixed identity but a dynamic 

process of co-existence, where self and other intertwine in a shared lifeworld. It implies a pre-

reflective communion with others, making sociality a condition of being. As Diprose (2002) 

notes, for Merleau-Ponty, subjectivity is always already given with others, making 

belongingness an ontological structure of human existence. 

In sum, belongingness remains the sole strand that runs through the afromdals: Igwebuike, 

Ubuntu, Egbebereugobere, Onyeaghananwanneya, Birikambiri, Kwetuism, Ibuanyidanda, 

ujamaa, negritude, consciencism, et cetera. Belongingness as a strand is the LCM in all the 

conceptual understanding of the afromodals as modalities in African existentialism. 

Belongingness, which, similar to indigenist sentiments, emphasizes the wholeness of the 

African existentials. It is a relational ontology - a way of being that is dependent on the other 

relational ontologies within the African context, the individual exists through and with others. 

Afromodals emphasize modalities of rootedness in collective existence, reaffirming that 

personhood is relationally obtained through social harmony and mutual recognition. Thus, 

belongingness is the lived practice of inclusion, inter-care and cultural embeddedness that 

coordinates education and sociology. It provides an epistemic angle through which African 

identity is not just recognized but actively constructed in communal contexts. Afromodals are 

of African origin, specifying the continent's communal spirit of relationship confronting both 

internal and external challenges. 

CONCLUSION 

Afromodals are distinct modes within the existential paradigms of African philosophical and 

socio-political thought. While each emerged in different historical, cultural and intellectual 

contexts, they share a common thread: they offer African-centred responses to colonialism, 

Western modernity, Eurocentric models and the quest for African identity, dignity and 

communal well-being. Afromodals share communal values and reject Western individualism, 

emphasize African ontologies, epistemologies, and moral systems as well, and serve as 

frameworks for African self-understanding and reconstruction. 

Afromodal philosophy is a theoretical paradigm that emphasizes the active choices that 

individuals make when grappling with existential realities, especially from an African 

perspective. This is a philosophical stance that encourages us to grapple with the problems that 

life throws at us with action, and that action can be individual or social. Afromodality 

investigates the greatness and grandeur of human endeavour in the struggle against death and 

dying, which strengthens the African experience. Rather than focusing on pure theorizing 

alone, this philosophy places individual human effort at the core of overcoming mortal 

challenges. Afromodal philosophy, afromodalism, afromodality, is a unique approach that 

places human action at the heart of the matrices of power, creativity, and accomplishment in 

confronting quotidian realities of existence. This philosophical tradition of afromodality 

teaches us how humans can engage with what we face through practical wisdom, communal 

solidarity, and contextually appropriate solutions: hard-learned sources of insight. With 

Afromodalistic thought as the foundation, contemporary African philosophers still uphold and 

serve the tradition into which they were born, as they seek to liberate the everyday and the 

social from the grasp of negativity. Afromodality explores the tapestry and grandness of human 

attempts to confront the existential challenges that define the African experience. 



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193 
 

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