Abstract After getting rid of the shackles of the colonial rule,the
political struggle within the Black African countries,except
South Africa,started to turn from the ‘racial arena’to the ‘tribal arena’.And with it ,new connotations were injected into tribalism:it exists not only in the intra tribal conflict of interest between the different tribes,but also in the conflict between the tribal and national interests,the latter as reflected in ideology meaning the contradiction and conflict between the tribal consciousness and the national ones,or between tribalism and nationalism.The essence of tribalism is tribal centrism,or tribal egoism as expressed by tribal chauvinism,tribal protectionism and tribal secessionism.As to its impact on the nation state
building in Black Africa,tribalism has on the one hand caused seperation and disunity in society of the Black African countries,thereby posing threat to national unity;and on the other it has raised challenges to
political legality of the ruling regimes in these countries,thus threatening the stability of the political situation in the countries concerned