mazrui attended primary school in mombasa, where he recalled having learned english specifically to participate in formal debates, before he turned the talent to writing. journalism, according to mazrui, was the first step he took down the academic road. in addition to english, mazrui also spoke swahili and arabic. after getting a kenyan government scholarship, mazrui furthered his study and obtained his b.a. with distinction from manchester university in great britain in 1960, his m.a. from columbia university in new york in 1961, and his doctorate (dphil) from oxford university (nuffield college) in 1966. he was influenced by kwame nkrumah's ideas of pan-africanism and consciencism, which formed the backbone of his discussion on africa's triple heritage (africanity, islam and christianity).