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| Chinua Achebe |
Life as a young boy growing in Enugu,
Eastern Nigeria was pretty enthralling – be it at home, school, lessons
(when I was less naughty), with young friends, neighbours, schoolmates,
Boys’ Brigade, etc. As far back as then, one name kept ringing an
incessant bell…that name was, and still is, Chinua Achebe. I don’t know
the reason for the fame, but I was all too sure it was for something
crucial. Quite unbelievably, I grew up to realise that the
larger-than-life human was still alive, hale and hearty; at least as I
grew very conscious of my environment. All the while, I had thought
Prof. Achebe was a colossus of ages past.
Continue after the cut...
On further growth and development on my
part, as well as with advancement in schooling, I gradually began
observing and imbibing the reasons why this giant was such a household
name. I got acquainted with the super novels, Anthills of the Savannah, A
Man of the People and of course, Things Fall Apart. The Nigerian
Television Authority’s adaptation of Things Fall Apart was a classic of
its own. I still have some scenic memories of it – thanks to Achebe, and
of course, the veteran master actor- Chief Pete Edochie. I vividly
recall as a young boy in elementary school, I was growing up watching
Things Fall Apart on NTA. To me, it was one of the most engaging
programmes on TV- so arresting I’d shelve any other activity when it was
on air. That was the extent to which Achebe’s typical work captivated
me.
As I grew, my interest in this
story-teller grew proportionately. I started reading more of his books –
the novels, poems, critiques and commentaries. His writings are proof
that Prof. Achebe, just like the simple mien he exudes, had a simple,
but highly inimitable manner of writing. He wrote with an exclusive
simplicity – in a manner that promotes the most important tenet of
language (speaking and writing)- communication. He never did believe in
‘big’ words, writing to impress like some of his peers, but preached and
practised writing to express. This in turn aids and advances the core
essence of communication. His writings were always for a purpose and
always on point. He never belonged to the league of those who talk/write
just so their voices could be heard. He belonged to his own unique
class and acted as such.
In a country with every form of
tribalism/ethnicism, nepotism, hate, envy, greed, corruption of
unimaginable magnitudes, etc., Achebe’s noted critique – The Trouble
With Nigeria – remains one of the most formidable, enduring materials
for those who want to foster their understanding of the Nigerian
situation, its complexities, oddities and the forces responsible for the
toddler Nigeria has been since 1960. It remains Nigeria’s most enduring
critique containing certain pertinent solutions for those honest and
willing enough to pursue change in a positive direction.
Achebe was a trailblazer in African
Literature. In Mandela’s words, he was the author “in whose company the
prison walls came down”. I have had cause on several moments to meditate
on that clause and finalised that he (Mandela) literally meant he felt
free while in bondage reading Achebe’s books. In Mandela’s words again,
“Achebe brought Africa to the world.” He showcased Africa; he proved
beyond reasonable doubt that a typical African can sit back, and put
together words, phrases and clauses that make profound sense and
meaning. Indeed, Achebe bravely arose when many stories were being
written by about Africans, but not by Africans, hence the master’s words
that, “Until the lion begins to write its own stories, the story of the
hunt will always glorify the hunter.” What magic! Sheer class! Achebe
had a knack for idioms and proverbs and that placed his works on an
astronomical level.
I find it needless to flog the issue of
“The Father of African Literature” title. It is a futile exercise. It is
one that will involve loads of emotions, sentiments, envy, pride and
feelings from virtually all angles. Every sort of sentiments and
sensations must come into play when most people, including some of his
fellow colleagues, are posed such questions. But suffice to say that
Achebe was ‘Africa’s first’, the trailblazer and trendsetter. He opened
the cast-iron gates, and in the process made fellow Africans believe in
themselves, write like they never did, ultimately emerge onto the world
stage and live their dreams. I think this is perhaps the greatest
accomplishment of Prof. Chinua Achebe, and certainly by any African
writer. In Jacob Zuma’s (South Africa’s sitting president) words, “Prof.
Chinua Achebe remains Africa’s greatest literary export.”
Hailing Achebe as the Father of African
Literature is very well-deserved. In Achebe’s case, I maintain such
remarks are made out of reason than emotion. In those who attribute it
to ‘literary ignorance’ and/or ‘momentary exuberance’, I vehemently
perceive strong tinges of envy in very veiled forms – forms that could
pass as abstract, but which only very discerning eyes and minds can see
and decipher. In truth, Achebe remains Africa’s greatest literary tree.
He made me believe to some reasonable degree that a tree could actually
make, and pass for, a forest.
For goodness sake, how else do you
describe a man who wrote a classic at about 26 years of age? Now, that’s
genius! He remains the only writer to be listed on Everyman’s Library
while still alive. Achebe displayed tremendous management and leadership
skills in founding and establishing the African Writers’ Series and
much later, the Association of Nigerian Authors.
Achebe’s classic, his magnum opus –
Things Fall Apart- is the most sold and the most read African book, and
is regarded as a milestone in African literature. It is now seen as the
archetypal modern African novel in English, widely read in Nigeria,
throughout Africa, studied widely in Europe and North America, where it
has yielded innumerable secondary and tertiary analytical works; it has
also achieved similar status and repute in India, Australia and Oceania.
Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language
novels from 1923 to 2005. The novel has been translated into more than
50 languages, and is often used in literature, world history and African
studies courses across the world.
Most impressively, the novel sits
comfortably amongst the top 30 most translated books in the history of
mankind, alongside eternal classics such as The Bible and Qur’an. What
more can be said of such a man?
Men of goodwill will miss you, Prof., but thanks to The Most High, you still live through your works and words. Ga n’udo!
Adieu Legend! Adieu Icon!! Adieu Literary Titan!!!
Rest in peace, Prof. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe!
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