Chinua Achebe: The Eagle On Iroko At 91

 By DAN AMOR   

Prof. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, easily one of the world's most popular and celebrated novelists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries would have turned 91 years today having been born on November 16, 1930. Yet, amidst the torrent of tributes and acclamations that heralded the transition of Professor Achebe to higher glory on March 21, 2013 (more than 8 years ago), at Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, some hacks or literary kill-joys still found space to circulate that Achebe’s style of writing and literary philosophy were not original or sophisticated enough to attract the sympathy of the Nobel Committee.  

Achebe 

That is to say that the whole gamut of Achebe’s literary corpus was not deserving of the Nobel Prize for literature. Whereas the import of this anniversary piece is not about the politics of Achebe’s world view as a global citizen, no amount of false-hood and propaganda can diminish the fact that he was one of the most cited twentieth-century thinkers and quintessential intellectuals. While this may not be surprising for a man who had authored one of the most influential novels in world literature – and had changed the way the world at large appreciates the African cosmology and ontology – Chinua Achebe remains a conundrum to most people.  

Chinua Achebe Prize For Nigerian Writing Endowed By Anambra State Govt

 
*Achebe 

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) which Africa's greatest raconteur and novelist founded at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, the Anambra State Government has endowed a one-million naira (N1 million) worth Chinua Achebe Prize for Nigerian Writing.

The Prize is to be administered by ANA founded in 1981. 

Buhari: Sad And Saddening Interviews

 By Tony Eluemunor

Ordinarily, any Nigerian should celebrate the very fact that President Mohammadu Buhari granted two nationally televised interviews in two days. This was a man who had been dubbed the taciturn one simply because he would clam up even when the cries of a need to address the nation was howling like the harmmattan wind. 

*Buhari 

Yet, what did the average Nigerian get? On very vexatious issues, the average Nigerian has remained as uninformed about the real issues in BUhari’s mind as though the man never spoke. And yet, he did speak volumes. 

This time, the blame does not lie with the President at all. He never at any moment refused to answer any questions and it is to his credit that he never ruled some topics as no-go areas. So, what went wrong? 

Chuks Iloegbunam: Restless But Peaceful Soul

 By Tony Eluemunor

When I think about my big brother, Mazi Chuks Iloegbunam, what readily comes to mind is the timeless Abba song, “Move On”. Its opening lyrics truly capture the essential Chuks Iloegbunam.

*Iloegbunam 

Here we go: “They say a restless body can hide a peaceful soul. A voyager and a settler, they both have a distant goal. If I explore the heavens, or if I search inside. Well, it really doesn’t matter as long as I can tell myself I’ve always tried”. 

The Iloegbunam many know could be that one that never, never, repeat never, suffers fools gladly. As we all know, if you do not suffer fools gladly, you are not patient with people who you think are stupid. 

'Things Fall Apart', Achebe’s Magnum Opus, To Be Adapted For Television

In 1958, Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, established African literature on the world stage. More than 60 years later, it remains the most widely read African novel. 

It has sold more than 20 million copies in English alone and has been translated into more than 60 languages. Time Magazine named it “One of the 100 greatest novels of all time,” and Encyclopedia Britannica, one of the “12 novels considered the greatest books ever written.” 

In 2020, as the world confronts systemic racism and battles the COVID-19 pandemic, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and his two other novels—Arrow of God, and No Longer At Ease—that make up The African Trilogy, remain relevant, profound and crucial. 

D. O. Fagunwa And His Overbearing 'Helpers': A Novelist's Predicament

 By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Whenever the full history of Nigerian literature is written, Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa (popularly known as D.O. Fagunwa), the Yoruba language novelist, will certainly occupy his rightful place as one of its pioneers. Although literate in the English language, Fagunwa chose to put his indigenous language in the limelight by employing it in the writing of his novels which not only enjoyed wide readership among the Yoruba-reading population of the then Western Nigeria, but also attracted critical response from both Yoruba and non-Yoruba scholars.

                                         *D.O. Fagunwa

Given Fagunwa's education and exposure, it may be unfair to draw the conclusion that he was blissfully unaware of the limitations he was imposing on himself in terms of readership and critical appreciation when he chose to write in Yoruba. What seems more likely the case is that he was willing to sacrifice on the altar of cultural and linguistic nationalism the fame he would certainly have gained beyond his ethnic block and the hefty financial reward that would have come rolling to his doorstep had he chosen English as his medium of expression.

According to Professor Ayo Bamgbose, although “Fagunwa…was quite familiar with certain works in English literature, including translations of stories from Greek mythology...two possibilities were open to him. He could use his knowledge of English literature to produce a European type of novel…or he could create something of his own, drawing his inspiration from traditional material. It was the latter course that Fagunwa chose. Fagunwa based his novels on the tradition of the Yoruba folk-tale (Bamgbose, 1974).”

Celebrating The Literary World Of JP Clark

By Hope Eghagha

It is within the context of a poignant, profound and perhaps arcane ritual imagination that we encounter John Pepper Clark in his literary world as evidenced by the evocative power of his primal poetic and dramatic compositions.

          *Professor Eghagha (Right) with the late pioneer writer, 

         Professor JP Clark 

Especially so are some of the early works such as Song of a Goat through Ozidi, the ‘middle’ The Boat, The Return Home, Full Circle, Casualties and the later Remains of a Tide.

His only known work of prose the semi-autobiographical and bitingly sarcastic America their America, at once immediate in content and prophetic in thematic concern exists outside this ontology of ritual and the mythic imagination.

Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart' Among The 20 Best Books Of All Time

"The books you read in your high School English class are not necessarily the best novels ever written. What makes for great literature, anyway? Some could argue that all your book needs in order to be considered “great” is leather-bound packaging and microscopic print, but the truth is, you really can’t judge a book by its cover.Instead, you have to judge it by what’s written inside. Is the story meaningful, honest, moving? Does it transport you to another time or place? When it comes to ranking the best novels ever written, we had to look for all of these things…and just because you love a certain book doesn’t mean it made our list."

READ FULL REPORT HERE 

Odia Ofeimun: The Writer And His Society

By Dan Amor

When it dawned on me recently that my boss, Odia Ofeimun would turn 70 today, I was confused. I was confused not because I didn't know what to write about my master or how to write it but about which one to write on. I asked my humble self: should I write about the poetry of Odia Ofeimun, or should I write about Odia Ofeimun's language and philosophy or about Odia Ofeimun and his aesthetics? 

*Odia Ofeimun

Indeed, I was really confused, for it is patently difficult to write about a griot whose life experience cuts across almost all facets of human endeavours. As a polyvalent genius, Odia is grounded in almost all the major contemporary schools of critical theory: from analytic philosophy to reconstructed Marxism, from poststructuralism to postcoloniality, and from feminism to recuperated phenomenology.

Assessment Of Nigeria’s 59th Independence Anniversary

By Guy Ike Ikokwu

The situation in Nigeria today, is egregious and monumental that it gives a great majority of our peoples a feeling of total hopelessness in such a way that the general belief is that there must be a catalyst within the system.

It is now clear to the Nigerian masses that they have been deprived of their sovereignty for more than 50 years by the high ranking military personnel since January 1966 which torpedoed the civilian democratic norms inherited in various discussions with our British colonialists who had acted equivocally in their own self and economic interest. 

We have had 9 constitutions in 25 years to usher in real democracy which our young heroic musician and artist Fela Anikulapo Kuti called “Demon – Crazy” that was a philosophical thoughtful expose but the perspectives of our past decades show that our system of governance has really been demonic till this day! The last 1999 constitution which Nigeria had was initiated by Gen. Abudulsalami Abubarkar. Today we know that the 1999 constitution was a fraud as it was not delivered by the people of Nigeria. 

Segun Osoba: No longer Waiting For Godot

By Banji Ojewale

“A man will turn over half a library to make one book”

—Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English critic and lexicographer.

Waiting for Aremo Segun Osoba’s book, BATTLELINES: My Adventures In Journalism And Politics, has been akin to the experience of the two characters expecting the arrival of someone called Godot who never arrives. In his 1952 tragicomedy, Waiting For Godot, Irish writer, Samuel Beckett presents the helplessness and an accompanying barrenness of an endless wait for a Godot who doesn’t show up. Joined by three other funny actors, these tarrying figures get further mired in a futile wait for the person they do not know. The play closes, tragically and comically, without Godot being revealed in the two-act work.

*Segun Osoba 

Mercifully, lingering for the autobiography of Osoba, former editor of Daily Times of Nigeria, who went on to become the paper’s Group managing-director and the governor of Ogun State, hasn’t followed the trajectory of Godot. Yes, there was a long expectation. But, as it turned out the other day in Lagos, it wasn’t a wait for Godot. Osoba’s own Godot arrived at the presentation of his book ahead of his birthday.

FRSC And Nigeria's Beautyful Ones

By Banji Ojewale

Ghanaian writer, Ayi Kwei Armah, published the pillory, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, in 1968, to mock his society of the postcolonial era. It is a savage attack providing no redeeming feature, except for one puny protagonist who is derided for his high moral grounds. All around us in the book is putrefaction, literally and figuratively. Everyone is polluted and corrupted. 

The anonymous ‘man’ is the unstained figure who can’t understand why his countrymen and women are steeped in the sleaze enterprise. He can’t come to terms with a society where no one seems to care for his or her compatriot, as long as they can make some make merchandise of them, as long as they can fleece the government and smile to the bank. So, in a word, there are no beautyful ones to find their way into this first novel by Ayi Kwei Armah. 

Kgalema Motlanthe, Fmr South Africa President, To Deliver Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture

Press Release 

*Chinua Achebe 

The Christie and Chinua Achebe Foundation and the Black Studies Department of the City College of New York have announced that on December 12, 2018, at 6:30 pm, in the Aaron Davis Hall of the City College of New York, United States of America, Mr. Kgalema Motlanthe – Former President of South Africa – will deliver the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum Lecture, a statement credited to Dr. Chidi Achebe, Director of the Foundation and President and CEO of African Integrated Development Enterprise Inc, said.

University Of Ibadan At 70

By Sunday Saanu

From faculty to faculty, drums will rumble and grumble so thunderously as the campus of the University of Ibadan (UI), will be kept agog with all manner of festivities involving dancing, singing, acting – all in celebration of the Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan which turns 70 years this November. In marking the milestone, however, the management of the university, headed by Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka has declared a year-long ceremony, beginning from October this year to November 2019 in order to fully commemorate a university that has remarkably imparted the world.

Established in 1948, UI which is admirably tagged “the First and Best,” could be described as a relatively young university when compared with some prestigious universities across the globe. For instance, a 70-year old UI can’t be compared with the University of Cambridge in England which is 809 years old this year, neither can UI at 70 match the record of Harvard University, which marked its 382 years this year.

Nigeria: A Fake Nation Or A Nation Of Fakes?

By Sam Ohuabunwa

Nigeria is an intriguing nation. 

A 58- year adult nation that is still crawling like a toddler, while most of its mates are running on sure feet. Many people including political, traditional and religious leaders have expressed their bewilderment with Nigeria’s chronic inability to truly rise.   Never mind that a tiny minority including some who earn 12 billion Naira as annual dividend will argue differently that Nigeria is rising. 

*Nigerian President Buhari 

Many ordinary folks in Nigeria have raised their hands in desperation as they find themselves daily pushed into poverty despite their best efforts. This is evidenced by the fact that Nigeria the seventh most populous nation with a ‘tiny’ population of about 198 million People has become the global poverty headquarters, beating India (with a population of over 1.2 billion) according to the Brookings Institution. 

Nigeria: Worn Nation, Worn Destiny

By Alade Rotimi-John

Writing about Nigeria in these days of a menacing or threatened enactment of a Hate Speech law can be irksome. The writer may be unable to properly delineate the terrain of a possible infraction of the law even as he attempts to give rein to free speech or truthful exposition. There is also the difficulty of plotting the graph between transcendental truths and the fraying of irritable nerves or temper of persons in authority.

An accustomed tendency to be infatuated or be deprived of judgement regarding the passion to speak the truth about the actual state of affairs in the country is thereby unfortunately hampered or put on hold.

Is Christopher Okigbo’s Star Here Again With Us?

By Banji Ojewale

“An old star departs, leaves us here on the shore, gazing heavenward for a new star approaching. The new star appears, foreshadows its going, before a going and coming that goes on forever…”

— Christopher Okigbo, in Path of Thunder

*Okigbo 

Nigeria appears to be falling again under the excruciating spell of a star presaged by this remarkable poet of limitless possibilities.

At the time Christopher Okigbo wrote the poem shortly before his death in 1967, the young republic had writhed in a series of setbacks dating from the Western Region upheavals. Okigbo had a keen mind that correctly interpreted these crises as the shadows of some bigger, more devastating whirlwind into which we were being drawn. 

To Kill In The Name Of God Is Outrageous Murder – Archbishop Obinna

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THE CHINUA ACHEBE 

FOUNDATION INTERVIEW SERIES

  April 2006

All Rights Reserved ©

______________________

*Archbishop Obinna during the interview 

Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, is one of Africa’s foremost theologians and scholars. Born on June 26, 1946 in Emekuku (near Owerri), and educated at St. Peter Claver Seminary, Okpala (near Aba), and Bigard Memorial Seminary, he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on April 19, 1972. Obinna graduated with First Class Honours in Divinity, from the Bigard Memorial Seminary, an affiliate of the Pontifical Urban University, Rome. He left for Rome for a Masters Degree in Theology, and then for the United States for another Masters in Religious Studies, concentrating on Religion and Culture, and then a PhD in Education and Theology.

A former lecturer in the Religious Studies Department of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Archbishop Obinna is the current Chair of the Education Committee of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). He was ordained a Bishop on September 4, 1993, and became the first Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri when it was created in 1994.

In this interview with UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE, Archbishop Obinna canvasses an attitudinal change, which he hopes will help steer Nigeria out of its present political, moral, and economic descent, and reroute it to the path of progress and lasting development.

Excerpts:

Your Grace, do you think we can in all honesty say that we have freedom of worship in Nigeria today?

Well, constitutionally there is freedom of worship. So, to some extent, it is possible to say: yes, Nigerians worship as they choose. But we have had problems in certain parts of our country, where people were prevented from worshipping, as they desire. There have been attempts to muzzle Christians in some parts of the country, and that goes to show that the freedom of worship enshrined in the constitution is not given its full play. In the more Christian-dominated areas, I believe that there is no prevention of anybody from being a Moslem, from worshipping God. But in some areas of our country, there have been churches that were bulldozed, and land allocations have been refused to Christian worshippers.

Again, Where Is Nnamdi Kanu?

By Obi Nwakanma

Last week, I felt nauseous just watching “our own WS” stand at a podium talking-up the Buhari gesture of naming June 12 “Democracy Day” and awarding the GCFR to the late Moshood Abiola. It was a dog-shit fare clothed in damask. I half hoped that Soyinka would not be part of this hollow ritual; but in the end Soyinka’s presence there served to remind us all that Nigeria is a circus; and the relationship between circus masters, puppeteers, and the circus animals is that they are all there to entertain us. 

*Nnamdi Kanu 

And Nigerians were properly entertained in what I still regard as the hollow ritual of forgetting. Every time, this government and its mind-warpers try to turn us all into amnesiacs, so that we will forget for instance, that Muhammadu Buhari himself was not only a key beneficiary and supporter of the abrogation of June 12, he himself led a military coup that overthrew a properly elected civilian government on the last day of 1983.  Nigeria began to slide radically down the order of things from that very coup. 

Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ Listed Among Ten Top Stories That Shaped The World

A recent poll conducted by the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) among “writers, critics and academics” yielded the verdict that Chinua Achebe’s classic, Things Fall Apart, published in June 1958 – which turns 60 this year – qualifies as No 5 on the list of “ten top stories that shaped the world.”

Other works on the list are: The Odyssey by Homer (8th Century BC), Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1952), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818), Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949), One Thousand And One Nights by Various Authors (8th – 18th Century), Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605 – 1615), Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1603), One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967) and The Iliad by Homer (8th Century BC) 

In a recent release, the BBC said that the writers, critics and academics who participated in the opinion poll voted these works “as the most influential and enduring works of fiction” ever published.