--Folks,
Prof. Chinua Achebe lived most of his life in public view. Yet only a handful can claim to have understood the real inner workings of this legendary writer at the personal level. I haven't read any substantive interview of Achebe that was aimed at illuminating important aspects of his personal life. Perhaps, it served him well to retain the enigmatic divide between his life's personal passion and career as a quintessential novelist and sociopolitical commentator of immense clout. It is clear that he deliberately opted to write his latest book, "There Was a Country", from the ivory tower rather than from the perspective of political correctness of the typical calculating political operative who was intent on tiptoeing carefully gingerly around the many dichotomies that crisscross the Nigerian terrain. Achebe spoke in prophetic terms in his latest book but many, particularly the politically motivated in our midst, predictably misinterpreted what they read via the peculiar lenses through which they see Nigeria as the main object of interest for this world-renowned author's memoirs. Achebe's latest book acts more like a mirror for its many Nigerian reading audience; each reader tends to see a unique portrait of the country in ways that reaffirm one's preconceived perceptions of it. The book's detailed exposé on Chief Awolowo's role during the civil war era was seen by the majority of Yoruba readers as grossly uncomplimentary to their political hero while the Igbo, who fought on the Biafra side, hail the author as truthful and courageous in stating the facts as they actually happened, for example. There was one story but two contrasting or even contradicting interpretations of it depending on the readers' bias.
Perhaps, what took his readers by surprise was the author's deliberate choice to depart from his usual fictional writing and social critique which were mostly based on generic characters and not target-specific as in his latest book. Achebe was never seen as controversial within the context of Nigerian geopolitics until he decided to reject a national honor awarded to him several years ago as a protest for the political crisis that tormented his home state of Anambra under the purview of the Obasanjo administration. The later offer of another national award under GEJ's presidency was also turned down for similar reasons. At the heels of this 2nd award rejection came the release of his final major book which encapsulates his memoirs from the country's 30-month murderous Civil War. At this stage of his professional career, Achebe elected to mete out his uniquely patented catharsis which he could have believed all along as the more forceful approach for ridding the country of the chronic malaise that has stunted nation building since the Civil War. The role of Mr. Nice Guy which he played throughout his preceding career had earned him enough clout and capital which he decided to spend in order to put more teeth into his life-long quest to actualize a more equitable and just Nigeria. He sure did step on sore toes with the release of his Biafran memoirs by purposeful intent. As the expert wordsmith would have stated, partially impacted fecal matter in one's rectum often brings a frown to one's face in order to expel. Achebe understood that he needed to frown at the release of his civil-war memoirs. What he was not fully prepared for, however, were the multitude of sharp and contrasting reactions that welcomed the justified callouts which he felt compelled to make through his now controversial last book, "There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra".
The author's intention for writing his memoirs appears to have been misunderstood on both sides of the civil-war divide. Elements of the military, who were leading actors in the war effort, openly challenged the author's accounts of certain events, particularly those related to the abortive efforts made to broker peace and to truncate the protracted bloodshed. The war-time Head of State, General Gowon, came out publicly to refute specific events narrated in Achebe's memoirs, for example. Chief Awolowo's admirers, mostly from the Yoruba ethnic nationality, were up in arms that the author dared to call out their political hero as the key villain in inflicting scorched-earth policies on lives of millions of Biafrans who died from consequences of severe malnutrition and mass starvation during the war as well as the penury which dogged the war survivors owing to Federal government's official policies that rubbished the Biafran currency after end of hostilities. On Biafran side, some felt that Achebe's memoirs were aimed at rewriting the war's history in ways that vindicated the cause of their side in the conflict. With the author's clout, particularly on the international arena, some truly feared that the Achebe's narrative might have the effect of revising the already entrenched presumed official storyline on what led to the Civil War, how it was executed and how its aftermath was managed by the victorious side. While Achebe's intent to remind the general public about the lingering bitter hangover from the wartime experiences and thus the importance for intensifying the national effort at seeking proper closure, some consider his re-visitation of this epoch of national history as a potential treachery aimed at reviving memories that many would prefer to forget for good. The truth, however, is that deep wounds of the civil war era were never healed; they were simply scabbed over as evidenced by the tacit official relegation of key interests of the losing side since the shooting war ended more than four decades ago.
It is easy, therefore, to understand why Prof. Achebe, in his last days, confessed to a close confidant "in pains that Nigerians had dropped the real intent for his work to quarrel over what they thought was the plank". It is obvious that the debut of his memoirs on Biafra was unlike what his past books, since Things fall Apart, have been. His memoirs' book was a sort of summation to his life's work of trying to tell the story of ordinary Nigerians in the most direct and effective means he could so as accomplish his objective. Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" shall be around with us for a long while because the novel captures and freezes an excitingly transformative epoch in shared historical experiences of the indigenous cultural groups that make up Nigeria, in particular and other cultures worldwide. His civil-war memoirs, as written in "There Was a Country", could be interpreted to imagined to be the author's concession that all his past efforts at getting his country to return back to reasonable, equitable and just governance have indeed not yielded the anticipated results. Rather than continue to speak in parables as before, the great teacher elected to be more specific in his latest and final book. Achebe indeed came to the conclusion that Nigeria's intractable problems, which have been the country's greatest impediment to nation building, are emblematized in the story behind Biafra. His strong personal conviction in the correctness of his assessment inspired him into making his memoirs on Biafra to become the finale of his prodigious writing career. To this great thinker and writer, a thorough knowledge about the issues that surrounded Biafra is the beginning of wisdom for whoever is serious about actualizing the full potentials of the Nigeria of Achebe's life-long dreams. Even though the Civil War supposedly ended more than four decades ago, Prof. Achebe used the platform of his last book to bring the Biafran phenomenon back to Nigeria and the world stage in spectacular ways. In Achebe's mind, the object lesson of Biafra must remain central in all future endeavors aimed at restoring Nigeria back on an even keel. This is a serious and profound stuff which no past, present and future political leaders of consequence in Africa's giant, Nigeria, can ill afford to ignore.
Achebe's "pains" are underscored by the fact that public reactions to his prophetic final admonition to his fellow countrymen and women appear to have been missing the true essence of what "There Was a Country" is all about. Did his personal anguish over the public's misguided reactions then mean that the author ever entertained a second thought about writing and publishing the book? Certainly, not. His "pains" were likely caused by the very thought that his kinsmen and compatriots alike shall probably continue to muddle up things for the foreseeable future while, at same time, still anticipating a different outcome. But no great prophet in human history had ever died happy.
As eloquently as Achebe wrote about the Biafra of the civil war era, what should really cause us to share the author's "pains", at this very moment, is a real possibility of Biafras of the future. Note that "Biafras" is in plural. The legend of African storytelling is no doomsday prophet; he only used his final book to share what he saw by peering through his crystal ball of commonsense and logic. It is the hallmark of abject ignorance for some to presume that the Biafran phenomenon shall always and eternally be coterminous with the former Eastern Region or even a specified ethnic nationality. Whoever harbor this mindset ought to put on their thinking caps and then use their tongue to count their teeth. Whoever really wish Nigeria well, at all, ought to have cause for serious worry about Biafras of the future if ongoing trends in the country are allowed to progress unchecked. This category of fellow compatriots are the target audience for Achebe's last book. Retrogressive punditry, which abound in these virtual forums, would prefer to have their eyes fixated in the rearview mirror and to pontificate incessantly over a bygone era while the Nigeria that really matters still lies ahead of us all. Though he appeared to have dwelt on matters from our collective past, this future is what Achebe's prophesy is all about.
Contrary to viewpoints bandied about in some circles, the preferred attitude is that the government and generality of the citizenry ought to internalize and take ownership of Chinua Achebe's parting admonition conveyed through his final book, "There Was a Country". The book was written because the author cared so deeply for his fatherland and the future we jointly confront together. Biafra was a Nigerian phenomenon and shall remain so because its many experiences are consecrated with the blood of millions of we the people. In fact, the costly prize of Biafra has already been paid for in blood. The sixty-four million-dollar question today is what have we been able to do with these costly experiences which we have already paid for nearly half a century ago?
Achebe is already a universally acclaimed thinker and writer. But he was also a historical figure just as the likes of Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bellow, the Great Zik etc. For the sake of our own country, his words do matter and his admonitions to our generations are unique, timely and transcendental. Special care is thus in order here because his counsel is contemporaneous with exigencies of the moment and is, furthermore, already encapsulated into a book format. The question that must be answered very soon, therefore, is who should take the ownership of what Achebe had to share with his compatriots; shall it be the government and its policymaking apparatus or peripheral entities who deeply empathize with what the renowned author had to say in his final book? From my perspective, the first right of refusal should be ceded to the government for obvious. If, however, government of the day declines to act appropriately, then peripheral entities would have no choice but to step in and fill the void. One thing is certain, Achebe's written words are immensely consequential and are destined to impact the collective future of all Nigerians, going forward, in one way or the other.
The preferred means of dealing with the essence of Achebe's observations with regard to Biafra is for the federal government to boldly step in and to take direct ownership of it before its significance defaults elsewhere. The calculation that went into the official decision to accord the Ikemba Nnewi a national state burial was part of a grand design to bring some sort of closure to matters that surrounded Biafra of the civil-war era. Unfortunately, Ikemba never wrote his personal memoirs. If he did, such has not been published and shall likely never be published. Achebe's memoirs on Biafra are, therefore, as powerful and symbolic as the very persona of the archetypical Biafran. Smart sociopolitical calculus demands that the federal government should, at least, symbolically take full ownership of the illustrious Nigerian author and his message. A national state burial for Achebe offers the best chance of killing two birds with one stone. The window for decision making is narrowing with each passing second.
Okenwa.
From: idu-usa@googlegroups.com [mailto:idu-usa@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Okenwa R. Nwosu, M.D.
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 2:21 PM
To: naijapat@googlegroups.com
Subject: [IDU USA] FW: WHY ACHEBE WROTE "THERE WAS A COUNTRY" - DAILY SUN
"Achebe personally invited my wife and I because I have known him since 1971 when we worked at the Institute of African Studies of UNN.
He was a senior research fellow while some of us were juniors. So, at the Colloquium, after the lectures, he took my wife and I home for dinner where we had great time with his entire family." What he told me about There was a Country "At dinner, he personally spoke to me that the reason he invited me to the event was to ask me to play a role in ensuring that the reason for his last book, There was a Country was not lost in the heat of the bickering that attended its outing. He spoke to me in pains that Nigerians had dropped the real intent for his work to quarrel over what they thought was the plank." Asked what Achebe told him was the target of the book, Nwala said: "Let us look beyond his last book on Biafra and rather look at other books he wrote that were purely on the essence of rebuilding Nigeria. ……
………………. So, he told me that the reason he wrote the book was not to create bad blood but to tell the whole truth, which he felt the nation needed badly to get healing.
Achebe told me that he had lived for the hope of a better Nigeria and his dream was to release the book with the truths to confront the injustice that resulted in the war and still persist, thereby stopping the nation from progressing the way it should. He told me also that the second point for the book was to expose the enormity of the wrongs committed against some Nigerians during the war so as to make sure such mistakes are not made again.
The whole thing was for a better and unified and healed Nigeria. That is the whole truth the icon told me personally over dinner and I cannot falsify it." - Prof. Tim Uzodinma Nwala
Folks,
The worst disservice we can do to Prof. Chinua Achebe's legacy is to deploy our own personal preconceptions and inclinations in interpreting his life's work from a distance. It behooves us to listen to those in knew him close-up and in whom he confided on matters of personal significance to him.
The revelations from Prof. Nwala below provide a close insight on the inner thoughts of the literary sage far beyond what one can glean from poring over his many social commentaries and didactic writings about the place of his Igbo kinsfolk in Nigerian nation building since the country's Amalgamation of 1914.
Okenwa.
From: Anambra-WorldForum@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Anambra-WorldForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Okukuwe ibiam
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 10:22 AM
To: IgboWorldForum@yahoogroups.com; igbonewengland@yahoogroups.com; Igboevents@yahoogroups.com; NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com; Anambra-WorldForum@yahoogroups.com; igboorgnyforum@yahoogroups.com; asa-usa@yahoogroups.com; AnambraForum@yahoogroups.com; Apga Uk; talkhard@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Anambra-WorldForum] WHY ACHEBE WROTE "THERE WAS A COUNTRY" - DAILY SUN
The Achebe I knew for 42 years – Prof. Nwala
March 25, 2013
•What he told me about There Was a Country
From IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
To some people, Prof. Chinua Achebe wasn't just the Things Fall Apart personality read in the text or announced in the media like a song. Achebe, the literary giant that passed on last week was a close friend, a contemporary, a friend, guiding light, role model and close associate of some people.
One of such that shared so much intimacy with Achebe is Prof. Tim Uzodinma Nwala. Achebe is the father of African literature, as Nwala is father of African philosophy. So, what they had in common included the pan African spirit.
They also had in common years of service at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). He told Daily Sun on the day Achebe's death was announced that the demise was something personal to him because he was too close to the late icon and his entire family. He recalled that: "Those days in the early 70s when we worked in the African Institute, Achebe was already a household name because of his pioneering role in African literature and particularly his Things Fall Apart and broadcast days in Nigeria and during the Biafra war.
He was a character we looked up to as role model. So, at the last colloqium, he invited my wife and I to the gathering of intellectuals of international repute. The lecture was delivered by Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State. Its focus was on Governance, Security and Peace in Africa. Achebe was an Afro-centric thinker all his days and he never pretended about that."
As he recalled his last interaction with Achebe in his home in USA last December, he noted, concerning the Achebe he knew so closely that: "I grew up to appreciate great minds and scholars, including Achebe and the likes of Wole Soyinka and Umaru Shehu.
In his lifetime I had been part of the celebration of Things Fall Apart and I delivered the first UNN annual Chinua Achebe lecture last year, and I know that the development of African and Igbo philosophy is the philosophical companion of Things Fall Apart." "So, I am a believer in hoisting the personality and great stature of these intellects of Africa to revive the African ethics and values.
They represent the positive points of reference to lift Africa and recreate a better society." Nwala spoke in high spirits about Achebe's departure because "Achebe is immortal. I cannot grieve over an outstanding man, who lived fully and left so much mark in history because the Achebe I know, Africa and the world know can never die."
Nwala noted that he was at the last Chinua Achebe International Colloquium at the Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, between December 7 and 8 last year. He said: "Achebe personally invited my wife and I because I have known him since 1971 when we worked at the Institute of African Studies of UNN."
"He was a senior research fellow while some of us were juniors. So, at the Colloquium, after the lectures, he took my wife and I home for dinner where we had great time with his entire family." What he told me about There was a Country "At dinner, he personally spoke to me that the reason he invited me to the event was to ask me to play a role in ensuring that the reason for his last book, There was a Country was not lost in the heat of the bickering that attended its outing. He spoke to me in pains that Nigerians had dropped the real intent for his work to quarrel over what they thought was the plank." Asked what Achebe told him was the target of the book, Nwala said: "Let us look beyond his last book on Biafra and rather look at other books he wrote that were purely on the essence of rebuilding Nigeria.
He is the father of African literature and, therefore, a pan-Africanist. So, he told me that the reason he wrote the book was not to create bad blood but to tell the whole truth, which he felt the nation needed badly to get healing.
Achebe told me that he had lived for the hope of a better Nigeria and his dream was to release the book with the truths to confront the injustice that resulted in the war and still persist, thereby stopping the nation from progressing the way it should. He told me also that the second point for the book was to expose the enormity of the wrongs committed against some Nigerians during the war so as to make sure such mistakes are not made again.
The whole thing was for a better and unified and healed Nigeria. That is the whole truth the icon told me personally over dinner and I cannot falsify it." On his death, Nwala said he had been in touch with Achebe's two sons and his wife, Christy, who was his contemporary in UNN in the past one week. "Sometime on Thursday, Ike, his first son, called to tell me that Achebe had been transferred to the intensive care unit. Late Thursday night, I woke up to see six missed calls from Ike. When I called back, he informed me that hope was dimming on the giant of literature. I had to speak with his wife, and his second child, Chidi." "So, later in the early hours of yesterday, he called again to inform me that the battle was over.
He directed me to call Governor Peter Obi, the Ohanaeze President, the Deputy Senate President, who incidentally was in London and some others to tell them how it turned out. I got hooked to the Secretary to the Anambra State Government and broke the news to him." Ask Nwala to give a tribute to Achebe and he interjects: "It is hard to say Achebe has passed on. I think he took his place among the greatest like Homer, the author of the Great Iliad; Pushkin, the reverred Russian author; Shakespeare and other great writers.
Remember he was the author and founder of African literature and these live forever. So, I am not sad because Achebe is still here with us and will continue to live as long humanity endures. I am proud that I knew such a great man so closely and I am convinced he played his role and left the rest to history." "His works invariably encapsulated the history, culture and ethos of the Igbo world.
They also narrated the culture shock and adjustment that occurred between the Igbo and the colonial masters and how that incursion changed the tide of our history either for good of for bad. Achebe, while writing just a story, unwittingly documented the history and evolution of the Igbo society from the days his story covered until it ended in the series.
"He took it further to write on the Nigerian political system and how we got it wrong and the way to return it to the right paths. If there is a pain I have, it is the reality that Achebe never lived to see that Nigeria of order he dreamed of. And bad enough, things don't even seem to move in the direction of righting the wrongs. "I remember he refused and rejected national honours twice.
The first time he said he refused it because his home state was plundered by the same government that gave him honour and said it meant nothing to be so honoured when his place is in a state of war.
The second time, he said his reason for refusing it the first time remained because nothing changed. Achebe was not a character linked to the pillaging or plundering of the society. He hated the way things were operated and distanced himself from it to avoid any stain. I hold him very high and feel proud about knowing him so closely."
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Folu F. Ogundimu, Ph.D.
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