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LUEM EMEKA IZEZE
GREATNESS is an attribute much in retreat in our society these days. But it is the quality that is imperative for a nation, for a people to make progress. Greatness is the depth of character that is unswayed by material attraction and superficial rewards, especially of the sort that is flaunted by persons of lesser pedigree, and craved by many, including sundry jobbers and petty crooks. Greatness is the strength to say no when everything and everyone else seems swept away by a certain madness that benumbs the senses. Greatness is the ability to look past the present and see beyond the future. It is the courage to envision a better society, to insist on what is right, on what is proper to realize that better society.
Such an attribute is all too evident in one wise old man, in our country. That man is Chinua Achebe, 81, master story teller, thinker, visionary, crusader, incurable optimist and fierce patriot. He loves his country to the extent he was willing to forego, for the second time, national honour, if only that would draw attention to the rot in our society, and set us thinking on the path to enthroning a better society. He was willing to suffer loss for the benefit of the many; to endure ridicule in the interest of general rectitude; to remain trenchant and even sound pedantic in the pursuit of the public good; to refuse, unlike many in our land, to give up hope that things can be better and that better things can happen here again; to continue to push back against time and nature, to refuse to take things a little easier, even in this his fading years.
Chinua Achebe shows us what is possible in our nation; that integrity, scarce as it now seems to be, is still present with us, and is still to be desired if this nation is to transit to a better society. The Guardian Editorial Board had no difficulty in unanimously singling out Chinua Achebe as the one man that had a lasting impact in our land, the one conscience of the nation, the one light that refused to go out. Hence, he is The Guardian’s Man of the Year. His illustrious story is well told by Dr. Odion Akhaine and Mr. Kunle Sanyaolu, members of the Editorial Board.
Eluem Emeka Izeze, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief
Chinua Achebe: A Moral Voice In The Anthills Of Decadence
By Sylvester Odion-Akhaine and Kunle Sanyaolu
Choosing Albert Chinualumogu Achebe as The Guardian’s man of the year, 2011 was not a herculean assignment. He stands out so conspicuously as a representation of integrity, in a society that has largely succumbed to indecency and malfeasance of all sorts. His legendary literary prowess would perhaps have been a factor upon which to anchor his worth and benefit to Nigerians in particular, and mankind in general. For this, most people will remember that he has been around as an icon for at least 50 years. Like all great men however, Achebe did not see his literary ability as an end, but rather as a means to an end. He derives no joy in being celebrated in the midst of poverty and squalor endemic in his country, a fact that informed his decision to twice turn down national honour from the highest level of Nigerian government. This is honour that many citizens are prepared to acquire at any price. He makes no secret of his disenchantment with the country’s leaders and their recklessness in running the country. And one can say that he is particularly dismayed by the fact that Nigerians have no business being poor, or ranked among the lowliest of nations, with the abundance blessing nature has mercifully bequeathed to the country in all its facets and regions. Above all, Achebe has remained as a constant star in his advocacy for good governance in a country where majority of Nigerians will have access to the good things of life.
The man and his literary works are well-known. Some of them include Things fall Apart, (1958) No Longer at Ease (1960) and The Arrow of God (1964), Anthills of the Savannah (1988) and the short essay, Problem with Nigeria (1983). These works and many others are well talked about and have earned him many literary festoons. In 2007, he won the Man Booker Prize and was described by the South African writer and Nobel laureate in literature, Nadine Gordimer as “The father of Modern African literature”. Although, it is often difficult to separate the writers from the objective conditions of his society, the tendency is to assume that the writer lives in a world of dreams and fictions. To be sure, fictions are spawned from the objective realities of our world—call it an extension of reality. Literary realism demands that the writer mirrors the realities of his society, especially the subaltern classes who are the victims of a web of exploitative socio-economic and political relations. This engagement streams through the works of Achebe and are easily discernible by the cultivated reader. Claims about Achebe the activist would be denied by many. The truth is that Achebe is not just only a writer but also an activist who has been persistently seized of the Nigerian and African conditions. What is the Nigerian condition today?
Nigeria is best known by its many contradictions and ironies. It is rich but poor; it has oil but imports same; it has some of the best brains in the world but its education sector is in chaos; it has vast arable lands but imports its most basic foodstuff and its huge oil resources are misappropriated, wasted and looted by an immoral elite. The net effect of this elite irresponsibility is that over half a century of independence from colonial rule, the country is badly divided as ever unable to harness its strengths for the goal of nation building; its infrastructures are comatose and development is hardly on the agenda and government projections are all about future rents.
All around us are living relics of underdevelopment—Keke NAPEP, Okada, tokunbo cars and clothes passed as poverty alleviation policies. And across the country, sundry social vices preponderate. In the course of 2011, the country’s social misery deepened. A general election held amidst so many setbacks due to institutional weaknesses only tempered by the strong commitment of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega. Still it was marred by process-rigging and other related electoral vices. Worst of all, carnage followed the outcome of the presidential polls won by the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. The terrifying bent to the carnage was that over a dozen serving National Youth Service Corps members were killed; and the import of their death was trivialised by a governor whose immediate reaction was that “they (corps members) were destined to experience what they experienced.”
The inauguration of a new helmsman for the country rather than inspire hope evinced a rudderless leadership and a bleak future. The country sizzled under a new form of social violence of serial bombing with a suicide streak, hitherto unknown. Notable public places such as the Nigeria Police Headquarters and the United Nations building both in Abuja, the seat of government, were bombed. The spate of terrorist act climaxed in the Christmas day bombing of a church in Niger State in which an estimated 43 lives were lost. The ethno-religious conflicts in Jos, Plateau State, did not abate and there was more bloodletting. Kidnapping for ransom remained a routine in most states of the federation and there was hardly any remarkable conviction of culprits. Take a look at other social indicators. The US-based Fund for Peace in collaboration with Foreign Policy Magazine using a set of indicators such as group grievance, uneven development, legitimacy of the state, public services, security apparatus and factionalised elites rated Nigeria 14th position among 177 countries evaluated by the organizations. Nigeria trailed along states like Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, and Yemen. It would be recalled that international non-governmental organizations, such as Transparency International ranked Nigeria number one on the corruption index for about two consecutive years while the Human Rights Watch pointed up the country’s poor human rights record as well as the World Bank.
In the field of sports, especially football, once described by the Time magazine as the only thing that unites the country, it was also a dismal outing for the country in 2011. The “Dream Team V”, the Super Eagles and Super falcons could not qualify for major international competitions. So unsettling was this development that Samson Siasia was replaced with Stephen Keshi as the national coach. Indeed Nigeria will not attend this year’s Summer Games in London and Orange African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea on account of the failure. Clearly, 2011 was a year of anguish and lamentations.
Whereas Nigerians expected leadership responsibility in tackling the numerous problems which confronted the country by a flinch of morality in the form of resignation by those who could not rise to the responsibility of their offices, it was not forthcoming. No minister resigned; no security chief resigned nor the president. It was business as usual. The national infamy was climaxed in self-glorification by the ruling elite which honoured themselves and their accomplices in the manhandling of the nation’s affairs. At the last count, about 360 persons were bestowed with varying national honours. The list was more of a role of dishonour, largely dominated as it were by charlatans interspersed by a few noble Nigerians among who was Chinua Achebe. Characteristically, he rejected the award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), the country’s third highest honour on moral grounds. Achebe in a brief statement said: “The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again.” It would be recalled that in 2004, he was offered the same national honoured by the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration and he equally turned it down. As he put it in statement:
“I write this letter with a very heavy heart. For some time now I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency. Forty three years ago, at the first anniversary of Nigeria’s independence I was given the first Nigerian National Trophy for Literature. In 1979, I received two further honours – the Nigerian National Order of Merit and the Order of the Federal Republic – and in 1999 the first National Creativity Award. I accepted all these honours fully aware that Nigeria was not perfect; but I had a strong belief that we would outgrow our shortcomings under leaders committed to uniting our diverse peoples. Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honour awarded me in the 2004 Honours List.” Although the presidency tried to controvert his reason as not in agreement with reality, it failed to convince anyone about its own perception of the Nigerian reality.
Morality, so scarce in the corridors of power, came from the literary icon, Achebe. Friedrich Nietzsche in his Beyond Good and Evil described moral codes as “sign language of emotion.” This Nietzschean conception unites with morality as a weapon of resistance against a decadent social order. Achebe’s singular act of rejecting a warped national honour relieves many Nigerians of the feeling of hopelessness, the de-sublimation of consciousness that pervades our social milieu. Secondly, it reminds us that the only guarantee for freedom is eternal vigilance and that morality is a strong weapon of resistance in the anthills of decadence which our country has become. This exemplary behaviour by Achebe sealed our choice of him as the man of the year. Societies that desire change and development need moral voices such that Achebe offered the country. His intervention came at a time the hard-won freedom of Nigerians were being rolled back, for example, through the de-registration of political parties contrary to the provisions of the basic laws of the country; as well as the ridiculing of the judiciary through the indiscreet suspension of The President of the Appeal Court, Justice Ayo Salami and against a backcloth of oil subsidy intrigues of abjection by the ruling clique against the people, many of who live on less than $2 a day.
Currently 81, Achebe is easily Africa’s most renowned novelist; he was born on November 16, 1930 at Ogidi, present-day Anambra State of Nigeria. He attended Government College; Umuahia between 1944 and 1947. As pioneer of the University College, Ibadan, he studied English, History and Religion and received the Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of London in 1953. He is a Professor of African Studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He has used his works as a cudgel against cultural imperialism, authoritarianism and corruption in Nigeria and the African continent. He has severally bemoaned the failure of leadership to seize historical opportunities to transform the country. Achebe’s intellectual contribution is monumental. In 1971 he became the founding editor of Okike, one of Africa’s most influential literary magazines, where a generation of Nigerian writers found a voice. He edited Okike as a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, United States from 1972-1976. His immense contribution to the reading culture in Nigeria is invaluable. Achebe was Series Editor of the Longman’s African Writers Series. Achebe is a recipient of several honorary doctorates and international literary prizes. He is a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. In a decadent society such as ours where virtues are lacking and elite malfeasance prevails, this man of letters stood out as a moral voice and conscience of the nation. We have no reservation whatsoever in choosing him as The Guardian man of the year, 2011.
Source: The Guardian, 1st January 2012.
Man of The Year 2011: Chinua Achebe
Nigeria's Guardian newspaper names renowned writer, Achebe, Man of The Year 2011 - One of Nigeria's foremost newspapers, The Guardian, on Sunday named renowned Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe its Man of The Year 2011. 'Chinua Achebe shows us what is possible in our nation; that integrity, scarce as it now seems to be, is still present with us, and is still to be desired if this nation is to transit to a better society,' The Guardian's Managing Director, Mr. Eluem Emeka Izeze, wrote in justifying the award.
'The Guardian Editorial Board had no difficulty in unanimously singling out Chinua Achebe as the one man that had a lasting impact in our land, the one conscience of the nation, the one light that refused to go out. Hence, he is The Guardian’s Man of the Year,' he added.
Achebe, 81, was in the news late last year when he once again rejected the offer of a national honour bestowed on him by the federal government.
He said the reasons why he rejected the award when it was first offered to him by then President Olusegun Obasanjo has not changed.
“The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again,” the respected author wrote in a terse statement rejecting the offer.
Prof. Achebe, who is based in the US, is the author of the globally-acclaimed novel 'Things Fall Apart', among many other works.
In a front-page article on the Man of The Year award, the paper wrote of Achebe: 'He makes no secret of his disenchantment with the country’s leaders and their recklessness in running the country. And one can say that he is particularly dismayed by the fact that Nigerians have no business being poor, or ranked among the lowliest of nations, with the abundance blessing nature has mercifully bequeathed to the country in all its facets and regions.
'Above all, Achebe has remained as a constant star in his advocacy for good governance in a country where majority of Nigerians will have access to the good things of life.'
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange won the accolade in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Pana 02/01/2012
Source: Afrique en ligne, 3rd January 2012
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Achebe and National Honour
The Award Is a Bribe and We Need Achebe to Tell Them
Olaitan Ladipo
AFTER you have discarded the superficial and the simplistic, and even the academic, there are fundamental questions to the relentless attempts of recent administrations to adorn the neck of an unwilling man with what most people, including the man himself, see as a twisted garland.
When in 2004 Professor Chinua Achebe, literary giant and by far my favourite Nigerian novelist, rejected Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-led government's offer of a national award, I thought then that both the nomination and the rejection of it were questionable.
I agree that governments have a prerogative to give awards to whomever they judge as deserving. Just as nominees also, as Achebe, reserve the right to reject them.
My misgivings were to do with the government's unstated but easily deductible motives for giving him the award and, secondly, about Achebe's stated reasons for rejecting it.
There are inconsistencies as I will show later which, though are not his fault, nevertheless exposed Achebe to charges of pandering if he had accepted the awards or, as it happened when he did not accept them, to charges that he lacks patriotism and, as presidential spokesman Reuben Abati implied, of playing to the gallery.
In other words, Achebe was damned if he accepted the awards and damned that he did not. Such is the nature of Grecian gifts.
Achebe's nomination in 2004 presumably was not for previous literary work, which, unless the government wanted to open itself up to charges of overkill, the country had duly rewarded with national honours in 1960, 1979 and 1999.
I was the proudest living young Nigerian when, on a visit to Nigeria in 1978, then American President Jimmy Carter announced that he had read 'Things Fall Apart'.
Neither, presumably also, could the nomination be for services rendered to Nigeria, because after the country had rewarded the professor with the patriotic Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) in 1979, he, as many other conscientious exiles, decided to live and serve outside the country.
In Prof. Achebe's case, it was understandably after the 1983 election fiasco and after a car crash in 1990 that nearly claimed his life.
We must therefore conclude that Obasanjo's government in 2004 merely wanted to exploit the integrity and global popularity of Achebe, in the hope that some of it would rub on him.
More importantly, they hoped that Achebe would stop giving globally aired criticism of their visionless administration. They also expected to harvest a large ethnic hero-worshipping population, this time mainly of Igbo stock because Achebe is Igbo, into their political game.
That award was a bribe and it is a surprise that Achebe did not see it as such, or if he did said nothing to the fact. If on the other hand and as I suspect, Achebe meant his grateful acknowledgment of previous national awards to convey that sense, it did not go far enough.
Prof. Achebe, unlike many other members of our chattering class, has built a reputation for blunt speaking that takes no prisoners. Appropriately timed critiques from him, for example during Nigeria's 50th birthday, made our governments look up and listen.
Apart from a well publicised visit in 2008 to his kinsmen to celebrate 50 years of his acclaimed book, 'Things Fall Apart', Achebe has kept a conspicuous distance from Nigeria's celebrity circuit of champagne social justice crusaders.
It is a clear body language; one that says the learned professor is in trench warfare with Nigeria's rulers. It is also, what makes the motives for offering the OFR to Achebe, again in 2011, deeply suspect.
There is a perception that, as Obasanjo in 2004, President Goodluck Jonathan's offer is also basically, a bribe to gain Achebe's political support.
Many crusaders before Achebe have refused nomination to honours. Administrations in Nigeria have studiously withheld honours from some that transparently deserved it.
Many also have returned well deserved awards, to make their point. One of the greatest Nigerians that ever lived, the late Dr. Francis Akanu Ibiam, like Achebe, an Igbo, did not mince his words when he returned an impressive and well earned complement of awards to the Queen of Great Britain.
People like Gani Fawehinmi and Tai Solarin, real prophets of social justice, were brazenly denied 'honours in their own town'; in Solarin's case including even withholding Nigerian citizenship from his British-born wife, Sheila, for more than five decades; a woman who had been a teacher, mentor and mother to countless illustrious and other Nigerians.
These are just a few examples of million others that contributed 'in concrete terms' to Nigeria's development.
While our rulers find it hard to honour such people or their memories, they pile awards on underserving cronies, and attempt to corrupt people like Prof. Achebe with political gifts disguised as National Honours.
Achebe does well to keep his distance from Nigeria's insincere crusaders, but, more than ever, we need leaders who can and will speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, to our rulers.
The learned professor may also have boxed himself into a corner with the conditions he gave for refusing the awards, because there will be questions about when Achebe will consider Nigeria good, peaceful, prosperous and united enough, to accept an award.
Source: The Moment, 25th November 2011.
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Achebe was right to reject national award – Utomi
By EMMANUEL ELEBEKE
On November 16, some Igbo groups under the aegis of Centre for Nationalism and Good Governance, organized a lecture to mark the 15th Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Day and Town hall meeting in Lagos.
The event attracted some renowned politicians and professionals from all walks of life including the African Democratic Congress, ADC 2007 Presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi.
Pat Utomi...value is in the heart of men
In an interview on the sidelines of the lecture, Utomi spoke on the standard of leadership in Nigeria, proposal for the removal of oil subsidy, power supply, insecurity, national honour and the Sovereign Wealth Fund among other issues. Excerpts:
WHat would you say is the significance of this event?
The significance of today is that it is the birthday of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. It reminds us that Nigeria really has not got it right in terms of governance and management of the nation’s resources, the way Zik and other nationalists envisaged. Also, we are cerebrating Zik today because he has not been given a befitting honour by the Nigerian people and its government.
We have a collapse of culture in Nigeria. The only people that matter are the people of the moment, who corner power and can abuse power for their self-interests, not people of service.
Collapse and failure
So, in a way, remembering Zik on a day like this, we are remembering the collapse of culture and failure to realize the dreams of the founding fathers of Nigeria.
What should today’s leaders do to restore what has collapsed?
Sacrificial giving of oneself to others. The Nigerian society should reject bad and selfish leaders. They should be encouraging knowledge and sense of service to other people.
What is your take on the government’s proposal to remove fuel subsidy?
Given an experience of governance in this country, money is not better in the hands of Nigerian government.
Nigerian government has not proved to be a good caretaker of the common wealth. Let Nigerians have the money with them, they will know how to manage it better than the government is currently doing. At least, knowing what they like and want to buy, they will be able to satisfy their needs. If they choose to use it to buy petrol at any price or water, so be it. What I’m saying is that the Nigerian government is not a good caretaker of common wealth.
But Federal Government is insisting on going ahead with the plan…
That is irrelevant. President Jonathan can’t personalize things. It is not about him. The Federal Executive Council is just watching without doing anything. The FEC does not function as it should as is being done in other countries of the world.
Every Wednesday, they keep announcing contracts without looking into so many issues bothering the country like the Boko Haram, power and collapse of infrastructure. That is not what it should be doing. It should be taking on serious discussions on why there is problem in the North East, intelligent minds brainstorming on why there are no jobs, not on how many contracts should be awarded.
Are you confident with what the minister of power is currently doing to improve power supply in the country?
We have a systematic problem in that sector. I wish him well. I also wish anybody who is going to try to make the difference well, but the problem is systemic and fundamental. We spent billions of dollars and we saw a little result. That is the truth of the matter.
The nationwide bombing by the Boko Haram group has become a source of worry to the nation, what do you think should be done to address this?
It is multifaceted and security-based. It is not even worth being discussed here. What we need is to change the economic condition in most parts of Nigeria.
But we need a lot of intelligence gathering that will enable penetration of all these movements, identifying them and engaging them underground quietly instead of using maximum force. We can work all of that out.
Criticisms greeted the just concluded national honours award by the Federal Government, are you comfortable with that list?
I did not even bother to go through the list because in Nigeria honour is given to people who want to honour themselves.
It is only Nigerian people who lobby to be honoured. Chinua Achebe remains my hero for rejecting the whole thing. It makes no meaning to any person who has sense of value. Why should the award make meaning to me?
Value in the heart of men
If I got GCON, I will never write it inside my name because these things are of no relevance, not to talk of people taking advert to congratulate me. For me, those things are meaningless. Value is in the heart of men. If you are valuable in the heart of men, that will count. What matters is the value we make in the heart of men.
How do you see The Federal Government’s introduction of Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and the opposition from governors?
It is because they don’t know how nations are built. Those opposing the introduction of SWF do not have vision.
Every nation that makes progress manages to understand the meaning of savings. As individuals, you can’t make progress if you save from what you earn without asking how much it is. Sovereign Wealth Fund fundamentally, is about saving culture by a country. If you want to collect all that you have and squander them now, that will be at the expense of your children.
There is also ongoing plan to re-enact a law for direct allocation to the local government councils, of what significance is that going to be to the country?
We need to restructure Nigeria completely. So, dealing with all these in beats and pieces doesn’t help at all. The problem with local government is that when they collect money, somebody will squander it somewhere without accounting for it and they will not make any progress.
The way we fund our local governments in this country has a lottery effect, because it encourages a situation where somebody will collect and spend money that he did not work for.
Various speakers at this gathering were unanimous in their call for a parliamentary system of government in Nigeria, would you also subscribe to that school of thought?
Of course, parliamentary system of government is superior to the presidential system being practiced today in Nigeria.
Source: Vanguard, 24th November 2011.
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National Honours: Achebe and the Nigerian narrative
By Kassim Agegbua
The Senate on Tuesday gave an inkling of why Professor Chinua Achebe turned down his National Honours Award the second time when the Upper House raised queries about President Jonathan’s inability to confront the security challenges in the country.
But for Senator David Mark, the Senate would have passed a vote of no confidence on the President over rising wave of insecurity and other vices that have held down the country for some time now. When the Presidential Spokesman responded to Chinua Achebe’s refusal to receive the honour and citing electoral reforms as the high point of President Jonathan’s achievements in office, I felt a sense of pity for Dr. Reuben Abati, such a brilliant mind but now reduced to a product of contradiction. It is difficult to manage the image of a man that cannot define what his image should be.
Even as Chairman of “The Guardian” Editorial Board, Dr. Reuben Abati never believed in the ideological reason behind the conferment of National Honours on Nigerians and expectedly so if one considers the character of some recipients and the near-absence contribution they have made to the country. But now performing the role of the President’s saxophone is not an easy job.
It is one job that could mar one’s integrity and ideological persuasion especially if the system is vulnerable like we have at present. Achebe’s refusal to accept the award was predicated on the Nigerian condition of poor service delivery, corruption, bad leadership and system failure, instability, reason why he felt it would defeat his long-held ideological purity.
To celebrate in the midst of squalor and abject poverty is to undermine the plights of the ordinary Nigerian. This was part of why he turned down the award in 2004 and I do not think such consideration has departed him in the present circumstance.
The President did not have to respond to whatever reason that might have warranted Achebe’s refusal to accept the offer. Even if on the basis of trying to justify why Achebe deserves the recognition, the President, did not have to make reference to his so-called electoral reforms when majority of what Justice Uwais panel recommended are still cooling off on government shelves unattended to.
President Jonathan has been President of Nigeria for almost two years and a lot of Nigerians cannot in all honesty tell the character of his government. We are just vacillating, without clear-cut policy focus. If it is not talk of single term of six years today, it is about fuel subsidy removal tomorrow. Every day, we hear all the sound-bites of developmental economics, political discourses, geopolitical balancing and electoral maladies. From Bayelsa State with avoidable political overheating to Maiduguri and Yobe with all the killings and maiming, the country is simply on its route to perdition. Within government circle, corruption is pervasive while the moral fabric of the Nigerian society has been eroded. Pages of newspapers in the country are replete with disheartening and gory details of a nation at a crossroads presided over by a President that seems helpless to offer a plausible dimension to the political discourse. And in Achebe’s world, these are symptoms of system summersault, themes that have dominated his writings for over five decades now. And to confirm Nigeria’s ugly narrative, there was shortage of those medals to the recipients.
I am reluctant to declare that President Jonathan is clueless about the Nigerian situation. I certainly would not join others who have made such assertion stating that the President’s body language and general conduct thus far has not shown a President that is ready to work. If I were Mr. President, there are several things I would ignore to do on account of the country’s present economic woes. I certainly would have shelved the conferment ceremony of awards that are not creating jobs and or employment. And if I must give an award to anyone, I would extract a commitment from those awardees to at least employ one unemployed Nigerian. That way, about 365 Nigerians would have been gainfully employed and that could be one way of saying thank you to a nation that has nurtured and sustained their dreams. I would also ask some of them who are being owed by government to offer some discount since the country’s economy has since nose-dived. That way, part of the domestic debts would be catered for.
Those persons who are not known to have contributed meaningfully to the development of the country but who are being awarded various categories of recognition perhaps on the basis of their relationship with those in the corridors of power should be able to tell Nigerians what they intend to do for a country that has offered them such gratuitous award. Nothing comes for nothing. I must state here that 60 percent of those who got the award did not merit it, pure and simple.
Talking about Professor Chinua Achebe, in all seriousness, the man deserves to be celebrated. His contribution to the intellectual industry in the field of literature and socio-political engineering is legendary.
If we have more of Achebes around us, Nigeria would be a better place. Eternally deserving of Nobel Peace Prize, Achebe as a celebrated novelist has remained a rich resource in developmental discourse.
His deep understanding of the pitiable plights of the ordinary people and the bad leadership that has been the bane of under-development in Africa have formed part of thematic focus in his novels and other works of art. Achebe has a gift of the garb. His diction is peculiar to his world view of seeing literature as an art to change the society for the better through mass readership of his works with simple accessible English.
Unlike Professor Wole Soyinka who writes for a select audience, Achebe writes for all, cutting across cultures and nations. His concern for the ordinary people and the need for an improved society coupled with his strong advocacy against repressive rules stand Achebe out as a literary icon with a mission. He does not pretend about his views and standpoints on issues that affect the generality of the people.
He sermonizes, preaching the gospel of change and better society. He reminisces about the Nigerian condition; poverty, want, disease, underdevelopment, neglect, deprivation, and other forms of ills that have unwittingly held down the country nay the continent of Africa with noxious nostalgia. He quarrels with his inner mind, letting out a palpable feeling of discomfort about the Nigerian condition. He writes and continues to write so that the problems bedeviling the society could be addressed.
Chinua Achebe stands for the ideal iconoclastic literary giant that has played the role of the watchman while all are asleep. He represents the realist, captured in the frame of a sermonizer, battling the powers-that-be to provide a therapeutic dimension to the entire fulcrum of humanity.
He craves for excellence in public service. He craves for a corruption free society where the wealth of the nation would serve both the rich and the poor. He writes to purify a decadent system with helpless citizenry running amok in search for direction, purpose and focus. Even in his old age, Achebe’s literary thoughts are still as consistent as the man that conveys them; punchy, blunt, metaphorical, incisive, and unpretentious, presenting the archetypal situations to draw home the import of his message.
It is the idyllic situation that Achebe talks about that Nigeria should aspire. He wants to see Nigeria and her leadership rising up to the challenge of purposeful leadership that is meant to serve the people. Achebe should be emulated for his didactic lifestyle that has made his entire sojourn in life a remarkable one.
Chinua Achebe’s refusal of the National Honour is a wake up call on President Jonathan to face the daunting challenges before us as a nation. What the Senate President averted on Tuesday, 15th November, 2011 still goes to show that the public has lost confidence in the President. President Jonathan should not be deceived by the trappings of power around the Aso Presidential Villa.
He should take time out to visit Maiduguri, Damaturu, Bauchi and other Northern fringes to see and feel the devastating impact of insecurity and joblessness. He should take a walk to all those remote villages and hamlets to see for himself the dehumanizing conditions under which Nigerians are living.
He should devote some time to read the newspapers by himself and not those highlights that his publicists would present to him. The country has lost its moral fibre and self-worth.
There are no confidence boosting indulgences to stimulate creativity and enterprise. Our roads are still death traps; our healthcare system is moribund; our education sector is prostrate; our infrastructure is decayed; unemployment is rife; underemployment has become the normative order; our judiciary is genuflecting; and the socio-economic life of the people has become extinct by the fear of the unknown. With the unpalatable news coming out of Bayelsa which could be akin to political corruption, the peace and tranquility of the coastal states is again put under close scrutiny.
With such bestialities starring at us in the face, with kidnappings and armed robbery cases overwhelming the landscape, there was no assurance that Achebe’s safety was guaranteed.
After all, haven’t we played host to many high profile kidnappings and hostage taking in the country? Achebe did not leave this country just like that. He was a victim of bad roads and poor health services. Why then would anyone expect Achebe to take an award under these conditions?
The government must strive to provide the ideal society that Achebe craves for; a stable political environment where people can pursue their legitimate aspiration without let or hindrance; a society with equal rights for all; a society with infrastructures that would cater for the growth and development of the nation; and a caring society for the young and aged bubbling with enthusiasm as a consequence of government plausible programmes for them.
Under such a society with all the niceties of life, Chinua Achebe will graciously concede to the lure of national award, and I bet he will take one once the Nigerian narrative assumes this impetus.
Source: The Nation, 19th November 2011.
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Achebe: Burden of the Objector
By Sam Egburonu, with additional reports from Gbenga Niyi and Jennifer Mordi
Last Monday’s National Awards to about 360 Nigerians was substantially marred by reports that literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe, had rejected the offer to be honoured. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, with additional reports from Gbenga Niyi and Jennifer Mordi, x-rays the background to Achebe’s hardline decision and his enduring political relevance
News that Professor Chinua Achebe had rejected the national award offered him by the Federal Government of Nigeria was the major smudge of the conferment, last Monday, of 360 awards to Nigerians from various sectors.
Since then, the rejection has helped to keep the exercise in the front burner of national discuss. It not only re-opened the issue of the role of a writer in the socio-political life of his people but also brought into focus the essence and relevance of national awards in the present day Nigeria.
It was the second time in seven years that the literary icon would snub the same national honour.
When he first rejected the award in 2004, he explained that his decision was intended to challenge Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration to tackle issues of corruption and bad governance.
“For some time now, I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay,” he complained, alleging that a band of renegades, with presidential connivance, hijacked his home state, Anambra. As a way of protesting against this development, he rejected the national honour.
For this year, Achebe explained that he also had to reject it because the situation he outlined in 2004 has not been resolved.
As was the case in 2004, the rejection came as a slap on the face of the government and the sitting president had to offer face-saving defence.
Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, speaking for his boss during the week, defended that Achebe’s rejection “flies in the face” of today’s reality.
He cited elections of 2011 as a proof that unlike Achebe’s claims, the political situation in Nigeria has changed positively from what it was in 2004.
Many Nigerians have reacted to the controversy. While some argued that Achebe’s rejection of the award amounts to a rejection of his country, Nigeria, others are contending that he demonstrated patriotism by saying the truth and refusing to be part of a national jamboree in the face of scorching difficulties, lack and disillusionment.
Others are even raising eyebrows as to why a literary personality like Achebe should allow himself to be dragged into political controversies.
The Nation however learnt that Achebe, as an individual, hold strong political views and is deeply interested in political leadership. He does not only see himself as a writer, but as a concerned citizen who must play active role in the development of the ideal state. So, when he speaks on issues of socio-political dimension, it is with the same passion as that of literature.
Undoubtedly, he has a way with words and it can be said that in a way, he owes his successes and challenges, including intellectual and other battles, to the way his admirers and critics perceive his diction and strict stance on issues of socio-cultural and political importance.
A creative writer of global acclaim, his unique style, which is essentially simple but deep, has a form of directness that has continued to astaund and provoke both his admirers and critics.
So, in the academic circles, where he has unarguably become a Collosus, his courage to challenge existing models has continually put him at the centre of hot intellectual battles.
A fighter, his colleagues in the acaemia will tell you that he does not seem ever tired or afraid to be involved in such intellectual debates anywhere in the world. When he is not challenging European colonian view of African culture as in his classic, Things Fall Apart, and most of his other novels, he makes bold to Africanise the English language.
But it has become obvious that Achebe’s dogged fights are not limited to literary or intellectual matters. He has shown equal passion on socio-political situations in his home country in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
When he retired from the University of Nigeria in 1982, he became active in politics as he identified with the left-leaning People’s Redemption Party (PRP). A year later, in 1983, he became one of the party’s national officers.
So, when he published the slim but influential book, The Trouble with Nigeria, to coincide with an upcoming elections then, it was easily recognised as an informed piece from an insider with the capacity to say it the way he saw it.
In the book, Achebe concluded that “the Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility and to the challenge of personal example, which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”
As if to confirm his remarks, the elections that were held shortly after he published that book were marred by widespread violence and fraudulent practices.
Though Achebe retired from active party politics soon after, allegedly complaining of the crude tactics that were being employed, it has been observed that he has not given up on the Nigerian leadership puzzle. He has, as his confessed in 2004, being monitoring the nation’s political development and is totally disappointed.
Once asked whether Nigerian politics had changed since he wrote his prophetic novel A Man of the People. Achebe replied: “I think, if anything, the Nigerian politician has deteriorated.”
This conclusion, in a way, explained his passion and rejection of the national awards in 2004 and today.
But as the controversy rages on the question in the lips of most Nigerians is who, between President Jonathan and Achebe, is ignorant of the stark reality of the Nigerian situation?
Has the socio-economic and political situation improved enough to justify the presidential disappointment at Achebe’s rigid attitude?
Prof. Nwachukwu Agbada, the Dean, School of Post Graduate Studies, Abia State University (ABSU), said the rejection means there is something fundamentally wrong with Nigeria. “My contribution is that what is wrong with Nigeria has not been touched since Achebe rejected the first award by Obasanjo in 2004. In other words, there is no fundamental difference up till now.”
Akachi Ezeigbo, a Professor of English at the University of Lagos spoke in the same direction. She said, “Achebe has the right to reject the national award for the second time and he has his reasons. His rejecting the award should act as a challenge to every Nigerian, whether in government or not.
So if he thinks that things have not changed since seven years ago then for him, things have not changed. I don’t want to blame anybody for anything but it is a challenge that we all should work towards change in Nigeria,” she said.
Dr. Godwin Udoh, a political analyst in his contribution, wondered why the presidency is surprised at Achebe’s rejection of the award. “Achebe is a man of principle, a hardliner, if you like. But that is beside the point. The question we should answer now is if he was merely doing it to slight the president or if he has genuine reason to reject such an honour twice? I think the erudite professor is known for taking such stance,’ he said.
Udoh recalled that when Achebe was given a distinguished label of the “Father of African literature” by Nadine Gordimer, as he was awarded the Man Booker International prize recently, he rejected that honour, out rightly.”
Achebe had later explained to the student newspaper of Brown University why he rejected that offer: “It’s really a serious belief of mine that it’s risky for anyone to lay claim to something as huge and important as African literature ... the contribution made down the ages. I don’t want to be singled out as the one behind it because there were many of us – many, many of us,” he said.
He further told the students his burden with the problem of leadership in Africa when he said: “Today, Africa is a continent of issues wherever you look, and so I thought the best thing to do now is not to limit ourselves to one or two or even three issues, but to look at Africa bursting with problems and find out what we can do in each case.
“For instance, the issue of governance, which is a major problem – presidents that do not want to retire when their terms are up, elections that are rigged, violence at elections ... Whatever we are doing, we’re not doing right. Nigeria has been independent for nearly 50 years and look where we are,” he said.
The point that becomes apparent from Achebe’s repeated expressions of dissatisfaction with the state of affairs are both his deep interest in Nigerian politics and his determination never to give up.
It is therefore left for the government to actually prove to the likes of Achebe that Nigeria and her leaders are worth celebrating. According most Nigerians spoken to, such proofs would emanate only from concrete socio-economic and political development and not from exchange of verbal arsenals.
Source: The Nation, 19th November 2011.
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Why Achebe Rejected National Award, by Aides
FROM LAOLU AKANDE, NEW YORK
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MORE reasons the literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe, rejected the Federal Government’s national award for the second time in seven years emerged yesterday as his aides and associates disclosed that the notice of the award from the government reached Achebe less than three days to the event, which held on Monday.
One of the academic assistants working with Prof. Achebe, the internationally acclaimed author and novelist, told Empowered Newswire that by the time the offer reached Achebe’s address, he was not around and could not be reached by telephone.
The source added that at that time, Achebe could not “be reached till late next week,” and he had no phone access where he was at the time.
Aides said there was no way Achebe would have “jumped” on the plane at that time even if he wanted to accept the honour. Observers wondered why it took the panel charged with the selection of the awardees such a long time before contacting those proposed to be honoured.
Besides, it was also revealed that one of the senior aides of Prof. Achebe had earlier made overtures to the President Goodluck Jonathan presidency seeking to invite the president to the yearly Achebe colloquium on Africa at Brown University, an event which had grown in stature in the United States academic and policy communities, as it has also drawn top Nigerian political elite and public officials as participants and speakers.
A source said there were suggestions from the Achebe team to ask Jonathan to grace this year’s edition of the event, which comes up every December, and possibly deliver one of the keynote addresses. It is believed that the invitation is a proof that Achebe may not be irredeemably opposed to the Jonathan administration or to the person of the president, despite his conviction not to receive an award from the government.
However by last Saturday afternoon when the presidency intervened and managed to formally contact Achebe in the U.S. with the help of the Nigerian Ambassador, Prof. Ade Adefuye, Achebe's aides and associates had decided with his approval to reject the award, not just because it was a late offer but due to the view of the literacy icon that nothing had changed in Nigeria between now and seven years ago when he spurned the same award during the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo presidency.
In the statement through, which Achebe rejected the award, he said: "The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed, let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again."
In his own reaction, after speaking with Achebe, Adefuye said: “Prof. Achebe and I discussed the issue of the award. The literary giant is a highly respected member of our community. He is entitled to his opinion and the Jonathan administration recognises that.”
Adefuye who said he spoke to Achebe at the weekend added that “the Jonathan administration is however poised to continue removing whatever defects that do exist in Nigerian politics, economy and society.”
The ambassador concluded by saying “the process of building a Nigeria of which Prof. Achebe will be proud has begun and that process is irreversible.”
Source: The Guardian, 17th November 2011.
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Jonathan chides critics, says National Honours Awards credible
TONY AILEMEN
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday chided critics of the National Honours’ Award describing as "rigorous" the process that brought up the recepients.
The President, who spoke against the backdrop of several criticisms that have so far trailed the award while conferring the National Honours on recipients yesterday, however, assured that he has already directed the organizers to take steps to ensure improvement in the process.
He said: "One thing I am aware of is that there have been criticisms of the National Award nominations and selection process. I have since directed the appropriate departments to note the concerns that have been expressed and to take steps to ensure further improvement so that the National Honours award can continue to serve its purpose.
"Those who by their innate abilities and creative energies have been able to make impact in our society even deserve more honour than those of us holding political offices. So we would continue to encourage enterprise, creativity and Nigerians who have excelled in whatever form. A welder, electrician or anybody who by virtue of what you do, you’ve done it with much dedication and impacted society significantly can be honoured by the President".
The President said this shortly after he presented 355 distinguished Nigerians with various national honours, bringing the total number of awardees so far to 3,924 since it began in 1963.
A breakdown of the awards shows one Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), 65 Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON); 38 Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), 74 Officer of the Order Federal Republic (OFR); 69 Member of the Officer of the Order Federal Republic (MFR), 71 Order of the Niger (OON); 28 Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), two First Class Federal Republic Medal and three Second Class Federal Republic Medal.
Top on the list of the recipients are, Alhaji Aliko Dangote (GCON), Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal among the 38 CFR recipients. The nine governors of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Edo, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Rivers and Jigawa states and nine former governors were among the 65 recipients that got CON.
Others include His Majesty King (Prof.) Theophilus Jacob Tom Princewill, the Amachree XI, Amanyanabo of Kalabari Kingdom and Chairman of Rivers State Traditional Council of Chiefs among other distinguished Nigerians.
His Majesty was described as a foremost Professor of Medical Microbiology who distinguished himself in Academia as a lecturer and well sought after External Examiner to various Universities. He served as Head of Department of Microbiology University of Port Harcourt from 1982-1984. Dean of Students Affairs of University of Port Harcourt from 1985-1986, Dean, School of Graduates Studies, University of Port Harcourt, 1987-1990; Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt from 1991-2000.
Jonathan said the National Honours award was not merely decorative; as they serve to remind Nigerians and recipients in particular, about important part of the citizens’ responsibilities.
"We must always endeavour to do the best for our country even as we realize with deep humility that all human beings are fallible; we must look forward with confidence and hope that our country through each and every one of us can indeed put its God given endowment to the best possible use"
The President who expressed the fears that very young Nigerians are already a bit confused about how people are selected for National Honours, noted that even the most celebrated Nobel peace prize is being criticized adding that definitely such criticisms should be expected.
"But in Nigeria, you have three awards: two are parallel, and we gave two today, the GCFR and GCON series and of course the Nigerian National Merit Award. The Nigerian National Merit award is meant for scholars and not just scholars but scholars with distinction and the committee that will select those who will receive hat award are among the eggheads".
Jonathan says he plays almost no role in selecting who wins the National Merit Award, because that is for academic division, disclosing that the President plays only the ceremonial position of just decorating or presenting the award to those scholars.
"But the National Honours criteria are different. It is based on what an individual has contributed to his community, his state, his country and how you have projected this country outside. It does not depend on how many certificates you have, it does not depend even on the size of certificate you have and it does not even depend on the status you have in the society and I need to mention that".
He said the award is not a respecter of status, education or anyone’s political standing in the society, disclosed that even "the traditional birth attendant that probably works in area where there is no doctor and successfully delivers hundreds of babies can be awarded and recognized by the president. So is a sports man who is illiterate, but a good footballer, wrestler or a boxer and projects the image of this country globally and wins laurels and bring us to lime light could be recognized in this honours series.
"Also in the case of the military an officer, a corporal or even a private soldier could be given a medal that probably a colonel or general might not have for show of gallantry and that guided the National Honours".
Explaining why Alhaji Aliko Dangote was given the prestigious GCON usually reserved for the nation’s Vice President, President of the Senate, and the Chief Justice of the Federation, he said government gave the award to Dangote because of his contributions to national development.
"So the position you occupy does not give an automatic award except for some positions like the GCFR which is given to anybody who becomes the President of this country or the GCON given to anybody who becomes the vice president or the head of the National Assembly or the head of the Judiciary. These are given by virtue of their positions, but others are given by virtue of what you have contributed to the society not necessarily because of the office you hold. You can see today that we have recognized Dangote with the highest on the GCON series because we must recognize enterprise.
"So you can also see that some of our traditional rulers by virtue of their hard work done by their ancestors. For you to be recognized and honuored we will want to see what you have used that position to achieve for us. Do you use that office to destroy us or do you use it for the development of your domain. So also is a youth leader, a woman leader or an elder do you use that position to bring development and peace to your people at your community level, local government level, state level and the national level or use it to bring crisis or destruction to our people.
"This is what guides the selection of this award and that is why you see a mixed group of people being recognized. This is a man who has been able to employ thousands of Nigerians as we heard it from the citation. Today I am having the GCFR the highest in the land by virtue of the fact that I am the President of this country, but if I am not the president another person must be the President of Nigeria, but if Aliko did not have that business acumen to build that empire probably we wouldn’t have had somebody to employ thousands of Nigerians".
In his welcome address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, stated that last year’s event that could hold because of preparation for 2011 general elections.
He attributed the large number of awardees to the cancellation of the 2010 event, even as he announced the shortage of medal which he attributed to the large number of recipients of the award this year.
He however assured that those who could not get the Certificates and Medals at yesterday’s event will receive them in the next one week.
Those honoured, he said, represent a few of the many qualified Nigerians, who were rigorously screened.
"The criteria for the award include their leading contributions in their various field of endeavour and patriotism to the nation," he said.
Source: Daily Champion, 15th November 2011.
Achebe’s Rejection of National Honour Regrettable- Jonathan
By Hamed Shobiye
President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed regrets over the decision of renowned writer and author of "Things Fall Apart", Prof. Chinua Achebe to reject, for the second time, the conferment on him of the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).
According to a statement by Presidential spokesman, Dr. Rueben Abati on Sunday, President Jonathan is surprised by Prof. Achebe’s claim that the issues which caused him to reject the same award seven years ago, still remain unresolved.
A report had quoted Achebe as saying that “the reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again.”
Achebe had first rejected a similar award in 2004 from ex- President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Abati, however, said that against the background of the widely acclaimed electoral reforms undertaken by the Jonathan administration, the claim by Prof. Achebe clearly flies in the face of the reality of Nigeria’s current political situation.
“As reflected in the immense improvements recorded in the conduct of the last general elections which were applauded within and outside the country as the most credible elections in Nigeria in recent years, the Jonathan administration has made tremendous efforts to positively change the political architecture complained about by Prof. Achebe and other Nigerians,” Abati stated.
While President Jonathan acknowledges that there are still challenges in the country’s path to the attainment of its full potentials as a nation, Abati said he believes that this administration is moving the country in the right direction and therefore deserves the support, encouragement and cooperation of all citizens.
“The President continues to hold Prof. Achebe in very high esteem in spite of his regrettable decision which may have been borne out of misinformation as to the true state of affairs in Nigeria and hopes that he will find time to visit home soon and see the progress being made by the Jonathan administration for himself.
“Prof. Achebe remains in President Jonathan’s consideration, a national icon, a Nigerian of high attainments, indeed one of the greatest living Africans of our time,” Abati said.
Source: The Nation, 13th November 2011.
Jonathan Regrets Achebe’s Rejection of CFR Honour
BY DANIEL IDONOR & Prisca Sam-Duru
ABUJA — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, Sunday, said he was disappointed over Prof. Chinua Achebe’s decision to reject, once again, the conferment on him of the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, even as eminent literary artists have also expressed mixed reactions on the issue.
In a statement rejecting the national honour conferred on him, Achebe said: “The reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must, therefore, regretfully decline the offer again.”
Jonathan’s spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, in a statement, however, said: “President Jonathan is also surprised by Prof. Achebe’s claim that the issues which caused him to reject the same award seven years ago, still remain unresolved.”
According to the statement, “coming as it does, against the background of the widely acclaimed electoral reforms undertaken by the Jonathan administration, the claim by Prof. Achebe clearly flies in the face of the reality of Nigeria’s current political situation.
“As reflected in the immense improvements recorded in the conduct of the last general elections which were applauded within and outside the country as the most credible elections in Nigeria in recent years, the Jonathan administration has made tremendous efforts to positively change the political architecture complained about by Prof. Achebe and other Nigerians.
“Politically, Nigeria cannot be said to be where it was in 2004 as the Jonathan administration has embarked on extensive electoral reforms to institute a regime of electoral integrity that all Nigerians can be proud of.
Literary artists reacts
Meanwhile, literary artists who reacted to Achebe’s rejection of the national honour expressed divergent opinions as some argued that his action amounted to rejecting his country while others said his action should be a challenge to the government to improve the lot of the people.
Damian Apata, Prof of English, UNN
“From the look of things, Achebe rejecting a national award for the second time is another political protest which means that he is not happy with the way things are going in the country.
Nwachukwuagbada, Dean, School of Post Graduate Studies, ABSU
“It means that there is something fundamental that is wrong with Nigeria. My contribution is that what is wrong with Nigeria has not been touched since Achebe rejected the first award by Obasanjo in 2004.
In other words, there is no fundamental difference up till now.
Prof Ezeigbo, Prof of English
Achebe has the right to reject the national award for the second time and he has his reasons. His rejecting the award should act as a challenge to every Nigerian whether in government or not.
So if he thinks that things have not changed since seven years ago then for him, things have not changed. I don’t want to blame anybody for anything but it is a challenge that we all should work towards change in Nigeria.
Source: Vanguard, 13th November 2011.
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