Nigeria's Legendary Novelist
Ayo Elebute Published by: Learning Solutions Specialty Publications Ltd, (a division of Rombic Concepts Ltd) Plot 7, Block P, Lagelu Industrial Estate (Behind Gasland) Off Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Mapo P.O. Box 25256, Ibadan, Nigeria. Tel: 08033280593, 08186116871, 08099113004 e-mail: [email protected]
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First published 2020
ISBN: 978-978-8549-34-5
Every attempt has been made to contact copyright holders. Where the publishers have not heard from them at the time of going to press or where, in the absence of complete information, it has not been possible to identify the sources of materials used, the publishers would be grateful for any information that would enable them to make appropriate acknowledgments in future editions.
ii CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Chinua Achebe's Parentage 1 2 Chinua's Birth 5 3 His Childhood 8 4 His Mother's folktales 13 5 His Elementary Education 17 6 His Secondary Education 21 7 At the University College, Ibadan 27 8 A Career man 31 9 Playing the Husband 34 10 A Political Crusader for Biafra 39 11 His Later Years 48 12 Chinua Achebe's Literary Works 53
Questions 56 Glossary 64 Appendix 68 References 72
iii CHAPTER 1
CHINUA ACHEBE'S PARENTAGE
Okafor Achebe was the father of Nigeria's renowned novelist, Chinua Achebe. Okafor's father was an Igbo man from the Eastern part of Nigeria. His father came from a village called Ogidi in which family compounds were arranged in buildings that are close together, but have separate household. The Achebe's family occupied a compound by origin from the male parent. In Igbo land such family compound is called Umunna. The traditional Igbo religion includes belief in a creator god called Chukwu or Chineke. The people also worship an earth goddess called Ala. The Igbo people also have a belief in ancestors that protect the living descendants. Okafor's father was a lover of Igbo tradition. He was, truthful, brave and generous. He developed strong religious culture as a result of his frequent visits to the religious shrines and listening to religious conversations by traditional priests.
1 Okafor' father was a farmer. He cultivated yams, cassava, and taro like other male adults in the village. He had no formal education, but had personal life experience. His rich knowledge of Igbo tradition put him in a better position to solve most difficult questions and to manage problems that were related to farming. Okafor's mother always prepared and used lands for the raising of crops like corn and okra. She too was deeply religious. Going to the shrine of Ala was one of her daily duties. Okafor's mother would take the religious vows with pains and discomforts as she kept them close to her heart without withdrawing from the pains and grief. She had strong common sense and she was well informed about all things regarding the females in the village. Okafor’s mother died when she was trying to give birth to her second child. Okafor was unable to know her mother very well as he grew up. What he would have loved in his young age was to accompany her, exercising the privilege of childhood and listening to discussions she had with the other mothers in the village. Okafor's father did not survive his wife. So, Okafor was brought up by the brother of his mother, Uncle Udoh Osinyi. Okafor was put in primary school and had reached Standard Five. To be at school at the right hour
2 and to run back home as soon as the school closed was his daily habit. By 1904, Okafor had received education at St. Paul's Teachers College in Awka. He was later employed as a teacher and an evangelist in the Anglican mission. Okafor was a brilliant man, who loved to study. He read many religious books from the Church Missionary Society (CMS). It was during his student days in Awka that he met a beautiful lady who later became his wife. When Okafor became old enough to be on his own, he went to his uncle to tell him that he was planning to get married. “My boy, you are now old enough to be a man, bring a girl of your choice,” his uncle urged. Osinyi was very happy that his nephew would finally be a family man. He had been looking forward to visiting his 'in-law to be' in order to pay the traditional bride price for his sister's son before his death. In order to make his uncle proud, Okafor decided to woo one of the most beautiful girls in Awka. He was able to do this through one of his friends. Her name was Ileogbunam. She was a student of Miss Edith Warner, a white missionary. She received a primary education, which was a great achievement for a woman at the time. He finally met her at a comfortable location that was arranged by his friend. It was somewhere around the village square. Okafor told Ileogbunam that he would like to marry her.
3 No girl was as beautiful as Ileogbunam in the whole village then. She was a woman that could be admired by any man of marriage age in Awka. She was elegant and very attractive. She always positioned her body well when she was moving or standing. Ileogbunam agreed to Okafor's marriage proposal on a note that “the marriage ceremony should come up on time.” Okafor had finally found the girl he wanted to marry. He was very happy throughout his journey back to Ogidi. When Okafor got home, he told his uncle about the good news. His uncle was happy the way the event was going and he said: “Well done my boy, I will gladly support your marriage to the lady of your choice.”
4 CHAPTER 2
CHINUA ACHEBE'SBIRTH
The traditional marriage between Okafor and Ileogbunam was immediately arranged by Okafor's uncle and Ileogbunam's parents after careful investigations into the background of both families. As it is the custom in Igbo land, parents of the couple, their extended families, villagers and towns' people must play active roles in traditional wedding ceremonies. This custom made Okafor's marriage very festive and colourful. Some of the guests got drunk that day! After their marriage, an official of the British government in Ogidi village (a white man) convinced Okafor and Ileogbunam to abandon their traditional religion and follow Christianity. The couple accepted the new religion. They were both baptised at a ceremony in which a small amount of water was put on their heads. Their baptismal certificates carried their new names: Isaiah and Janet Achebe. The baptism officially made them members of CMS Church in
5 Nigeria. Later, Isaiah Achebe was appointed instructor in the Christian Catechism Department of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in Ogidi, his home village. Soon, he became a devout Christian who engaged in preaching to convince other villagers to follow Christian religion. Within a short period, Janet became pregnant and had her first child. In no time, their six children follow each other according to the time they came out of their mother. The family members were always present for their births. On November, 15 1930, the family witnessed the birth of a special bouncing baby boy, the fifth child of the six children by Mr Isaiah Okafor and Mrs Janet Ileogbunam Achebe. It was a day of joy and happiness. Isaiah was proud and fulfilled. He told his wife that he was happy because of the safe delivery. "Congratulations my dear wife for this special gift from God," Isaiah said. For many days, well-wishers came to rejoice with them. They were welcomed by the family. Isaiah provided foods that were eaten between meals and special drinks for the entertainment of guests. The naming ceremony, which was the event that was part of a social or religious occasion in African traditional system, was fixed. During the ceremony, the child was named Albert, after Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria of England.
6 Albert had three brothers and two sisters. They were Frank, Zinobia, John, Augustine and Grace.
7 CHAPTER 3
HIS CHILDHOOD
Although Albert Achebe was brought up as a Christian, he tried to know more about traditional Igbo cultures and faiths. His parents had by now stopped practising traditional religion, but as a young boy, he always wanted to experience both the traditional and western ways of life. His home encouraged his understanding of only western cultures. Albert was encouraged to learn the ABC of English tradition by reading kiddies literature written in English language, for English children, in his father's library. He, however, spent hours at nights listening to how his mother, sisters and other members of the family tell traditional Igbo stories. Albert grew up in the village during British rule in Nigeria among the so called educated English- speaking family unlike most children that were living in communal houses. So, he somehow had social and cultural advantages that most children of his age did not have. He must have been about five years old when
8 he followed a boy of about eight year-old to an open space in the village where people met to watch masquerades' dance. Albert and the boy saw a crowd following masquerades to this open space where they always performed acrobatic display during the yearly New Yam Festival. This was what Albert wanted. As little as he was, Albert had been waiting for the opportunity to see what the masquerades' dance look like. Albert's friend had witnessed the festival several times. This was another opportunity for him to see another one. “Would you like to stay in the compound to play with sand or would you follow me to watch the masquerades' dance?” the boy asked. “I'll like to follow you,” Albert replied. At the village's open space, the boy found Albert a broken plank to sit on. “Keep watching to see what happen next,” he instructed Albert. “What happen next?” Albert inquired, anxiously. "Just watch and see," replied Albert's friend. Albert paid close attention to the masquerades' dance. He watched with delight as the masquerades danced, rolled and jumped to the rhythm of the festive druming. By the evening time, Albert decided to return home with his friend, knowing that his parents must have been looking for him. They must have been so worried, because he had never left the mission house where they
9 lived to play out for so long. “I'm tired. Let's go home, ” he told his friend. Albert was right. His parents were already looking for him. His mother had gone to the window and looked out at the yard. She had hurriedly gone to the next compound to see if he was there playing with other children. He was not among the children. She then went a long way to look for him. Albert quietly entered the passage leading to the parlour through the back door. His father who was outside waiting for his arrival heard footsteps coming towards the door leading to the outside and had asked angrily: “Who is there?” It's me Papa,” answered little Albert. “Where have you been?” his father asked crossly. “I went with my friend to watch masquerades' dance,” Albert answered naively. “So, you went as far as as to watch the masquerades. Don't you know that is a pagan practice?" While this was still going on, his mother joined them. “You should never have done that,” she added furiously. Albert’s father yelled at his mother angrily for not doing enough about his little son's movement. Albert had a late night that night with his father who was still angry over his disobedience. The father used the Bible stories to tell him what one can get in return for disobedience. Isaiah Achebe used the book of
10 Genesis Chapter 3 verses 1-24 to tell his son the stories of how Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and the punishment they received. He also used the book of Judges Chapter 16 verses 1-20 to tell him stories of how Samson disobeyed God because of his love for Delilah and the punishment he received. “The punishment for Adam and Eve by God was meant to remind us as human beings the result of disobedience, while the punishment for Samson is that God left him because of his continuous disobedience,” Albert father stressed. He told Albert that, “those two Bible passages strongly warn that it is possible for the Lord to leave a person that commits sin always without him or her realising it.” Albert spent many sleepless nights worrying about his disobedience to his father and God. During those sleepless nights, his mind always went back to other stories that his father told him from the Bible. One of such stories was that of coat of many colours that Jacob made for Joseph his son because he loved him more than all his brothers. It recorded activities of Jacob when he was living in the land of Canaan. While telling the story, Isaiah had told his son that “the coat that Joseph received from Jacob his father was bright and colourful”, and that was an example of a position of likeness and honour that Albert had with his father. Another story was that of David and Goliath. In the story, Albert learnt how David, a small shepherd boy, defeated a giant, Goliath in a battle. The lesson of
11 the last story was that our concern for salvation and honour of God can give us victory over our enemies. Albert then saw his father as a good storyteller. He kept all the events that happened in the stories from the Bible in his mind. All these Bible stories his father told him gave him an idea about how to write stories or what to create when he finally grew up to become a person who wrote novels. Albert's mother was the strong and silent type. She was very quiet. It was from her Albert learnt the power and feeling of comfort in silence. His mother's education prepared her for leadership position in the village. She was also well known for her leading role in the church. Albert gained a lot from the missionaries' education through his father's efforts. From where he stood later in life, Albert saw the great value of his great-uncle, Udoh and his example of being faithful. He also praised his father for the thirty years he served as a Christian evangelist and for all the benefits his evangelism work brought to the Igbo people.
12 CHAPTER 4
HIS MOTHER'S FOLKTALES
On November 16, 1930, in Nnobi, near Ogidi, a power that controlled what would happen in the future led Albert into a time at which a decision was made about his life. By then, his indecision to choose between Western and African ways of life had caused him a lot in struggling between languages, religions and the cultures of these two ways of life. This was the time his mother and Zinobia, his sister introduced him into the world of Ndi Igbo by telling him many stories from Igbo tradition. Albert's mother told him several folk stories. This occurred a few days after he had gone to watch the masquerades' dance. He was very happy to listen to the stories. Albert had first told his mother about the masquerades' dance he went to see and the reason why he did not ask for his father's permission to watch the dance.
13 “My father will be angry because he does not want me to watch this part of our local tradition that can influence my character,” he said, in a sad mood. He, however, told his mother about his feelings towards the masquerades' dance and about many things that attracted his attention. To him, his going out to watch the masquerade dance was good because the show was very unusual and the masquerades had pleasing appearances. “The dance got my attention; I could never be tired of seeing them,” he told his mother. Albert wondered why he was being denied a way of getting near to the traditional ways of his people. “And for how long should I be stopped from going to see such a dance?” he said to himself. He bared his thoughts: “It troubled my mind and I have been acting the masquerades' character all these times without number after then.” His mother promised to make it up for him by telling him some traditional Igbo stories. Albert was to later realise that his mother too was good at storytelling. One night, she told him some moonlight tales. He appreciated her moonlight tales by laughing, shouting, crying, hissing and clapping his hands. One particular story Albert liked was that of mbe; the tortoise. In Igbo traditional society, mbe, is used to give an example of a person that is difficult to understand. Tortoise is an example of selfishness, greed and wickedness. He always failed to fulfill his promises.
14 “He does not have the spirit of give and take,” his mother would conclude. Tortoise, in his character, never followed the Igbo's rule of aka nri kwoo aka, aka ekpe akwoo aka nri meaning: “one good turn deserve the other”. In one of the stories relating to tortoise, his mother described how Mr Tortoise borrowed some money from his friend, Mr Pig and promised to pay it back. Mr Tortoise failed to make the payment several times until Mr Pig got angry and threw away his wife's 'grinding stone' not knowing it was Mr Tortoise that was used as the 'grinding stone' in order to trick Mr Pig. Mr Tortoise quickly came out from his hiding to demand for the grinding stone, claiming that he kept Mr Pig's money inside the stone. Mr Pig quickly ran out to look for the stone, but he never found it and that was how tortoise never paid his debt. His mother ended the story with the conclusion that “this is the reason why the pigs continue to search for the stone by smelling the ground for it.” Albert loved the story and believed the events of the story was true. “I believe in your story, mother,” he would say, with a promise that when he grew up he would take his time to tell the people around him many stories about tortoise and his dirty, mean and rotten tricks. As a child, sitting quietly, with deep interest, story time took on a new world of meaning and importance to him. Albert realised the reasons why he
15 decided to become a storyteller. Later in his writing career, he went back to the magic of the storytelling of his youth to write his children's books such as: (1) How the Leopard Got His Claws (2) Chike and the River (3)The Drum: A Children's Story and (4) The Flute.
16 CHAPTER 5
HIS ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Albert started his primary education at the age of six in 1936. He attended a CMS's owned school called St. Phillips Central School. He was a very brilliant pupil that was loved by his teachers. “He started school just yesterday, but he is very good at learning or thinking about things,” one of the teachers declared. The head teacher, Mr Jonathan Obimdike Okongwu, liked him based on the report of his brilliant performance in the class. About the third day, Mr Okongwu and other teachers called him into an office for a meeting to decide whether to take him to the next class or not. “I learnt your performance is far above those in your class,” said Mr Okongwu. Albert was shy, he could not answer. He was looking from one teacher to the next. His teacher responded: “Yes, he is the pupil with strong academic performance.”
17 After spending a week with other pupils, he was promoted to a higher class because of his high level of intelligence. He still performed above the pupils he met in the higher class. In fact, his reading ability caused him to be loved and admired by the teachers. Albert was described as “the pupil with the best handwriting and the best reading skills." In the school, the language of instruction for the first two years was Igbo. The reason for this was to make the pupils understand Igbo language better at that stage before moving to higher classes. The teachers introduced the pupils to Igbo literature books that were written by local Igbo writers. Most of these literature books were based on Igbo folktales and folklore. Albert showed great interest in learning more about them. This was because his mother had told him similar stories. At the age of eight, he began to learn in the English Language. His late introduction to the English Language had allowed him to develop a sense of cultural pride and appreciation of his native tongue. These were values he might not have learnt had he been raised and taught only in the English Language. At the age of twelve, his older brother, John Achebe enrolled him at the Central School in Nekede, where he was working as a teacher. This enrolment at a new school gave him the opportunity to leave his home in Ogidi.
18 He prepared for his examinations into Government College, Umuahia while he was in Central School Nekede. The centre for the examinations was St. Michael's School Aba, where his former headmaster, Mr Okongwu was then teaching. Before his arrival, Mr Okongwu had told his pupils in St. Michael's, in Igbo that, Onwe nwa onye Ogidi ana akpo Albert Achebe, na akwadobe inene akwukwo-a; oga ama unu nmili; which is translated as: “There is a young man called Albert Achebe from Ogidi, who is coming to take the entrance examinations with the pupils in this school…he will beat all of you in all subjects in the examinations.” This made the fellow pupils at St. Michael's who would be taking the examinations with him to take an offence in this statement made by Mr Okongwu. This generated a feeling of annoyance and/or anger in the minds of his future longtime and notable friends, like the brilliant Chike Momah. After the examinations, Albert returned to Nakede to complete the school year. Nekede was an important village where valuable Igbo cultural materials were hidden or buried. At Nekede, the old tradition of Igbo people continued to attract Albert, and through these hidden cultural materials in the village, he found another means to educate himself outside the classroom. It was in Nekede village that Albert was introduced to Mbari: the art that engaged in the process and celebration of life. He learnt a lot from the Mbari cultural processes. He also gained knowledge that Igbo people engaged in Mbari
19 culture to ask for help from the gods for the people through art as celebration. At last Albert had to leave Nekede. He was admitted to Dennis Memorial Grammar School in Onitsha and Government College, Umuahia, with full scholarship for both. His family suggested he chose the fairly new school in faraway Umuahia, even though they had no relatives there.
20 CHAPTER 6
HIS SECONDARY EDUCATION
In 1944, at age 14, Albert entered Government College, Umuahia. He had never been to Umuahia before his admission into the School. In fact, he did not know anyone who had been to the town before then. He travelled first by lorry to Enugu, and then by train to Umuahia. Albert arrived at Umuahia railway station alone. A man and his son moved close to him after getting down from the train. The man asked Albert: “Are you going to Umudike?” This was the village where the Government College was located. He replied: “Yes, sah”. The man was going to Umudike too, with his son. He had two bicycles for the journey. The man asked Albert: “Can you ride with us.” His reaction showed that the answer was “yes”. Albert carried the man's son, who was smaller than him on the metal bars of the bicycle to Umudike, which was three and a half miles from the railway
21 station. As they moved on, he kept thanking the man for the help. He was surprised at the friendly treatment he received on his first day in school. The man's son became his friend, naturally. Later that term, he discovered that the boy, who would later become a well-known medical doctor, Francis Egbuonu, had come to Umuahia from St. Michael's School Aba. Other close friends of his in Government College included: Benjamin Uzochukwu, Ekpo Etim Inyang and Chika Momah. However, six of his classmates, including Ekpo Etim Inyang and himself, were promoted to the second year from the first year class during the second term at Umuahia. This was an honour, but it also mean that he would begin to see a large number of his real classmates from his first year class less often. In the college, students were not allowed to speak in their mother tongue. He received his first punishment at the college when he asked another student 'to pass the soap to him' in Igbo Language. A senior boy who was taking his bath with them in the school's bathhouse overheard their conversation and reported this act to the principal of the school. During the school's assembly, Albert was called out and for his disobedience the principal used the cane. He had five strokes of the cane. He was also asked to choose between uprooting a tree or to cut grasses on the school's lawn for a whole week. Albert chose the second option; cutting grasses on the school's lawn. For good
22 one week, he was busy cutting grasses on the lawn without the opportunity to observe the siesta; a regular period for sleep or rest in the afternoon in the boarding schools. He also lost the valuable time to prep (read) for his weekly tests. Nevertheless, Albert still excelled at his studies. This was one of the reasons why he ended up spending four years instead of five years in Government College. While in the college, he spent hours in the library reading books by different authors. In short, he loved library and always borrowed the books from the school's library. Sometimes he spent his pocket money on buying different books. This was the reason why he had an impressive collection of literature books written by great British authors. He kept the books on a bookshelf in his dormitory. The school's library gave Albert the opportunity to read many dictionaries and other interesting books. He also learnt so many things by reading the great book of nature. In the school's library, he frequently saw books of novelists who had written some wonderful stories. He read mostly stories that are longer than short stories, but shorter than novels. At the Government College, Umuahia, Albert was among the students who liked to read new books and who spent a lot of time reading and searching for more knowledge. This strong behaviour towards book reading was, however, controlled by the school's principal of Government College, Umuahia.
23 Chinua Achebe is the second (sitting) on the second row from the right during his Secondary School days at Government College, Umuahia
24 The principal at the time, Reverend Robert Fisher, a white man, introduced an official rule saying that: the students in the college were not allowed to read or study beyond the time alloted for reading activity. He would say: “There is time for everything, time to read and time to play.” And often added: “studying always without a time for relaxation can make jack a dull boy.” The principal realised the fact that some stubborn students were breaking or ignoring the rule laid down by the school authority without hiding or showing fear. In fact, Albert Achebe was one of such students who had continued to ignore that rule. It was in Umuahia that Albert continued the introduction to the work of William Shakespeare that his father had first introduced him to, as well as to Booker T. Washington books. Before he left Umuahia, Albert was fortunate to have another good principal named Mr WC Simpson, who created and encouraged students' reading culture. This was a period of time between 4pm and 6pm when novels are to be picked up and read by students. Government College, Umuahia played a great role in influencing other writers of modern African literature such as: Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, Christopher Okigbo, Elechi Amadi, INC Aniebo, Chike Momah, Gabriel Okara and Ken Saro Wiwa. Albert Achebe was a member of the class of 1947 in Government College, Umuahia. When he was in the fifth form, he sat for the West African School
25 Certificate Examination. He did much better than usual in this examination; passing with distinctions and graduating at 18. He also sat for entrance examination into the University College, Ibadan. In 1948, he was admitted as a major scholar into the university because of the high mark he scored in the entrance examination. As a result of his exceptional performance, Albert was given a scholarship to study medicine.
26 CHAPTER 7
AT THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, IBADAN
While studying medicine at the University College, Ibadan, Albert Achebe developed an interest in European literature about Africa. He developed the interest in the foreign literature because he considered them to be very good. The interest in foreign literature about Africa came after he had read the work of the author called Joyce Cary. The story narrated the story of about a cheerful Nigerian who worked for an abusive British store owner. The Nigerian was employed as a store keeper to keep records of activities for the Briton. In her book, Cary described the Nigerian man in a very bad way. His way of writings showed that he did not understand Nigerians ways of life. Albert Achebe regarded his wrong opinion about the cheerful Nigerian man as a mistake, resulting from lack of knowledge. The bad stories written by Cary about Nigerians annoyed Albert Achebe to an extent that he left the study of medicine and changed to
27 study the English Language, History and Theology. He eventually lost his scholarship because he changed his field of study. Since he changed from medicine that earned him scholarship to English Studies, he had to begin paying tuition fees. When his father heard about Albert's change of course of study he became annoyed. He rebuked Albert. His father shouted: “I am angry at your ignorance.” He had wanted his son to become a medical doctor. It annoyed him that Albert was so arrogant. He vowed not to pay his school fees if Albert insisted on dropping Medicine for English Studies. It was his older brother, Augustine Achebe, an engineer that intervened. On learning that Albert had lost his scholarship, he gave him the money he had saved up for his annual leave to pay his tution fees and continued his studies. Another thing Albert did as a student at the University College, Ibadan was to drop his English name Albert in favour of an Igbo name, Chinualumogu. The name in Igbo literary means “God will fight on my behalf.” Chinua is the shortened form of Chinualumogu. When he told his father about his new name, his immediate reaction was one of shock. The news of his change of name from Albert to Chinualumogu produced mixed reaction from members of his family. There was a mixed feelings as different members of the family reacted in different
28 ways to the new name. Albert made them to realise the fact that he needed to change the name in order to fulfill his age-long desire to be a true African. He realised the fact that his father gave all his children English names to satisfy his devotion to his new adopted religion, which was Christianity. In a response to his father's reaction he said: “You just have to realise that you can't always get what you want as a father.” The name was later accepted by his father and siblings after convincing arguments. He became interested in world religions and traditional African cultures and began to write stories as a university student. Chinua made his first appearance as an author when he wrote the story: Polar Undergraduate in the university's newspaper called Herald in 1950. He was unhappy with books about Africa written by British authors like Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and John Buchan (1875-1940) because he felt the descriptions of African people were inaccurate and insulting. He became more critical of the way the Europeans portrayed Africa and its culture. He was determined to depict his culture in a better way. Chinua spent an extremely eventful period in University College, Ibadan. He started to popularise African culture and tradition through his writings. He entered the literary world right in the university. It was at the University College Ibadan that he developed a
29 greater knowledge about literature. He graduated in 1953.
Chinua Achebe as a young writer
30 CHAPTER 8
A CAREER MAN
Chinua Achebe went into teaching after his graduation from the University College, Ibadan in 1953. He first taught in a small school in a village. The school was in very bad condition because of lack of maintenance. He worked in this school for just four months. One good thing he did for his students in the school was that he encouraged them to develop reading habit. He taught them how to be more determined, hopeful and confident. The students read literature books of great writers within the few months he spent with them. In 1954, Chinua started to work as a broadcaster for Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBC) in Enugu. His job was to prepare written form of a play for oral presentation on radio. This experience helped him to understand how two or more people can dialogue (talk) in prose and poems later in his writing career. While working for the NBC, he wrote his first novel Thing Fall Apart in 1958.
31 The novel is about the story of a traditional Igbo warrior and a local hero called Okonkwo who was unable to change his African way of life in the early days of British rule in Nigeria. The book won immediate international recognition and also became the basis for a play by a Yorùbá playwright, Bisi Bandele. Years later, in 1997, the Performance Studio Workshop of Nigeria presented the play on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). The play, Things Fall Apart, was later presented in the United States of America as part of the Kennedy Centre's African Odyssey series in 1999. His next two novels No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God were written to show Africa's past events as well. He wrote his novels in the English Language despite the poor treatment of or forces to harm black people by the English people because of the colour of their skin. However, he was able to defend the use of the English Language: a language of the people that occupied Africa by force, in African literature. He even used a meeting point at which some literature books were discussed in order to do a critical study of the work, by a British author Conrad, titled: Heart of Darkness. In his response to various comments made at the meeting, Chinua talked about the problems of Conrad who had a wrong belief that his own people, the whites were better than all black peoples in the world. Chinua Achebe's first broadcast on Voice of Nigeria was made on the New Year's Day of 1962. It was
32 during this period that he travelled to Uganda in order to attend an executive conference of African writers in English. At the conference, Chinua had the opportunity to meet other notable and prominent writers around the world. For example, he met writers such as Kofi Awoonor, Wole Soyinka and Langston Hughes. These authors gathered in Uganda to talk about issues that are related to literature for several days. In 1966, he wrote the novel titled, A Man of the People, a story about a corrupt Nigerian politician. The novel is about political problems common to many of the states in modern Africa. The book was published at the very moment a military coup removed the old political leadership. It was noticed by people in northern Nigeria that the Igbo people, who had played a leading role in Nigerian politics then, began to feel that the Muslim Hausa people of the northern Nigeria considered them second class citizens. The presentation of the book, A Man of the People at a period of military coup (hostile takeover of leadership in Nigeria) by Igbo soldiers made some northern military officers to suspect that Chinua Achebe, an Igbo man, must have played a prominent role in the military takeover of government in Nigeria, but there was never any evidence to support the claim.
33 CHAPTER 9
PLAYING THE HUSBAND
The 1960s proved to be a productive period in the life of Chinua Achebe. It was during this period that he married his wife, Christie Chinwe Okoli. She was introduced to him by his office secretary, who said after the introduction, “I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone to carry on with your relationship.” Chinua spoke of his interest in Christie: “I have a strong feeling of active interest in her.” Chinua's secretary who served as the go-between, knew the qualities his boss was looking out for in a woman. A lovely lady, beautiful, meek, gentle and straightforward. Two years into their friendship, they were engaged. A few years into their love affairs, their wedding ceremony took place in 1961. Christie was from a very important and well-known Awka family. She was the daughter of one of the most respected Igbo men at the time. Her father's name was Timothy Chukwukadiba Okoli, and her mother's name was Mgboye Matilda
34 Mmuo. Her mother died not too long after she was born. Christie took Chinua home one day to meet her father. She said, “Papa meet Chinua Achebe.” Both men shook hands and after exchanging greetings, her father led Chinua to the parlour for a brief interview. “Where are you from, young man? What do you do? Where did you go to school? Who are your parents?” Achebe responded to his many questions. One evening, while Chinua and Christie were talking, Mr Okoli joined them in the parlour. They exchanged greetings. He sat down and listened to what they were saying, drinking wine slowly and watching the two of them as they talked. By this time, Chinua Achebe was not sure whether Mr Okoli liked him; though they got along very well. While Chinua and Christie were talking Mr Okoli missed something her daughter had said and he had asked her to make it clearer in order to make it easier for him to understand. Chinua responded to Mr Okoli's demand by saying jokingly in Igbo language: Rapia ka ona agbaigba agba meaning: “Don't mind her sir…she is only moving her tongue back and forth…” Mr Okoli was angry at Chinua for saying this about her daughter. He said: “Don't ever say that what someone else has to say is not good to listen to.” Chinua knew immediately that he had to be careful about the way he reacted to Christie's words in the presence of
35 her father. He realised that even when they were not agreeing on an issue, there should be a good understanding of the situation. Before his marriage, Chinua had read several booklets that taught him lifelong faithfulness to his wife as the duty of a husband. Chinua always expressed strong romantic feelings to his wife. “I'm fond of her,” he would often say. The absolute thought of all nightfall and their subsequent meeting was ever following his mind in a way that was difficult to forget. Whenever Christie visited him during their courtship, he used to keep her awake till late in the night with idle talks. His motives for the marriage were pure. Many examples of life experiences had convinced Chinua Achebe that 'God ultimately saves those whose motives are pure'. Chinua tried to build a solid home in which discipline was maintained. As it is with other marriages, he had a hard time maintaining discipline at home, most especially when they started having children. However, most people that were close to the family praised him for his dedication and discipline as a father. Chinua's hardness and strictness on the members of his family were all based on love. “I wanted to make my family an ideal family,” he said. His ambition was to make his wife and children live a pure life, learn what he learnt, and identify their life and thought with his.
36 Charity they say begins at home. Chinua was able to carry the discipline that he was trying to put into his family to his writing career. He became a successful novelist who was well respected by other Nigerians in the same profession. Chinua became famous for his depiction of social and psychological confusion that occurred in African society with the imposition of western culture and values upon traditional African society. His concern was with emergent Africa at its moments of crises. His novels range in subject-matter, from the contact of an African village with white man to the educated Africa's attempt to create a firm moral order out of the changing values in a large city. It was during this period that Chinua wrote his first novel Things Fall Apart. As a follow-up to the success he had recorded in writing this novel, he wrote No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) as well as A Man of the People (1966). All these novels addressed the issue of how traditional ways of life in Africa came into conflict with new, often colonial, points of view. His writings have introduced readers throughout the world to creative use of language and form as well as to factual inside accounts of modern African life and history. He has helped to reshape the way outsiders think about and understand African history, culture and place in world affairs. He achieved success in this venture not only through his literary contributions, but
37 also through an addition of bold objectives for Nigeria and Africa. Chinua earned handsomely from the sales of his novels and was able to take good care of his family. Their marriage was blessed with four children; Chidi, Chinelo, Ikechukwu and Nwando. He was also grandfather to six grandchildren.
38 CHAPTER 10
A POLITICAL CRUSADER FOR BIAFRA
During the years the Igbo people (Biafra) attempted to breakaway as a separate state from Nigeria between 1967 and 1970, Chinua Achebe served as a representative of Biafran government to the outside world. He travelled to different countries all over the world in order to discuss the problems of his people, the Igbo. The most important thing he was discussing with the people he met outside his country was how the Biafran children were dying from lack of food and how the unarmed Igbo women were being killed. He wrote so many articles for newspapers and magazines about the Biafran struggle. He founded the Citadel Press with the late Nigerian poet, Christopher Okigbo who died while fighting in the war for Biafra freedom from Nigeria in the year 1967. Achebe discovered that writing a novel at this time was out of the question. He said during a 1969 interview: “I can't write a novel now, I wouldn't want to. And even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I can write poetry,
39 Late Christopher Okigbo (left) and late Chinua Achebe (right)
40 something short, intense, more in keeping with my mood.” He, therefore, wrote three volumes of poetry during the civil war between Nigeria and Biafra. He also had an impressive collection of short tales and children's stories. During this period, Chinua wrote all sorts of stories about the sufferings of Igbo children. He said “I was at the scene of their suffering, so I have to tell the stories to the whole world”. When the leader of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu decided to build a good relationship between the military and the civilian, Chinua started a group he called the Biafran Organisation of Freedom Fighters (BOFF). Being invited to serve the Igbo people by the leader of Biafra was both an important and satisfying opportunity to Chinua, but it also came with great anxiety. “What were we getting into?” he recalled. “I never demanded for the position, so being asked from the very top to come and help, especially from my position as a smart person who enjoyed serious study and thought, was very important to me. I wasn't totally sure how things would work out, but I thought I would do my best,” he said. The first journey Chinua made on behalf of Biafran government, to maintain good relations with other countries, was to Senegal. The journey was made at the direct request of General Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, the Biafran leader. The General called him to his office soon after the Nigerian/Biafran war started and asked him to travel to
41 Senegal to deliver a message to President Leopold Sedar Senghor. Chinua was to be followed by a young man called Sam Agbam, who could speak different European languages fluently. Chinua and Sam prepared for the journey to Senegal. They were put on a private plane at midnight and flown out of the country through the Biafran owned Uli airstrip. They, however, flew out of Biafra across the Sahara Desert. At a particular time, during this journey, the pilot told the people in the plane, when they were about twenty thousand feet high, that the engine of the plane was having problems. The pilot quickly turned and moved to the Sahara where they left it to enter a Senegalese airline and flew to Dakar. Sam Agbam went away (disappeared) at some point during the journey. Chinua did not know the reason why he left. He later learnt that Agbam ran into trouble with the Biafran government. He was accused of being part of a group that wanted to take over the Biafran government and was later executed (killed) with other people in the group for planning a coup against Ojukwu. Chinua decided to take control of the journey, despite the language problem that could make his discussion with the Senegalese people difficult. He arrived in Dakar and stayed in one of the many good hotels in the city. The following day after his arrival in Dakar, he visited the office of the president and tried to deliver General Chukwuemeka Ojukwu's letter to President
42 Senghor. The officials in the president's office did not allow him to move (go) past their desk. “These officials did not like my request to see the president,” he said. “They could not even think of opening the door and showing me in to see the president. They must have thought I was crazy!” he concluded. There was one very tall man who spoke very good English, who said to me: “There is no way you could see the president. What do you want to see him for?” he had asked. Chinua replied “I would like to present my new novel, A Man of the People, to him,” “I know President Senghor is a great writer and poet, and I thought I should show my appreciation of his writing by presenting to him my humble effort at writing a novel,” he added. Clearly, that was not what Achebe wanted to do, but he was not ready to tell the man the real reason, because the gentleman would never allow him to see the president if he told him. “Oh, that is easy enough: You give me the book and I will take it to him, and I am sure he will be happy,” the man said. Chinua replied “I would like to deliver it myself, that was the reason I had come all this way.” There was nothing more that the official could tell Chinua, than to ask him to leave the government house. After several attempts, Chinua was able to meet President Leopold Sedar Senghor. He knew that
43 Chinua came from Biafra in West Africa. Chinua gave the letter he brought from the Biafran leader Emeka Ojukwu to Senghor. Chinua said: “This is a message from the Biafran leader, who had asked me to deliver the closed envelop directly to you.” Senghor regretted that Chinua had spent several days in his country trying to reach him. He apologised for the bad treatment he had received. He looked through the letter quickly, and then turned to Chinua and said to him: “I will deal with the matter overnight…as soon as possible.” They discussed negritude (the condition of being a black person) and other things of great concern. Senghor told him the story of a Senegalese education minister who tried to stop the use of all French textbooks in Senegal. Senghor narrated how he told the minister not to go into the extreme of being a black man; he said to him: “Thank you for your efforts, but that would be too much Negritude.” They both laughed, and then they talked for about two hours, discussing poetry by other poets like Okigbo, Derek Walcott, Aime Cesaire, Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, among others. Achebe later made several visits to the Scandinavians (the people that speak northern Germanic languages) on behalf of the people of Biafra. The Scandinavian countries he visited on these trips were Sweden, Finland and Norway. They provided food, housing and medicine to Biafrans and tried to
44 stop human abuse by reducing the sufferings of the people in Biafra. In Sweden, Chinua visited Carl Gustaf von Rosen; a well-known man in Europe who always helped Biafra in its time of trouble. In Norway, he spent about twenty minutes to talk to the nobles, the clergy and the commoners, telling them about the problems Biafra was having. They clapped and promised him of their continued support. In Canada, Chinua was invited to speak about the Biafran tragedy by the World Council of Churches and the Canadian Council of Churches. He was very happy to speak to the people in these two groups because they were the ones supplying food and other materials to stop the suffering and dying people of Biafra. In May 1968, Chinua was part of the Biafran people that went for the Uganda talks to make peace between Nigeria and Biafra. It was at this meeting he met Mallam Aminu Kano, a federal commissioner in Nigeria during General Yakubu Gowon's military administration for the first time. At the meeting, Anthony Enahoro, who led Nigerian representatives, was talking in a loud voice that:“Biafra will be destroyed unless there is a complete surrender.” Chinua observed that, Aminu Kano seemed very uneasy and was often looking through the window. “Aminu Kano was not happy with either side or how the matter was being handled,” Achebe
45 concluded. That meeting left a strong feeling of great respect, which was impossible to remove from his memory for Aminu Kano, based on his character and his intellect. In late 1968, Chinua travelled to the United States of America with Gabriel Okara and Cyprian Ekwensi as part of efforts to bring the story of Biafra to the American writers. They visited university campuses in the United States of America to give interviews, and to meet several American leaders of thought. After the fall of the Republic of Biafra, Chinua Achebe continued to work at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He devoted his time to the Heinemann book writers' series to promote the career of young African writers.
46 Cross sections of victims of Biafra war
47 CHAPTER 11
HIS LATER YEARS
After the Nigerian civil war in the year 1970, Chinua was appointed a research fellow at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. In 1972, he went to the United States of America to become a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1975, he was at the University of Connecticut. Chinua returned to the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1976 as a Professor of English, a position he held until 1981. During this time, he also served as director of two Nigerian publishing houses in Nigeria: Heinemann Educational Books Limited and Nwankwo-Ifejika Limited. When Nigeria was preparing to return to democratic government in the late 1970s, Chinua Achebe joined the left-of-centre political party called, People Redemption Party. The party was led by Mallam Aminu Kano. He was appointed the deputy national president of the party. His main reason for playing
48 active role in Nigerian politics was to lift up the way in which ideas are exchanged in Nigeria to an active level that will make Nigerians to ask critical questions about their future. Three questions to be asked according to Chinua are: How can the country conduct free and fair elections? How can we elect the right kind of leaders and ensure that they will keep to the number of years that was agreed upon? How do we ensure that our leaders don't double their stay in power, or even change it into a family of rulers in which they hand over to their sons? The period he spent in Nigerian politics was filled with sadness, anger and the understanding that despite the fact that there were a few honest politicians like Mallam Aminu Kano, most of the people he met in politics were there for their own selfish interest. In 1978, while Chinua was still teaching in the University of Nigeria Nssuka, he wrote the novel Anthills of the Savannah. The novel was written to make statement that refer to Nigerian political situation without mentioning it directly. After the release of the novel, Chinua returned to the United States of America to take up teaching positions at Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and other universities. Achebe came back to Nigeria in the year 1990, to celebrate his 60th birthday, but was involved in an auto crash on one of the Nigeria's bad roads. The accident put him in a position that he could no longer move with his legs. He became paralysed on parts of his body from
49 the waist down. This kept him on wheelchair for the rest of his life. As a result of this car accident, doctors told him to go back to the United States of America to receive better medical care. While in America, he accepted a teaching position at Bard College, Annandale-on- Hudson, New York. He remained at Bard College for 15 years. He was Charles, P. Stevenson Professor of languages and literature at Bard College from 1990 to 2008. In 1999, after been abroad for a long time, Achebe finally visited Nigeria his homeland, where his native village of Ogidi made him a chief of a large family in Igbo land; for his support to the myths and legends of his ancestors. In the year 2000, he wrote a book on a real life event titled, Home and Exile. The book was published by Oxford University Press. Home and Exile comprise three essays: short pieces of writings that gave attention to his thought and opinion about life experiences in Nigeria. In the year 2009, he left Bard College to join Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, as the David and Marianna Fischer University Professor and a Professor of Africana Studies. Chinua won several awards for his novels. The awards he received included Nigerian National Trophy for Literature for his book: No longer at Ease. He also received in the year 1972 the first Commonwealth Poetry prize for his book of poetry titled, Christmas in
50 Chinua Achebe (in a wheelchair) addressing the audience
51 Biafra. He received Man Booker International Prize in 2007; and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2010. Achebe also got honorary degrees from more than 30 universities around the world. He was the founder and publisher of Uwa Ndigbo: A Bilingual Journal of Igbo life and arts. He was also the editor of the magazine: Okike, a Nigerian leading journal of new writing. Achebe died on March 21, 2013 at the age of 82, in Boston Massachusetts, United States of American. He was buried at Ogidi his home village in Anambra State, Nigeria in the year 2013.
52 CHAPTER 12
CHINUA ACHEBE'S LITERARY WORKS
Achebe had a belief that the books of literature must deal with the problems of the society. He said that: “art is, and always was, at the service of man, it is rather an end in itself, it reports to no one.” Achebe believed that: “any good story, any good novel should have a message, should have a purpose.” The first novel written by Chinua Achebe was Things Fall Apart. The novel was first published in 1958 by a United Kingdom based book publishing company called William Heinemann Limited. The story of the novel described the pre-colonial life events in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria in the order that they happened and the arrival of the Europeans during the late 19th century. Things Fall Apart is seen as the perfect example of modern African novel in English, one of the first African novels to receive strong approval or praise world-wide. In actual fact, Chinua Achebe wrote this story about people and events that are not real; he told the story as it was imagined by him. In short, the novel
53 describes the manner in which the British colonial government had directed the behaviour of the people called Igbo in order to make them do what it wanted. The second novel written by Chinua Achebe was No Longer at Ease. It was published in the year 1960. The third was Arrow of God. It was published in the year 1964. It followed his book Things Fall Apart. As it was stated earlier, Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God along with the third, No Longer at Ease, are sometimes called the African trilogy as they share similar settings and themes. It should be noted that the titles of these three works are most times joined by persons who have studied their content very well for a long time and they have known a lot about them to express a single idea. Achebe's novel that caused more discussion and arguments was A Man of the People. It was published in the year 1966. The novel deals with dishonest behaviour by powerful people in the government and other aspects of African life that existed after gaining freedom from the white men in 1960. It was written as a satire. In the novel Achebe used joke and humour to show that Nigerian political life of the period was bad. The joke that Achebe added to the novel is one of his most attractive qualities. Achebe's novel titled Anthills of the Savannah was published in the year 1987. It was the fifth novel, first published in the United Kingdom twenty years after A Man of the People in 1966. The novel has been praised for bringing honour and recognition to Achebe. It made
54 him active again in the literary world and also improved the common opinion that people in Britain have about him. The novel entered the final stage in the 1987 competition for Booker prize for written stories about people and events that are not real. The Booker prize is mostly awarded for best original novel written in the English Language and published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Achebe's non-fiction work titled, There was a Country was published in the year 2012. The book is an autobiography and a personal history of Biafra. It was written as a personal account of the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970. The book was described as one of the book of literature that explains modern African writing, which is about facts or real events. Achebe wrote the novel in an attempt to create a new category of literature that shows that his power of storytelling is very different from what is ordinary. Chinua Achebe also published several collections of short stories and children books that included How the Leopard Got Its Claws (1973); Beware, Soul Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973) the last two being collections of poetry. Achebe's work titled: Another Africa was published in 1998. It combined an essay and poem with photographs by Robert Lyons. His books of essays included: Morning Yet On Creation Day (1975); Hope and Impediments (1988); Home and Exile (2000) and The Education of a British Protected Child (2009).
55 QUESTIONS
POINTS FOR UNDERSTANDING
Chapter 1 1. Okafor Achebe was the father of Chinua Achebe (a) Where did Okafor's family come from in Nigeria? (b) What was his father's occupation? (c) What was his mother's occupation? 2. Who brought up Okafor Achebe? 3. Why did he change his religion? 4. “My boy, you are now old enough to be a man, bring a girl of your choice.” (a) Who made this statement? (b) Why did he make the statement? (c) What type of lady did Okafor bring home to his uncle?
Chapter 2 1. A traditional marriage was organised for Okafor and who? 2. What made Okafor's marriage very festive and colourful? 3. Explain one important change that occurred immediately after Okafor's marriage.
56 4. What did Isaiah's family witnessed on November 15, 1930? 5. “Congratulation my dear wife, Janet, for this special gift from God” (a) Who said this? And Why? (b) What name was given to the new born baby? and Why? (c) What happened several days after the quoted statement was made?
Chapter 3 1. How was Albert brought up? And what did he always want to see? 2. Why would Isaiah not want his son to learn the traditional ways of Igbo people? 3. “Would you like to stay in the compound to play with sand or would you follow me to watch the masquerades' dance?” (a) Who said this? And to whom? (b) What was the answer to the quoted question above? (c) What did they see at the masquerade dance? 4. Explain how Albert's parents reacted to his leaving home without telling them. 5. Narrate the two stories from the Bible that Isaiah told Albert and give lessons learnt from the two stories.
57 Chapter 4 1. Who introduced Albert into the world of Ndi Igbo? 2. What did Albert tell his mother before she told him several folk stories? 3. What reasons were given by Albert for not asking his father for permission to watch the masquerade dance? 4. How did Albert express his feelings towards the masquerade dance? 5. What did Albert realise about his mother? 6. One night, Albert's mother told him tales by moonlight: (a) Discuss one particular story he liked from his mother's tales. (b) What was the conclusion of this story? (c) What were the later results of Albert's sitting quietly, with deep interest, listening to his mother's stories.
Chapter 5 1. How old was Albert when he started primary education? 2. What were the names of the head teacher in Albert's school? And why did he like Albert so much? 3. What were the issues the teachers discussed with Albert in one of their offices? And state in one sentence the decision taken by the teachers on
58 Albert's case after spending just one week with other pupils in his class. 4. Discuss the event that occurred when Albert was just a 12-year old pupil. 5. What made fellow pupils at St Michael's school Aba to take offence in Albert's presence at the entrance examination venue?
Chapter 6 1. 'The man asked Albert': “Are you going to Umudike”? (a) What location is Umudike? (b) Why did the man ask him the above question? (c) What was Albert feeling towards the unexpected help he received from the man? 2. Albert entered Government College Umuahia in 1944 at age 14. What were the similarities between Albert first week in the primary school and his second term in the secondary school?
3. Discuss the reason why Albert was asked to cut grasses on the school's lawn. 4. The students in the college were not allowed to read or study beyond the time alloted for reading activity. Why?
59 Chapter 7 1. Albert developed an interest in the foreign literature: (a) Where was Albert when he developed interest in foreign literature? (b) What made him to develop the interest? (c) Whose work did he read before developing the interest? 2. Why did Albert change his course from medicine to English Studies, History and Theology? 3. How did Albert lose his scholarship? And who intervened to pay his school fees after he lost it? 4. Another thing that Albert did as a student in the University College was to drop his English name: (a) What Igbo name did he adopt? (b) What are the literary Igbo meanings of the name? (c) How did his father react to this change of name?
Chapter 8 1. Describe the first job that Chinua had after leaving the University College. 2. In 1954, Chinua started to work as a broadcaster: (a) What type of activities did he engage in as a broadcaster? (b) What did he learn as a broadcaster at NBC in Enugu?
60 (c) What is the title of the novel he composed at NBC? Describe the major character in this novel. 3. Where and when did Chinua meet Kofi Awoonor, Wole Soyinka and Langston Hughes? 4. How did the Muslim Hausa people of Northern Nigeria feel when he wrote the novel titled: A Man of the People?
Chapter 9 1. Where and how did Chinua and Christie meet? 2. Who was Christie's father? 3. What were the questions that Christie's father asked Chinua? 4. What made Christie's father to be angry with Chinua one certain day? 5. Chinua tried to build a solid home. Explain in details how he maintained discipline in his home.
Chapter 10 1. Why did Chinua Achebe travel to different countries all over the world? What was the most important thing he discussed with the people he met outside Biafra? 2. What was the relationship between Chinua Achebe and Christopher Okigbo? 3. Instead of writing novels what did Chinua focus on during the Nigeria and Biafra war?
61 4. Narrate the experience of Chinua Achebe before he could meet Leopold Senghor. 5. What did he discuss with Leopold Senghor?
Chapter 11 1. What was the title of a lecture delivered by Achebe in the University of Massachusetts? 2. Why did Achebe join the left-of-centre political party? 3. How would you describe the period of time that Achebe spent in Nigerian politics? 4. What incident put Chinua Achebe on a wheelchair in the year 1990? How did it affect him in later years? 5. At what age did he die? Where was he buried?
Chapter 12 1. Chinua Achebe's first novel was titled: Things Fall Apart: (a) What does the story of the novel describe? (b) Is the novel an example of bad story that has no message and no purpose? (c) Is it a perfect example of modern African novel in English? 2. In three sentences, position the first three novels written by Chinua Achebe as African Trilogy. 3. Explain the main content of Achebe's third novel that was published in 1964.
62 4. Which of the books written by Achebe was first published in the United Kingdom 20 years after his 1966 novel? Describe the Booker Prize award for folk stories.
63 GLOSSARY
Abusive: using bad and insulting language Academic: good at studying and at passing examination Acrobatic: to do difficult and often dangerous things Airstrip: an area of land that is used as a runway for plane to take off and land Ancestors: persons who were in someone's family in the past Ancient: very old Banned: to say that something must not be done Belief: a feeling that something is good, right or valuable Believe: to accept or regard something as true Bookshelf: a flat board attached to a wall on which books are kept Bookworm: a person who likes to read books Clan: a large group of people who are related or a large family Communal: shared or used by members of a group or community Conversation: talk involving two people or a small group of people
64 Coup: attempt by small group to take-over government through force Courtship: activities that occur when two people are developing friendship that could lead to marriage Creator: God who makes something to exist or a person who makes something new Crooked: not honest Crusader: to take part in a major effort to change something Culture: a way of thinking, behaving or working that exists in a place Custom: way of behaving among people in a particular place Descendant: someone who is related to a person or group of people who lived in the past Devote: having strong love or loyalty for something Devotion: a feeling of strong love Devout: loyal to something or deeply religious or showing true feelings in an honest way Dormitory: a building on a school compound that has rooms where students can live Emergent: newly created and growing Exceptional: good and much better than average Folk stories: stories that are not true, but that many people have heard or read
65 Idle: doing nothing useful or not having much activity Instruction: to describe how something should be done Investigation: to find out facts about something in order to learn how it happened, who did it etc. Literary world: involve in writing, preparing and producing literature Mother tongue: language that a person learn to speak first Native tongue: language that is being spoken in a place where someone is born Opinion: What you think about a particular thing Origin: The place where something begins Paralyse: to make somebody unable to feel or move all or part of their body Performance: how something (activity or job) is done in a very good way Popularise: to make something to be liked by many people Rainforest: an area covered with trees in which waterfalls heavily from the sky Rebuke: to speak in an angry way to someone Relaxation: a way to rest and enjoy oneself Renowned: known by people for good things done Rotten: very bad
66 Rule: a word that tells you what is allowed and what is not allowed in a particular situation Scholar: an intelligent and well-educated person who knows a particular subject very well Severe: very bad, serious or harsh Siblings: your brothers and sisters Siesta: a brief sleep Square: an open area in a village or city where two or more streets meet Tragedy: a bad event that causes sadness and often involves death Valuable: very useful or helpful/important Yelled: something said very loudly because someone is angry or surprised
67 APPENDIX
RECORD OF SAYINGS AND PROVERBS FROM CHINUA ACHEBE'S BOOKS
1 “If you don't like someone's story, write your own”
2 “The world is like a masquerade dancing. If you want to see it well, you don't stand in one place”
3 “While we do our good works, let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary”
4 “Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am-and what I need- is something I have to find out myself”
68 5 “There is no story that is not true, (…) The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others”
6 “To me, being an intellectual does not mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them”
7 “My weapon is literature”
8 “Charity…is the opium of the privileged”
9 “If I hold her hand, she says, 'don't touch! If I hold her foot she says 'don't touch! But when I hold her waist beads she pretends not to know”
10 “One of the finest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised”
69 11 “When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool
12 “When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk”
13 “If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings”
14 “Proverbs are oil with which words are eaten”
15 “One could say that his Chi or …personal god was good. But the Igbo people have a proverb that when a man says yes, his Chi says yes also. Okonkwo says yes very strongly so his Chi agreed”
70 16 “A child cannot pay for its mother's milk”
17 “It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates memory the survivors must have, otherwise their surviving would have no meaning”
18 “You do not know me said tortoise: I am a changed man. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others, makes trouble for himself”
19 “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter
71 REFERENCES
Achebe, C. (2005) Author profile: Chinua Achebe World Literature Today 79 (1): 60 Achebe, C. (2012) There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra, London: Penguin Brendon, N. (2011) Chinua Achebe at Leeds: When the great share the good Leeds African Studies Bulletin 73. Carroll, D. (1980) Chinua Achebe New York: St. Martin's Press Ezenwa, O. (1997) Chinua Achebe: A Biography Bloomington: Indiana University Press Forsyth, F. (1982) Emeka Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited Gandhi, M.K. (1927) An Autobiography or the Story of My Experiment with Truth Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House Ibrahim, B. (2013) Chinua Achebe: A Non-romantic View Pambazuka News issue 624 Innes, C.L. (1990) Chinua Achebe New York: Cambridge University Press Ogede, O. (2001) Oral tradition and modern storytelling: revisiting Chinua Achebe's short stories International Fiction Review Vol. 28, Issue ½ pp.67
72 Olanlokun, O. (2015) The Legend: Chief Obafemi Awolowo Lagos: Lantern Books Olanlokun, O (2016) The Legend: Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Lagos: Lantern Books Watts, C. (1983) A bloody racist: about Achebe's view on Conrad, The Yearbook of English Studies Vol.13 pp.196
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