World mourns Chinua Achebe: His Works Have Immortalised Him, Says Gov Fayemi

EKITI State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described the death of literary icon, Achebe, as a great loss to Nigeria and Africa. Fayemi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Olayinka Oyebode, said Achebe has immortalised himself through his literary works, which attained global importance and acceptance.
He said Achebe used his novels to positively project the image of Nigeria in the international community and advocated a better society through his works.
The governor, however, urged Nigerian authorities to address the problems afflicting the country, which made Achebe to reject the national honour of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2004 and 2011.
He described Achebe as the father of modern African writing, an activist who spoke against injustice and corruption, a role model to generations of writers, whose works inspired the younger ones and paved way for the emergence of a vibrant literary community.
Achebe’s literary prowess, according to Fayemi, traversed novels, short stories, poetry, essays, criticisms, non-fiction, political commentary and children books.
He urged activists and stakeholders, who believe in the cause of Achebe, not to relent in their quest to enthrone true federalism, rule of law, equity, justice and fair play.

‘He Left An Indelible Mark’
FORMER President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said: “It is a great loss to the country.
“He was one of the greatest writers of Nigeria in this century. He left an indelible mark on the firmament of world literature.
“His death is the will of God and I prayed for the repose of his soul and for God to give the family the heart to bear the loss.”

‘He Was The Numero Uno Amongst His Peers’
FORMER governor Of Anambra State and Senator representing Anambra Central in the National Assembly, Dr. Chris Ngige, described Achebe as a literary giant with a special style that captures events in a classical natural ways, with the environment being the normal Nigerian rural setting or city.
“He was the numero uno amongst his peers in the literary world, having his flagship novel “Things Fall Apart,” ranking one of the most read all over the world having been translated into more than 53 languages.
“Anambra Central and Nigeria have lost one of her activist, literary prince, welfarist and worthy ambassador,” Ngige said.

‘A Great Loss To Humanity’
LAGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola, while expressing grief at the passage of Achebe, described his death as a great loss not only to the literary world, but also humanity.
Fashola, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Hakeem Bello, recalled his meeting with Achebe, said: “I am particularly saddened by the fact that when I met him at Brown University last December, I never realised it will be my last with him.
“He is a towering African figure, whose personality transcends the walls of ethnicity and religion and whose literary prowess has taken Nigeria and, indeed, the African continent to the pinnacle of international recognition.”
He added: “I must say, without any reservation, that Achebe’s ingenuity as writer and the power behind his words influenced my generation to no small extent and opened our eyes to the rich culture, tradition and belief of our people.
“And here, perhaps, lies his greatest contribution to the Black race; for through such world classics as Things Fall Apart, Professor Achebe was able to keep our culture, tradition and belief alive in spite of the onslaught of other cultures,” the governor said.
Fashola said Nigeria, Africa and the Black race owe Achebe a wealth of gratitude and honour “for his uncompromising stand against all forms of colonialism and man’s inhumanity to man,” adding that both nationally and internationally, the literary don agitated for equality and objectivity.
“Indeed, Professor Achebe has left an indelible print in all our hearts but, especially, all literature lovers globally. He will continually live in our hearts as one who shaped and influenced African Literature and one who passed one of   integrity’s truest tests, a constant abiding with principle,” he stated.

‘He Was A Remarkable Personality’
From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City
EDO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole described his death as the loss of a literary giant, who left an indelible print in the sands of time.
In a condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Peter Okhiria, Oshiomhole said: “On behalf of the people and Government of Edo State, I wish to commiserate with the governor and the good people of Anambra State on the death of the literary giant.
He said: “With Achebe’s death, Anambra and indeed Nigeria has lost a major personality, who played a unique role in its modern history.
“Even as an intellectual giant, his voice resonated with clarity and authoritative distinction on matters of national interest.
“He was a remarkable personality and will always be remembered for his forthrightness and incisive contributions to national issues.
“He could not be ignored or taken for granted on any matter, even by those who disagreed with him.
“His rejection of several National Awards speaks of the vintage Achebe, who was more concerned with the plight of the ordinary Nigerian than the investiture of an award.”

Nigeria Has Lost A Titan, Says Ihedioha
From Terhemba Daka, Abuja
DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, described Achebe’s death as a devastating blow to the country, saying Nigeria has lost a titan of incomparable proportion.
Ihedioha, who expressed shock and sadness at death, said it would be a tough challenge to fill the gap left he left.
He said, however, that the evergreen impact of the literary icon’s works is a legacy that offers consolation to the Achebe family, Ndigbo, the nation and Africa in general.
“Nigeria has lost a true national hero and a towering titan of inestimable proportion, whose works, words, and lifetime continue to prick the conscience of a nation in search of fairness and equity for all and sundry.
“His lasting legacies, however, provide us with a consolation and incentive to put in our individual and collective best at all times to ensure the fulfillment of the dreams of our founding fathers and heroes past, including the departed Achebe.”

PDP Mourns
From Azimazi Momoh, Abuja
THE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said his death is a “monumental national loss.”
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said: “Achebe would be greatly remembered for his unwavering anti-corruption stand; his efforts towards promoting high moral values in the country, as well as his contributions toward national development.
“Achebe was a rare gift to the nation. He was a hero and a great patriot, who used his intellectual and physical energies to wage an unrelenting war against corruption and championed the inculcation of true moral values and social integrity in our polity.
“Achebe’s contribution to national human capital development, using his books, is unprecedented.
“His works stood out in projecting African cultural and social values. He used them to instill and sustain national pride and the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in contemporary Nigerians in particular and Africans in general,” the statement said.

Achebe Was An Iroko Of Integrity, Says Atiku
FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar saw Achebe as an icon of unmatched integrity and conviction.
He recalled how Achebe forcefully rejected and condemned the July 2004 political crisis in Anambra State during, during which thugs attempted to remove a democratically elected governor on the orders of a godfather.
Based on his convictions and principle, Atiku said the late professor rejected a national honour conferred on him by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan administrations, something he said only a few Nigerians would do.
Abubakar paid glowing tribute to Achebe’s unquantifiable contributions to African literature, saying his Things Fall Apart would remain Achebe’s everlasting legacy to literature.
He praised Achebe’s lucidity of writing style, which he said, made him one of the most readable and popular authors of the world.

His Death, A Huge Loss To Mankind, Says Chime
ENUGU State Governor Sullivan Chime, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Chukwudi Achife, described the death of Achebe as a huge loss to mankind and to Africa and Nigeria in particular.
He said that the world has not only lost one of its most renowned and celebrated literary icons, but also one whose works and efforts towards the advancement of the human race, will continue to be acknowledged and respected long after his death.

Ajimobi Mourns Achebe
By Laolu Adeyemi
OYO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Festus Adedayo, described Achebe as a literary scholar who, through his story-telling acumen, told the Nigerian/African story to the subconscious of the entire world, by so doing showing the world that Africans possessed a rich cultural heritage that is comparable to any people’s in the whole world.
“Through his story-telling, which he did with a baffling mastery and simplicity, Achebe told our own story with arresting simplicity, thus arresting the slide of negative perception of Africans as devoid of a worthwhile historical past.
“He showcased our rich history, culture and language, thereby changing Western historians’ wrong perspectives about Africa and Africans as a people without history,” he said.
Ajimobi recalled that through Achebe’s novels like A man of the People, which was written before the first military coup, Achebe demonstrated that the writer could be a seer as the book, which documented pitfalls of the political class, also predicted the military coup which eventually swept off the political class and signaled a long romance between the country and the military.
He also said that through other books written by Achebe like Things Fall Apart, Chike and the River, and the most recent one, There Was a Country, Achebe navigated between re-telling the stories told by Africans as moonlight tales to revealing the writer as a historian who sought to put on record critical historical moments of the nation’s life.
Stating that many Nigerians would miss the author, Ajimobi said the country should take solace in the imperishable footprints of Achebe, especially his rich books, which have shown that great men like him are immortal and whenever anyone needed to see him, any of his books would bring back his memories.

Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu
By Kabir Alabi Garba
THIS is a very sad development given that Achebe employed his writing prowess to paint Nigeria proudly on the global map of fame, and as a social critic, he was very courageous and spoke his mind according to his conviction without fear or favour…
His death is the exit of an Iroko… Edem Duke, Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation
ACHEBE raised issues of nation-building, peaceful coexistence and cultural affinity in his writings.
He had an excellent grasp of his culture, which he deployed with uncommon deftness and a style that has remained unique and enduring.
He made the well-being and future of this country his concern till he breathed his last, and despite living out of the country for some time, he never allowed the physical distance to separate him from his culture, his nation and his people.
Through his writings, Professor Achebe promoted Nigeria to all corners of the world.

Prof Tunde Babawale, Director General CBACC
HIS demise has created a big vacuum in the art and culture sector of Nigeria and the Black and African community globally…
He would always be remembered for his simplicity, love of his country, and Africa and outstanding spirit of critical scholarship. His legendary works …stood him out among his peers and hallmarks the glorious era of African literature and the triumph of African culture.

Mike Omeri, Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA)
SHOCKING to hear that such a man whose wealth of knowledge, experience and insight would have benefitted the nation more at this transformational moment in our history is no more…
As an accomplished academic, Chinua Achebe has mentored other talents that now also make Nigeria proud in the literary world.
Baclays Ayakoroma, Executive Secretary, NICO
THE death of Chinua Achebe is a very big blow but we are consoled by the fact that he had put Nigeria on the global literary map.  He will continue to be a reference point in World Literature in many years to come.

Ben Tomoloju, Culture Communicator and Activist
WITHOUT doubt, the immortal Chinua Achebe is the most defining factor in the study of the African novel.
His influence is massive through time and space.   Specifically, he places the African storyteller on a very high pedestal in the modern times. It is summed up in his treatise, ‘The Writer as a Teacher’.
Achebe used his writings to correct the misconceptions about the African in a world ruled by racial prejudice and subsequently etched in the consciousness of humankind the timeless nobility of the African personality.
Let us not mourn, for he is a Chief Priest, now mounting the pantheon of the ancestors. In the creative rites of ‘Mbari’… he spoke about artists transforming the ritual setting deep in the jungle into a ‘convocation of colours’ leaving a monument in history.
We are highly privileged to have experienced the symbolic role of Achebe in the Mbari of our universe. Surely his legacy will be relished by generations yet unborn, for he is ‘Immortal Chinua’.

Dagga Tolar, Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Lagos Chapter
ACHEBE can never for a moment cease to exist Chinua Achebe is one person, who with his writings, has shown us all how Africans are and are human beings on account of their own experiences, refuting the Hamitic theory.
Africans without any outside influence succeeded in building a civilization for themselves.
His last offering to all of us “There Was a Country”, laments the continuous failing of the Nigerian state, how the country is a betrayal of all of its possible potentials in the hands of an unending failure at governance by the ruling elites.
Most disappointing for all of us is that the ruling elites have chosen not to learn anything from the tragedy of the Biafra/Nigeria Civil War of 1967-1970, given the fact its very conduct at maladministration edges us to another tragedy.
They Said It:
ACHEBE’S frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs will be greatly missed at home in Nigeria, because while others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire black race could be proud of.
 President Goodluck Jonathan

‘Before I too go my way, my wife and I will always remember Chinua with fondness.  Our thoughts are with Christie and the children. So let him rest.’
— J. P. Clark
‘I’m just devastated. I only heard about half an hour ago, and I don’t want to say anything yet. I’m just devastated.’
— Wole Soyinka

‘His life work is done. May he finally rest in peace. No more of the physical pain of ill health. No more of pain from controversy.’
—  Chinweizu

‘The death of Achebe represents the fall of a globally acknowledged Iroko in the literary forest.’ —Emeka Anyaoku