"Chinua Achebe In Nigeria's Crosshairs"

by David Asonye Ihenacho

It would be recalled that the world-renowned novelist from Nigeria, Chinua Achebe, rejected the award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), the Obasanjo administration had offered him in the Nigerian honors list for 2004. Achebe, the legendary author of many universally acclaimed novels, especially the inimitable Things Fall Apart that has sold more than 11 million copies in more than 50 countries till date, had been listed by the administration to receive one of its highest awards in 2004. He was to receive his nation's second highest award in Abuja, Nigeria, on December 16, 2004, among 190 other honorees.

But in an emotionally charged letter dated October 15, 2004, and sent to the Nigerian president, the literary legend declared:

"I write this letter with 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…. 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 honor awarded me in the 2004 Honors list."

Full Article : nigeriaworld.com