Achebe – The Passing of A Great Man, A Great Writer and a Passionate Human Being – By Richard Dowden

A conversation with Chinua Achebe was a deep, slow and gracious matter. He was exceedingly courteous and always listened and reflected before answering. In his later years he talked even more slowly and softly, savouring the paradoxes of life and history. He spoke in long, clear, simple sentences which often ended in a profound and sad paradox. Then those extraordinary eyes twinkled, his usually very solemn face would break into a huge smile and he would chuckle.

He had a look of Nelson Mandela about him. Both have that ability to look very stern and solemn and then break into a huge smile. It happened when they met each other in South Africa, his daughter, Nwando, told me. At first the two men just looked at each other and then burst out laughing as if recognizing their brotherhood. Both romantic about Africa’s traditions, they talked and talked. Mandela had read Things Fall Apart when he was in prison on Robben Island and he said of Achebe: “The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down.”

He also shared Mandela’s care for ordinary people. I noticed how cleaners and nurses and others who cared for him were treated as friends.

His life was itself a paradox. He was of that first generation of ordinary Africans to receive western education. Until then only the sons of chiefs were sent to school. He loved and gloried in the education he had been lucky enough to receive – a typical British public school routine and curriculum. Nor had he any complaints about the benefits that modern technology had brought to Africa. But he was also a fierce defender of African traditions and the right – duty even – of all Africans to live by them and respect them. He wanted the two cultures to meet as equals. It was not about civilization replacing barbarism.

This was not merely philosophical. It was personal. His father, a Christian missionary who laboured tirelessly as a church worker and builder of churches, encouraged his son to read – especially the Bible. His father’s uncle however kept the traditions and when his nephew tried to convert him, the uncle showed him the insignia of his traditional Igbo titles – which he would have had to renounce if he became Christian. “What shall I do to these?” he asked. Achebe interpreted these words as: What do I do to who I am? What do I do to history?

The dilemma which separated his father from his great uncle haunted Achebe all his life. His books are set in the time when the old world was being destroyed, lost or abandoned and a new world of modernity, mediated by the West, was being imposed on Africa. His five novels trace the story from the coming of the white man, through to Nigeria’s independence and self government and its failure to deliver on its promises. His books were prescient about Nigeria’s failures. In A Man of the People, published in 1966, he describes a coup – which promptly happened in reality.

Whichever way he looked at it, the British seizure and creation of what is now Nigeria was a catastrophe. In Things Fall Apart the impetuous and uncompromising traditionalist, Okonkwo, tries to resist the British by force and ends committing suicide in the forest. In the next novel Arrow of God, the old keeper of the shrine, a modest open-minded man and based on Achebe’s great uncle, tries to engage with the white invaders, showing what might have been a coming together of different cultures. Instead the result is the same – they are not interested and humiliate him and destroy the shrine.

Achebe celebrated Nigerian independence with great excitement, believing, as most of his generation did, that a liberated Africa would soar. His disillusionment was swift and, long before the rest of the world foresaw the political failures of the new African states; Achebe pinpointed them. In A Man of the People he described the African states as a house abandoned by the colonial powers, taken over by “the smart and the lucky and hardly ever the best”, leaving the vast majority of the people out in the rain.

Soon after came the second agonizing dilemma of his life. In 1967 his Igbo people, feeling persecuted and excluded by the alliance of the northern Muslims and the Yoruba in the west, declared independence from Nigeria. Led by Colonel Ojukwu, the Igbo called their new country Biafra and Achebe was its chief proponent and propagandist. The war lasted three years and left more than a million dead. His last book, There was a Country, is an account of that war and shows Achebe to still be a staunch supporter of Biafran independence.

A car accident in Nigeria in 1990 left him in a wheelchair and dependent on others. He had to move to America for treatment. But his devoted wife Christie looked after him fiercely and made very sure he did not get mobbed by visitors or used by people who might exploit his easy going nature.

In my book, Africa Altered States Ordinary Miracles I used Achebe’s image of the house left behind by the imperial powers as a theme. I then had the cheek to contact him and ask him to write a forward. I was astounded and thrilled when he readily agreed and we got to meet each other.

In 2009 I accompanied him on his last visit to Nigeria to make a film for the BBC. We went to see the home that he had built for his family, complete with its own power and water supply and a lift that would take his wheelchair. It was close to completion and he wanted to live out his final years there but the medical services he needed were not available and his family persuaded him to stay in the US. Sadly that was his first and last visit to that house.

Everywhere he went he was mobbed. We drove at frantic speed from Abuja to Owerri accompanied by a police escort which forced everyone off the road. The lead police Land Rover roared up the middle of the road, lights full on, sirens wailing and police with whips lashing out at cyclists, bikers and pedestrians as they passed. At one stage the convoy took a wrong turning but doubled back, travelling the wrong way along a busy motorway at night. This was the sort of behavior that Achebe had denounced in his 1983 tirade The Trouble with Nigeria. I pointed this out to him. He gave me a rueful smile and shook his head sadly. His son Chide, a distinguished doctor in America, tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to go a little more slowly and be less violent.

Unmarked grave dug up in hunt for England's King Alfred the Great

A statue of Alfred The Great  

 

 

-- Archaeologists dug up an unmarked grave in a quiet English churchyard in search of remains of King Alfred the Great, a ninth century monarch credited with fending off the Vikings.

The exhumation was apparently triggered by fears that interest over the recent discovery of the skeleton of Richard III could lead grave robbers to dig the area for his bones.

Alfred the Great is known to generations of schoolchildren through a popular legend that tells of his scolding by a peasant woman for letting her cakes burn while he watched over them.

He was at the time preoccupied with the problem of how to repel the Danes, who had captured swaths of Anglo-Saxon England.

What is thought to be his grave in the churchyard of St. Bartholomew's Church, in the Hyde area of the ancient city of Winchester, was excavated Monday and Tuesday, the Winchester diocese said in an online release.

"Following the completion of work, we can confirm that skeletal remains were discovered and have been exhumed from the grave," said Nick Edmonds, a diocesan spokesman.

"Understandably, there is widespread interest in this situation. For now we can't say any more about the remains, their nature or whereabouts, but promise to keep people updated when there is something to tell."

The diocese said the decision to carry out the exhumation now -- following three years of research -- was "to counter the risk of theft or vandalism to the grave. This is in light of heightened risk owing to widespread recent speculation about the significance of its contents."

The revelation last month that bones found under a parking lot in Leicester were those of Richard III, whose story was immortalized by Shakespeare, sparked enormous interest. It also prompted competition between Leicester and another English city, York, over where he should be reinterred.

Remains exhumed in Winchester will be stored safely until they are buried again, the diocese said.

No scientific tests have been carried out to find out more.

"We do acknowledge that there is local interest in learning more about the remains found in this grave," Edmonds said.

But, he said, an application would have to be made to church authorities before any scientific investigation can take place.

Despite historical significance, the church is taking precautions, said the Rev. Canon Cliff Bannister, rector of St. Batholomew's Church.

"Although we know there is historical interest in this site, our chief concern this week has been to ensure that the exhumation of human remains from a consecrated Christian burial site has been fulfilled in a reverent and dignified manner," he said.

CULLED FROM WWW.CNN.COM

INSECURITY IN NIGERIA: AMERICA PERSPECTIVE

 

The United States (US) Monday expressed concern over the rising spate of killings and bombings in different parts of the country, especially in the north, which has been under sustained terror attacks by extremist Islamic sects like Boko Haram and Ansaru.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence P. McCulley, was said to have conveyed his feelings during a closed-door meeting he had in Abuja with the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, and service chiefs.

The meeting took place on a day the presidency cautioned canvassers of amnesty for members of Boko Haram against the politicisation of the amnesty campaign for the insurgents.

The insurgents went on the rampage yesterday in Yobe State during which they launched multiple attacks on a Divisional Police Station in Bara, which culminated in the destruction of telecommunications masts and the death of a policeman.

Although McCulley’s meeting with Obada and the service chiefs was meant to be covered by journalists, it was later closed to the press after the ambassador expressed reservations over the arrangement.

Based on this, Obada ushered him to her inner office with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh, among other top dignitaries, where they had their deliberations.

Sources told THISDAY that at the meeting, the ambassador conveyed the concern of his country over the heightened state of insecurity in Nigeria and urged more action from the federal government to end the terror campaign in the country.

He was particular about the recent Kano bombings, the re-emergence of ethnic killings in Plateau State, prison attacks and jailbreaks in Warri, Delta State, Borno and Ganye in Adamawa State.

A source said that the ambassador expressed the US’ willingness to assist Nigeria in fighting terror, while urging the security chiefs to do more in containing the menace.

The source said: “The US ambassador told the minister and the service chiefs that his country was not happy with the rise in terrorist attacks and made a particular reference to the Kano incident where two luxury buses scheduled to travel to Lagos were bombed, leading to the death of about 60 people.

“He called for more intelligence gathering to prevent such attacks and disclosed the preparedness of his government to assist.

“The minister was able to convince the ambassador on the success recorded by the military to contain Boko Haram, which she informed him included the arraignment of the Christmas Day bomber, Kabiru Sokoto, last week, the military’s consistent arrest of members of the sect, and discovery of their hideouts in the country.”

On their part, the service chiefs were said to have attributed the military assault on Islamic extremists in Mali by AFISMA as the factor responsible for the upsurge in the terrorist attacks in Nigeria and they vowed to contain the terrorists.

Obada, after the meeting, told reporters that the meeting was a routine US-Nigeria bilateral relations discussions, especially on military support, cooperation and other areas of mutual benefit.

She said: “We had a beautiful meeting with the ambassador to further deepen the cooperation between Nigeria and the United States and we discussed a lot of issues that are beneficial to both countries.

“The United States of America and Nigeria have come a very long way together in terms of military cooperation, in terms of training and so many other things. We intend to keep our relationship with them to ensure that the two countries enjoy each other’s confidence.”

The minister also noted that the presence of the service chiefs at the meeting was to hold discussions on military training, adding, “It was imperative to have them around.”

She said the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa’ad, was away to Cote d’Ivoire attending the ECOWAS Chief of Defence Staff meeting, while the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, was on an official tour to Delta State.

On whether the meeting discussed the recent state pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, which has elicited a protest from the US, she said no.

“The meeting had nothing to do with the state pardon recently granted DSP Alamieyeseigha. We did not discuss that. This is the Ministry of Defence and we only discussed issues affecting the ministry,” she said.

Against the rising clamour for amnesty for the terrorists, the presidency yesterday cautioned its proponents against the politicisation of the amnesty campaign for members of the sect.

It urged them to emulate how the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta was brokered by initiating contacts with the leadership of the sect and convincing them to come out into the open and negotiate with the federal government.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement he personally signed, said President Goodluck Jonathan had nothing to gain from prolonging the wanton destruction of lives and property by members of the sect.
He added that it was in the interest of the Jonathan administration for the reign of terror in the north to end quickly and the president expects influential northerners to prevail on the Boko Haram leadership to embrace dialogue like the militants in the Niger Delta did before the amnesty was granted.

Okupe warned against politicising the issue of amnesty and using it to blackmail the president whose overriding desire is the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of all Nigerians irrespective of their social, religious and political leanings.

“There is therefore no need for the politicisation of the demand for amnesty, nor to blackmail the president for taking strong, patriotic but contrary views to those of some of our respected elders.

“Such, sometimes, is the nature of statecraft and in many parts of the civilised world, situations like this are handled with equanimity and further deepening of consultations, certainly not acrimonious misunderstanding or open hatred.

“The true expectation is that our respected leaders will go back to the drawing board and increase internal consultations and networking with the aim of reaching out to the leadership of the insurgents and convincing them to do the needful and step out to be counted,” he said.

He explained that there was no basis for comparison between the amnesty granted Niger Delta militants and the refusal of Jonathan to grant amnesty to Boko Haram members.

According to him, the amnesty granted to the Niger Delta militants was facilitated by the cooperation the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration received from  prominent leaders from the region such as former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark,  Alamieyeseigha, former Minister of Culture, Chief Graham Douglas and a few others who visited the militants’ camps to persuade them to lay down their arms and allow government address their grievances in a civilised manner.
“This was the way and manner a successful amnesty programme was hatched and effected. Many local leaders and stakeholders bought into the government’s amnesty programme.

“It was carefully planned, properly structured and effectively implemented with cooperation and the willing support of elders, stakeholders and well known and nationally acknowledged open leadership of the militants,” he added.