The Anambra State Government deserves commendation for the renaming of the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport at Umueri after the renowned novelist, the late Professor Chinua Achebe. Describing Achebe as African and global hero and Anambra’s greatest gift to the literary world, the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, said, “Since a society ultimately mirrors what it celebrates, we choose to have a land where intellect and enterprise are celebrated.” He said the decision was reached after wide consultation and broad consensus.
Many prominent Nigerians have lauded the honour done to Achebe. Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, described it as a most delightful and welcome development. According to him, Achebe’s towering stature as a global literary pioneer and icon is deserving of such recognition. The Society of Young Nigerian Writers, Anambra State chapter, also hailed Soludo for the honour done to Achebe. The group described it as extraordinary and the best Independence Day gift to them.
There is no doubt that the late literary icon deserves the honour. Born in Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State on November 16, 1930, Albert Chinualumogu Achebe brought Nigerian literature into world reckoning. His celebrated novel, ‘Things Fall Apart’, was written in 1958. But up until today, it is still making waves in the literary world. It has been translated into over 60 languages and performed in different theatres around the world. His other notable works include ‘Arrow of God’, ‘A Man of the People’, ‘No Longer At Ease’, ‘The Trouble With Nigeria’, ‘There Was A Country’, ‘Anthills of the Savannah’, ‘Home and Exile’, ‘Hopes and Impediments’, ‘Morning Yet on Creation Day’, ‘The Education of a British-Protected Child’, and so on. He won the Man Booker International Prize in 2007.
Achebe studied English and Literature at the University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan). He taught briefly before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos, where he was director of external broadcasting between 1961 and 1966. He later became a professor of English at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, between 1976 and 1981 and professor emeritus from 1985. After he became partially paralysed following an automobile accident in Nigeria in 1990, Achebe moved to the United States where he taught at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He left Bard for the faculty of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2009. He died in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 2013, at the age of 82.
Politically, Achebe was not found wanting in the affairs of his home country. In the 2nd Republic, he was the vice-chairman of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), a party founded by the late Amimu Kano, but it was not considered to be among the big parties at the time. The literary icon simply followed his conviction and a party he deemed to be at home with his ideology.
Twice (2004 and 2011) the Federal Government of Nigeria honoured him with an award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). Twice he rejected the awards, saying he had watched the events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. When he rejected the award in 2004, he particularly cited the chaos in his home state of Anambra where, in his words, “a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connection in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom.”
The honour to Achebe should serve as a big lesson to Nigerian leaders. Oftentimes, awards are given to people who don’t deserve them. In many states and communities, the major criterion for honouring certain individuals is accumulation of wealth, either the awardee or honouree has money or is willing to splash a large sum of money to those giving out the award or honour. Most times, incumbent or former political office-holders are the ones who corner the awards despite the huge corruption that trails most of their actions. Little consideration is given to their integrity and positive contributions to the society they live in.
Awards or honours should serve one major purpose: To reward major contributions to the advancement of humanity and to teach the upcoming generation the virtues of hard work, diligence and integrity in the affairs of man.
There are many Achebes in our midst who deserve to be honoured for their positive contributions to society. Some are in the academia. Some are in the ministries, departments and agencies of government. Some are even in the private sector doing well and helping to shape the society we live in.
The honour to Achebe is soothing knowing that he was neither a governor nor a President nor did he even hold any ministerial position. But his contributions to society far outweighed those of many public office-holders. Although it was posthumous, the honour will go a long way to etch his name in the memories of generations yet unborn. We commend Soludo for this bold move and urge other governors to emulate him.
