My reaction on the death of Professor Chinua Achebe.

Oh my God. What a pity ! What a loss! A mighty tree has fallen! No wonder the bible says everything is vanity upon vanity. May he journey safely and rest in peace at his destination, Amen!

Achebe was the undisputed father of African literature. His over 50 year old work “Things Fall Apart” became the most popular literary piece written by an African. It has been translated into several languages. This is because his works are penetrable. His works can be read with delight and they flow, That must be one of the reasons his works are so much talked about. We are trying to follow his foot steps.

As the father of African literature, authors like us are his literary offspring and feel pained at his demise.  I, in particular, was present at the Achebe Foundation  colloquium in Providence Rhode Island  that took place in December 2012 and graced by notable speakers, including governor Fashola of Lagos state.   I saw him in his wheel chair looking very frail. Even though he was on a wheel chair, he towered above all else. He did not utter a word, perhaps due to his failing health but his silence was more than eloquent. I presented a copy of my book “The Forest Dames” to him. He was the cynosure of all eyes. Pity he is no longer.

Quite a number of us wrote about the Nigeria – Biafra civil war. We were speculating on how to present our works, we were  treading with caution but this father of African literature pushed across his latest no holds barred book on the war, “There was a Country”,  and that smoked us out of our hiding places.  Chinua Achebe has given us voice and muscle to speak out about what happened during that war, because they happened. For instance, as a mere girl, I and three other girls were tucked away in the evil forest because the invading soldiers wanted us very badly. Two mothers vowed that their girls would never belong to the soldiers. They found a ‘safe haven’  for their daughters – the evil forest. It happened and the world must know about it. It is all in “The Forest Dames”. Chinua Achebe took the lead and we followed.

“There was a Country” is like a gift to humanity, it is Chinua Achebe’s  Nunc Dimittis – “Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for my eyes have seen thy salvation which...

Adieu Professor Chinua Achebe!

Adieu father of African literature!

Adieu Okosisi!

AdaOkere Agbasimalo.