2nd April, 2013
By Akuna Ejim
“Things fall apart and the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,…” This refrain echoes in my mind as I recall the early days of my childhood. One of the favourite television programmes in my household was Things Fall Apart, an adaptation of the book into a series. I was little more than a baby, but I recall images from that play – thatched mud houses, women with beads round their waists, men in loin cloth, and for some reason – images of people eating boiled yam with red palm oil that remains to this day. Of course, practically everyone who has gone through the Nigerian education system has encountered Professor Chinua Achebe’s literary works in one form or the other.
The usual chief inclusion in mandatory literature fare is Things Fall Apart, and with good reason, too. The book is free of artifice, pretentions, or any form of grandstanding – it simply tells the story of a microcosm of the African culture through the eyes and the experiences of the Igbo, in a wonderfully masterful way. After my early introduction to Achebe’s work through the dramatisation of his book, my next experience of the works of this creative genius was in my first year of secondary education. Things Fall Apart was on the list of required reading for the school year, and, really, I had no clue why it was labeled as a “required reading” because I got so engrossed in his book that I finished reading, and re-reading it in a few days. This was in direct contrast to the works of a few other writers that I found incredibly pretentious and tedious. Try as I might, I just couldn’t muster up the same enthusiasm for a few writers as I did for the work of this gifted man, not even on the most boring day when any reading material would have been welcome. Of course, there were other gifted writers whose works were included in our coursework for the year, and I enjoyed their books as well.
No Longer at Ease, Chike and the River, Anthills of the Savannah, and African Short Stories are just some of Achebe’s books that Nigerian students might be familiar with.
As a writer of Nigerian and African heritage, it would be remiss of me to talk about influences that shaped my love for words without mentioning Achebe. Indeed, that early exposure to his books undoubtedly helped me develop my interest in writing. Other Nigerian writers of a younger generation never fail to give credence to the influence of Achebe’s literary exploits as a factor in their development as writers. I never met him personally, but the beauty of works of art is that they are almost an embodiment of the artist, a mirror through which you can divine the essence of the creative soul behind the work. This is certainly true of Chinua Achebe. You can certainly divine some aspects of his character from his body of works. For one thing, you can tell that he was a simple man through the deceptively simple approach he utilised in his writing style. Deceptively simple because this simplicity freed his books of clutter, a stroke of genius that helped endear mandatory literature books to young, restless minds. It was also apparent that he was a man who loved his culture, and really promoted it through his adherence to a time gone by when life was simpler, and tradition was at its zenith. Imagine, just by reading Things Fall Apart, even the most casual reader will get a sense of the Igbo tradition.
In this way, it is really a form of preservation of the culture so that generations to come can read Achebe’s books and understand what life was like back in the days of innocence.
You can also tell that Achebe was a man of strict principles, through the manner in which he lived his life, and the way he stuck to his decisions when he felt that things were not right. This was the man who refused to accept the Nigerian government’s attempt to honour him with the award of the Commander of the Federal Republic because he felt that things were not going as they should in the country. He refused this honour twice, 2004 and 2011, stating the second time that the corruption that caused him to reject the honour the first time remained unaddressed the second time around. It could have been easier for him to just accept the award like all the others, and maintain the status quo, but it was not in his nature to behave like the ostrich burying its head in the sand, pretending that everything was okay. For that alone, he deserves the utmost respect, since there are not too many people these days who will see the truth and tell it like it actually is, refusing to pander to any group.
Achebe may be gone in the flesh, but his legacy remains, and his spirit lives on through the impressive works that he has left behind, and through the convictions of a man who lived true to the dictates of his conscience. I always say that one way of figuratively living on after death is through the legacy we leave behind. You might be remembered for good or for bad, depending on the manner in which you chose to live your life while on earth. You can also leave representations of yourself through the number of lives you have touched in a positive way, the books you have written, your artwork, plays, movies, inventions, and so on. As such, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Professor Achebe may have gone to be with his beloved forefathers, but his legacy will always remain in the form of his books, thoughts, and of course, the numerous lives that he touched in a positive way, including that of my humble self. I pray that he finds eternal peace and that he will rest, knowing that he made full use of his time on this planet.