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Achebe’s Funeral: Jonathan Promises To Rebuild Primary School Writer Attended

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday announced plans for the construction of a new school building where Professor Chinua Achebe attended primary school at St Philips … Continue reading Achebe’s Funeral: Jonathan Promises To Rebuild Primary School Writer Attended


President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday announced plans for the construction of a new school building where Professor Chinua Achebe attended primary school at St Philips Primary School, Akpakogwe, Ogidi, by the Nigerian and Ghanaian governments.

President Jonathan announced this during the funeral service of the late literary icon at St Philips Anglican Church, Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state.

The president, who spoke on the great essence of the late Prof Achebe, acknowledged not meeting him when he was alive but has been thoroughly influenced by his works.

He urged the younger generation to rewrite Prof Achebe’s last work of “There was a country” to “There is a country.”

President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana was at the ceremony amongst many dignitaries from the diplomatic corps and political office holders.

The funeral sermon conducted by Most Reverend Ikechi Nwosu centred on foundational upbringing in which the preacher described the late Achebe as a parable whose life started from Ogidi and ended in Ogidi with a Christian foundation thoroughly laid by his late parents.

The Anambra state governor, Peter Obi, thereafter opened the floor for speeches in which presentations from the Presidency threw light on the global impact Achebe had on people and whom the president himself called a philosopher.

The Ghanaian President told the story of how Achebe read through his manuscript and offered pieces of advice that really touched his life in no small measure.

From the Foreign Affairs Ministry, National Assembly and friends of Professor Achebe flowed words that tried to capture the essence of the literary icon.

“Chinua Achebe gave Africa its confidence,” said Emeka Anyaoku, an Igbo elder.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nurudeen Muhammed handed over to the Achebes the condolence register from twenty five countries.

Prof Achebe then began his final journey to the great beyond as his remains were finally brought to his country home in Ikenga Ogidi where he was laid to rest.

Achebe rose to acclaim with the publication of his 1958 classic novel “Things Fall Apart,” a parable for the collapse of traditional society in Africa on the arrival of colonialists. The journalist’s tense, short sentences recalled Ernest Hemingway, but offered a vision of Igbo culture before British rule ultimately united the regions that now form modern Nigeria.

“Things Fall Apart” has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages. Though describing himself in writing as a “British-protected child,” Achebe became a forceful critic of Western literature about Africa, especially Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” His writings often focused on that split between cultures, serving at times as a bridge for those wanting to understand the those two worlds.

Achebe died in March at the age of 82 in Boston after an illness. Though a 1990 car crash left him paralyzed from the waist down, he continued writing and taught at universities in the United States, earning him the nickname “Prof” throughout Nigeria.

With the exit of the icon, the people of Ogidi requested that the state government apart from immortalizing late Prof Achebe by naming Anambra state University, Uli, after Achebe, urge the federal government to establish a doctoral degree awarding research institution in Ogidi in memory of the Professor.