ACHEBE IS NOT DEAD!

I'm  sorry  everyone is disillusioned about Achebe! I’m even surprised i happen to be the only one living in this   illusion. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t need to see a shrink! My head is clear but Chinua   Achebe  is not Dead; Period!

I just   listened to the dialogue in  “The Arrow of  god” I consider his  Magnus opus  Things  Fall Apart  a classic for so many reasons aside  the fact he wrote it at  age 27.Considering the circumstances surrounding the novel, He proved that  telling your story from your own point of view is your responsibility. Until you get to understand that Peoples views are opinions you must only choose to validate or move on without taking it personal.

“There was A country’’ still goes down as one of  his most criticized literature work (in a seemed free Democratic Setting) I must confess watching from the sidelines and reading reviews. I dint criticize that work! Not because it was legendary Achebe or  it dint have its flaws,  or its views of being ill timed,  its views of  being ill timed considering the fact that his country of birth Nigeria, far from it.

I read of the death of the Ikemba of Nnewi Dim Chukwuemeka  Ojukwu  and I wished he wrote his views on paper. The   late leader of the Igbo speaking tribe of Nigeria and leader of the Biafra nation during the Nigerian civil war, had a story in him people wanted to hear. Though it’s been told in several platforms but he never told the story of the Nigeria civil war from his own point of view on print. Rumors have it he kept writing until his demise, and  his work  would be published with his consent. The content of his point of view would have been more of a lesson learnt and a point of reference.

The world would have felt Ikemba’s pulse more.

Reading   Achebe’s There was a country and the antecedents on the man behind the books, I am of the opinion that he had experienced   restless nights (like most writers ) before finally writing “There was A country” which was his own point of view. And like he would say “if you don’t like a story, go write your own”

Still believe Chinua Albert Achebe is dead? Walk into any reputable bookstore in the world and ask for the works of Achebe! Two answers you would get. It is finished. Or, could you check back…

The bottom-line is that all of us might never see Achebe even if he lived for another decade, but we would always read his works. Now talk to me, who needs to see a shrink? Is Achebe really dead?

Charles, I. Umeh.