WHEN CHINUA ACHEBE AND NIGERIA FALL APART

DA DA IDO

DITV/ALHERI RADIO, KADUNA

NEWS ANALYSIS/COMMENTARY

15^TH November, 2011

WHEN CHINUA ACHEBE AND NIGERIA FALL APART

          The celebrated Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe turned down, for the second time, the award of the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), the nation’s third highest honour. As he did on the first occasion in 2004, the elderly Nigerian who has now lived in the United States for a very long time said he would not accept the offer because the political situation in his home State of Anambra left much to be desired. But he also complained over the lack of good schools, roads, hospitals, water, insecurity of life and property as well as the poor economy in Nigeria. He says he is rejecting the offer again, because the reasons for his rejection in the first instance have not been addressed. So Mr. Achebe, who has been honoured by many other countries, was conspicuously missing as 364 people were honoured by President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday 14^th November.

          President Jonathan was not happy over the rejection, of course. He must have hoped to tap into some credible, even if foreign-based Nigerian’s goodwill when he decided to confer the national honour on Mr Achebe. It is also obvious that no one bothered to find out from the elderly writer whether he will accept the honour this time. So President Jonathan’s spokesman released a statement saying that the President is disappointed that his offer was turned down by the globally-acclaimed Nigerian. Mr Abati says the rejection of the honour shows clearly that Mr Achebe is not in tune with the reality of Nigerian’s current political situation. He says President Jonathan is particularly surprised that Mr. Achebe will claim that Nigeria has not changed since 2004, when electoral reforms have produced the most credible elections in Nigeria in recent years. He said Mr. Achebe obviously has been misinformed over the true state of affairs; because he should know that the Jonathan administration is moving the country in the right direction, and therefore needs the support and encouragement of all its citizens. Mr Abati says the President hopes that Mr. Achebe will visit home soon to see the progress being made by his administration.

          Perhaps Mr. Achebe will visit Nigeria soon; but it is doubtful if he will come to see the radical changes which have occurred at the political level and in the quality of social and economic infrastructure in Nigeria. Chances are, he is quite informed about the state of affairs of his country. If he does not come, it may have something to do with the fact that his reasons for rejecting the offer may be reinforced by what he will see and experience. Two elections have been held since he spurned the honour in 2004. The first election in 2007 was largely a stage-managed affair during which the few leaders of the ruling party, particularly Olusegun Obasanjo, literally handpicked his successors. The election then was described as the worst in world history, and Anambra State reflected all the turbulence associated with that election. The four years between 2007 and 2011 were largely wasted by a President who had no physical capacity to govern, and a deputy who succeeded him wearing only one of his shoes. The nation limped to the 2011 elections which polarised the nation along dangerous fault lines from which it has not recovered. The elections exposed a nation still grappling to come to terms with its basic characteristics and complexities. The electoral process cannot tackle the fundamental challenges thrown up by the elections; and the administration it produced does not appear to have the will and the capacity to tackle them.

          If Mr Achebe were to come to Nigeria today, he will meet a nation under more threats than it has ever been since the civil war. If he lands in Abuja, he will get the distinct impression that he is in the frontline of a country at war, where barricades, checkpoints and searches are part of the daily lives of citizens. He might even be frisked by security men because the enemy could be anywhere or anybody. If he lands in Lagos, he will get a first hand impression of the decay of our once glittering capital city. He will also see spirited efforts to protect government offices and other strategic places against the possibility of attack from Boko Haram. While in the country, he will hear about a deadly group called Boko Haram which threatens all and sundry. If he travels by road, he will be lucky if he gets to his destination in one piece, or even alive. He will see schools without roofs, and hospitals without water or light; and security men on our highways who may tempt him to go back to his starting point. If he visits our cities, he will see mansions of the rich and the powerful behind high walls; and just a few streets away, he will see the type of poverty which is unforgivable in a country like Nigeria. He will see many young men and women with no jobs. If he speaks with them, he will hear of a generation with no hope, no future to look forward to, and no respect for their nation or elders who they blame for their lives. If he travels extensively, he will see that Nigerians now have to buy power, water, drugs, security and a future for their children; and those who cannot, live wretched lives. If he speaks to different groups, he will hear talk and language that describes other tribes or faith in the most derogatory manner; and he will hear lively debates over how the nation is heading for a disastrous break-up. He will be advised not to travel to Jos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno; in case endemic violence breaks out while he is there. He will be advised not to move too freely in the eastern part of the country because marauding kidnappers may pick him up. He will be cautioned against a tour of south south cities where the intimate links between politics and violence has produced cults, kidnappers and other criminal activities on the streets.

          But Chinua Achebe should come to Nigeria, and he is wrong to have refused to accept the national honour given to him twice. He should come not because Mr Abati says Nigeria is better today than it was in 2004, because it is not. He should come because he has a duty and an obligation to do more than stay in the comfort of his home in the US and condemn his country. The honour he turned down is a token of the esteem and honour with which Nigerians hold him; not just a piece of metal from Obasanjo or Jonathan. In turning it down, he has done a tremendous disservice to his standing in the eyes of Nigerians. Most Nigerians share Mr Achebe’s disappointment that this country has not lived up to their expectations. But most will also expect him to do more than just condemn it. He is one of the most distinguished elders of this nation. If he chooses to live in the US, even given his understandable medical condition, he will not generate the type of rapport with Nigerians that he desires. If he accepts the symbolic honour from the Nigerian people, he acquires greater moral strength to demand that our leaders improve the way the country is run. But if he limits his grievance to the leaders by symbolically slapping them in the face, they will in turn just ignore him.

People like Chinua Achebe are a major asset for the Nigerian people. They need to be active in support of improving the democratic process and the development of good governance. Things have clearly fallen apart between him and Nigerian leaders. But he will not be of much value to his Nigerian roots and standing if he merely turns his back against his country. The trouble with Nigeria is that all too often those who should be active in building it tend to just criticise how badly it is being built.