The National Leader of the Congress for Progressive Change, General Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed shock at the news of the demise of Prof. Chinua Achebe.
Buhari described Achebe as a Nigerian writer that effectively combined intellectualism and simplicity.
A statement on his behalf by the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Engineer Rotimi Fashakin, reads in part: “His debut literary work, ‘Things fall apart’ published in 1958, has continued to attract wide readership across the globe.
“He was known for an inimitable courage in freely expressing his personal convictions on prevalent National discourse irrespective of the desire of the principalities in the Land.
“He rebuffed two attempts by the PDP-led Federal Government to confer National honours on him because of his conviction that the Peoples Democratic Party, as a party, had not given Nigerians any hope of responsible governance.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, NEC and the party members across the Nation-space and the Diaspora, GMB sends his condolence to the immediate family members of Professor Achebe on this tragic loss.
“May the Almighty God grant the family and the entire Nation the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”
A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, also joined prominent personalities on Friday in mourning the passage of Achebe.
Ribadu, in a statement, said: “I join the world today in mourning the passage of professor Chinua Achebe, a man I describe as the pillar of African literature and perhaps the most attentive and painstaking missioner of African Culture in the face of a global doubt in the immediate years after the independence wave of the sixties.
“By this passage we have lost a great man, a moral centre and a brave commentator who always spoke loudly and clearly what most believe but are too timid or shy to utter.
“May his death bring a nobler challenge to the Nigerian dream and our vision of a just homeland.
“I also wish to extend my sincere condolences to the Achebe family, the government and people of Anambra state and all Nigerians on this great loss.
“I pray that God give us all the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”
Nigeria’s Coordinator of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Friday described Achebe as a movement, adding that he would never die.
Okonjo-Iweala, in a statement, said: “We received the news of the passing of Prof Chinua Achebe with a sense of profound loss. Yes, he was 82 years old and by any measure not too young to die. But Achebe had for so long been a part of our lives that the thought of his death has an unreal quality. Additionally, having known him and his wonderful wife, Aunty Christy, since I was a teenager, there is, for me, a very personal feeling to this loss.
“But the good news is that though he is gone, Achebe is very much alive. He is alive in his works and in his words and in his ideas. Certainly his idea that African culture has intrinsic value beyond anthropological voyeurism is very much alive. That is why his great intellect lives on and the man will never die!
For me and countless others, he was a personal inspiration and indeed a hero. That is why my co-author, Tijan Sallah and I wrote the biography of Achebe for young adults called “Teacher of Light” to capture the essential Achebe for our young people.
“Professor Chinua started life as a man, but ended it as a MOVEMENT – a movement for African literature, good governance and the dignity of man.
“We extend our condolences to the entire Achebe family at this difficult time. May the Almighty comfort them and all of us at this difficult time.”
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