The burial rites of Prof Chinua Achebe began Sunday in Abuja with a commendation service at the National Christian Centre, Abuja; Some of the personalities at the service include the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Information Minister, Labaran Maku; former Anambra State governor, Jim Nwobodo and the Primate of the Anglican Church, Rev Nicholas Okoh who described the late literary icon as one who fought to restore the dignity of the African and a role model for the youth.
According to the former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and member of the Achebe National transition committee, Dr. Wale Okediran, Achebe’s body will now arrive from the United States,Tuesday, at 8:00am and will be received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport by government officials, writers, cultural organisations and other associates.
Okonjo-Iweala said Achebe was an important African figure and that the federal government was working with the Achebe family, the NTC and the South East governors to give the late writer a befitting funeral, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan, who would be attending the funeral, personally received Achebe’s son, Ike, in Abuja recently.
Information Minister, Labaran Maku, who described Achebe in superlative terms, said the writer ranked alongside William Shakespeare, Homer, among others and that he wrote from Afrocentrist perspective. This, Maku argued, perhaps denied Achebe the Nobel prize. He added that “the prize is not the most important thing. The most important thing is to write. Achebe put Africa in the book shelves and restored the dignity of the African which had been abused”.
Former vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission, Ernest Ndukwe, said Achebe was a great patriot young Nigerians should emulate.
In his commendation service, the Anglican Primate, Most Rev Okoh, said Achebe was God’s gift to Africa, Nigeria and the Igbo. Thanking God for Achebe’s life, Okoh said “Achebe is great because he spread his God’s gift to the world, thus exposing the cultural conflict in Igboland in early colonial period in Nigeria”.
The cleric urged Nigerians to emulate Achebe’s life of giving, especially, in this time Nigerians go to India for health issues. He tasked the federal government to build a well equipped hospital in the land to reduce the number of people rushing abroad for good treatment noting that one of the reasons Achebe gave for not returning home was lack of good medicare in Nigeria.
Okoh noted that the principled nature of Achebe has made him a role model for the youth while castigated those who choose wealth over moral principles, saying that wealth is transient and limited. Okoh submitted that if the youth imbibe Achebe’s principles, there would be a moral revolution in Nigeria.
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