It will be four
years on March 22 since Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, the doyen of African
literature passed on. That the father of African literature (a title he
has declined on numerous occasions) harnessed creativity to present
Africa in its transformative stages, which I would wish to categorise as
pre-colonial, colonial, post-independence (a period not more than a
decade after independence) and contemporary is in no doubt. In his
works, he intertwines history with creativity to represent Africa's
trajectory through her epochs into the current state in a style that is
akin to tracing a baby from birth through adolescence up to adulthood.
Achebe's first
novel, Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God belong together with regard to
their period. Both of them symbolically represent the African continent
at birth, when African writers were busy debunking the stereotypical
misrepresentation of Africa as a dark continent and choosing, instead,
to represent her as she was, her flaws as well as positivity.
I narrow down to
Things Fall Apart. The novel acknowledges that Africa had her flaws. For
instance Nneka's twins are thrown away. We also witness the brutal
killing of innocent children, as is the case with Ikemefuna.
Nevertheless, there is a positive aspect in the pre-colonial Africa:
decision making is not arbitrary. For important decisions to be made, a
debate -- akin to the current parliament -- has to be held and the
majority carries the day. This is what happens when Umuofia wants to
declare war against Mbaino. Further, tribes don't just start wars
against each other. A peace delegation is sent first to seek
reconciliation. Achebe's baby Africa is thus not romanticised.
The second novel,
No Longer at Ease, represents Africa in transition, the symbolic
toddlerhood. We encounter two characters who have ventured outside their
home country: Obiajulu Okonkwo and Clara Okeke, who travel to England
to study English and nursing respectively. Again, we encounter Isaac
Okonkwo, who has weathered the storm of cultural conflict to join
Christianity and become a catechist to the chagrin of the
traditionalists. Having been set in the time of transition to
independence, we meet the white people, hitherto the bosses, who must
now pave way for the Africans they considered inept to take up
leadership. They are represented by Mr Green. Thus the toddler Africa is
characterised by spreading her tentacles to discover the outside world.
The fourth novel, A
Man of the People, interrogates the symbolic African adolescence. It is
a political satire that revolves around the lives of the people of
Nigeria in the 1960s. Achebe explores the excesses committed by the
ruling class in the name of protecting the country's hard won
independence. Most of those in position of power, such as Chief Nanga,
are out to use their positions to acquire wealth at the expense of
developing their nation. They engage in a multiplicity of social evils
such as corruption, misuse and wastefulness of public resources, for
example by hiring goons to immobilise their opponents. They have managed
to stay in power by making the citizens believe that their actions are
meant to benefit and defend the entire community.
Anthills of the
Savannah represents Africa in her adulthood. The African leadership, as
represented by Sam, has shed off the innocence exhibited at the
adolescent stage, instead adopting outright dictatorship, assassinations
and intimidation as seen with the leaders who try to oppose His
Excellency, as happens to Sam.
On a positive note,
Achebe reveals an emancipated woman -- Beatrice -- whose birth to a
girl encapsulates the continuation of women liberation as is the case
with the contemporary woman who has, arguably, managed to overcome
patriarchy.
Surely, Achebe's
literary prowess is enigmatic. His ability to intertwine African history
with creativity is an exceptional feat that can never be equalled.
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