Nigeria may currently not be in the good books of US President Barack Obama, but he cannot hide his love for deceased foremost writer, Chinua Achebe.
Even as the socio-political situation in the country has discouraged Obama from including it among African countries he is visiting, he and his wife, Michele, paid a glowing tribute to Achebe on Sunday at a ‘Celebration of Life’ held for the departed author of Things Fall Apart in the US.
In a letter addressed to Achebe’s family, and read at the event by a White House representative, at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium, Washington, DC, the American first couple described the writer as a revolutionary author.
They noted, “A revolutionary author, educator, and cultural ambassador, Chinua shattered the conventions of literature and shaped the collective identity of Nigerians throughout the world. With a dream of taking on misperceptions of his homeland, he gave voice to perspectives that cultivated understanding and drew our world closer together. His legacy will endure in the hearts of all whose lives he touched with the everlasting power of his art.”
A statement from the organisers indicates that other highlights of the event included tributes from public and private friends and dignitaries and performances by various cultural dance troupes.
The statement added, “The Afrobeat band Eme and Heteru serenaded the crowd with electrifying music. Speakers included the host, Johnnetta Cole, president emeriti of Spelman and Bennet Colleges and now director of the Smithonian Museum of African Art; Ruth Simmons, former president of Brown University; Poets Sonia Sanchez, Micere Mugo and Simon Gikandi.
Others are Scott Moyers – president of Penguin, and Jules Chametzky professor emeriti of Umass Amherst, where Achebe spent time in the 1970s and ‘80s.
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