“Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.” Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
November 16, 1930, the Igbo town of Ogidi, Nigeria, bore a boy; one who would grow into a man whose name was familiar to the entire world.
Chinua Achebe, the author of the best seller ‘Things Fall Apart’ does not need much introduction. Aside from ‘Things Fall Apart’, Achebe is very well famed for authoring exemplary literary works such as ‘No Longer at Ease’, ‘Arrow of God’, ‘A Man of the People’, ‘Anthills of the Savannah’, and ‘How the Leopard got his Claws’ among many others.
Achebe studied English at the University of Ibadan, and subsequently had a stint in teaching.
In 1961, he joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation as director of external broadcasting, apposition in which he would serve until 1966.
Chinua Achebe authored his first novel, ‘Things Fall Apart’, at the age of 28, in 1958. This first novel flung the Nigerian into instant fame as it became a huge success, and to date is still used widely across African schools for literary studies.
The period between 1958 and 1975 proved to be Achebe’s most important duration in his writing career. During this period, Achebe authored many books such as ‘How the Leopard Got His Claws’ (1973), ‘Beware, Soul-Brother’ (1971), ‘Christmas in Biafra’ (1973), and his first book of essays, ‘Morning Yet on Creation Day’ (1975).
He also married his wife Christie Chinwe Okoli during this period 1961, and they went on to have four children.
Due to his great literary prowess, the Nigerian always received numerous requests from Africa and beyond to give various lectures on literature and a wide range of topics such that touched on the African culture.
Sadly, Chinua Achebe was involved in a road accident in 1990; one that left him paralyzed from the waist down, and confined him to a wheel chair for the rest of his life.
The renowned writer died on March 21, 2013 at the age of 82 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Even so, he still lives through his great works that are common study references in many schools in Africa and beyond.
