Ghana’s
President John Mahama, in his tribute to the late literary icon, recognizes the
impact of Prof Chinua Achebe’s literary works on writers as well as political
leaders. Talking about Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the President wrote “This
literature empowered me and others to believe in our ability to create change”
Here
is the full text
In
the same way that Chinua Achebe’s books helped foster the talent of countless
writers in Africa’s post-colonial era, they also inspired a number of africa’s
current political leaders.
Achebe
had such influence on the african political landscape that three years ago he
started convening an annual colloquium at brown University, where he was a
professor, that brought together leaders, scholars and artists to discuss
“strengthening democracy and peace on the african continent”.
When
I was introduced to Mr. Achebe’s writing in the 1970s, during secondary school,
there seemed to be no discernable separation in Africa between politics and the
arts. We attended demonstrations almost as frequently as we attended discos.
The music that we listened to, from Fela Kuti to James Brown, was filled with
racial pride and political protest.
