It's been almost a decade and half since I first came to know about the man, Chinua Achebe. If there are other names with which he was christened or known, with them I sincerely am not conversant. That was when I read 'Chike and the River'. I was quite young then and it was not until I read his other novels in my undergraduate days that the name Chinua Achebe began to register in my heart. I'm not among those who were privileged to have heard the witty story teller tell his stories viva voce, but like Apostle Paul who wrote about Christ even without a personal knowledge of him, I now write about Chinua Achebe.
I was not very particular about this man. To me, he was an accomplished writer and that was it. I was rather more particular about getting my daily bread, the unfortunate and seemingly eternal sentence our own country has imposed upon us; our only crime being that we are her citizens. But something happened in 2004 which made me look at this man from another angle, and that was when he rejected the national honour conferred on him by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. One might not really appreciate the weight of his action until one considers the manner of society we are unfortunate to find ourselves in: a society were the quest for wealth and recognition gruesomely murders every other thing, including societal values, ethics, humanism and even commonsense. It could even be worse where the recognition is from the political class. He, having watched the events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay, was no longer at ease with the situation in the country and decided to become a man of the people by rejecting the honour. This act of his, coupled with his disbelief of the superiority of the white man (unlike our leaders who knowingly or unknowingly hold such believe and are thus agents of neo-colonialism) significantly stirred up my heart to hold him in high esteem.
In 2011, the present administration also thought it wise to honour this man. But in their usual manner of not finding out the cause of a problem which is the first step to solving a problem, they decided to confer a national honour on him without finding out why he rejected the first. But after he saw how continuosly things fell apart in his country, and how that like an arrow of God corruption and poverty had pierced deep into the heart of his country, he yet again rejected the honour. This is Acheberism!
Acheberism is used to describe a situation where a person rejects a gift, honour, recognition or recommendation from a person, body or institution as a result of his discomfort with and in opposition to any of the actions or inactions of the said person, body or institution. We could now use the word 'Acheberist' to refer to such a person. At this juncture, I must apologise for the multiple use of words in my definition. It is one of the effects of my being a lawyer. Displaying Acheberism was the only way he could protest against our leaders that had created for themselves an enclave that shields them from the gruesome realities of this country called Nigeria. It is here that they, their families and cronies have found perfect solace. It was the only way he could have made the government know that the common man is also entitled to at least the basic necessities of life, which they enjoy in surplus. As a result of their being in their enclave, our politicians can't see that life in the country is miserable with no pallative from the government in terms of social security. While other countries are striving for global recognition and dominance through inventions and landmark achievements, our politicians have taken an oath to defraud and milk the country dry without qualms. Rather than take side with the emperor, he, as a good writer, took side with the powerless and exhibited Acheberism. I know of no other of his kind, none, not even one.
This foremost Acheberist has been laid to rest and covered with sands like those of the anthills of the savannah. If there was a country in which he would love to be reborn, am sure this country, Nigeria, won't be in the options. It won't be in my options either if such an opportunity exists. It is not because we don't love our country, but because our country doesn't love us; not because we are not patriotic, but because a country that is not passionate or concerned about her citizens has no moral right to demand patriotism from them. I need no Labaran Maku to teach me patriotism. Even though I am not Scottish, I was patriotic to the Scottish government after an ambulance came to pick me up and conveyed me to the hospital for an operation conducted with the most modern facilities and for which I did not pay a penny. A close friend of mine lost his sister in the course of surgery for the same ailment back in the country two weeks after I had mine and after paying hundreds of thousands of naira.
In his last epistle to Nigerians and indeed the world, Chinua Achebe gave his own suggestions on how to salvage our country from the aged quagmire she finds herself in. Unfortunately, that part of the book has been jettisoned and rather a thunderous storm has been made out of a remark that could easily be overlooked. It is bewildering that in the 333 pages of the book out of which 11 pages talked on how to salvage the country, the only thing that has so far been considered are the few 10 lines in which he wrote about Awolowo. It only goes to reveal or perhaps reaffirm that tribalism has blinded us and made it impossible for us to see the glorious light of development.
Chinua Achebe is gone and I give you a greater reason to mourn him: he is one of the few fruits remaining on the tree. Gradually, the few sane Nigerians who witnessed the birth of the country and have looked forward with hopeless hope to that nation they had dreamt about at independence, are going the way of all the earth. What is being left behind is the vast sea of Nigerians who have no values, ethics, courtesy, patriotism or national goal. I don't know if I will see Achebe on the last day because I am a Christian and can't say categorically if he was. But if perhaps I do, I would narrate to him how that like an anthill of the savannah torn apart by an arrow of God, things continued to fall apart after his departure despite his decision to be a man of the people by becoming an Acheberist. I know he would be no longer at ease, but it's okay because even if there was a country, there would be none then.
- Declan Harrison, a lawyer, wrote from Surulere, Lagos via decok86@yahoo.com
