Chinua Achebe is 77 years old and the first writer of genius to come out of Nigeria knows the history of Nigeria before we were born and I thank God that he is alive and well to tell us the truth, whether sweet or bitter. Only the truth will save Nigeria and not hypocrisy and people licking the arse of the rich and mighty ruling oligarchy of Nigeria or kissing the jackboots of their military defenders who have been bribed with oil blocs and Federal Government contracts.

The cover story on the latest statement of Chinua Achebe on President Olusegun Obasanjo and his notorious kleptocratic ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is quite timely.

WITH less than two months to the end of the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo, world acclaimed author, Professor Chinua Achebe, says the president has taken Nigeria “as low as she has ever gone.”

Professor Achebe in a statement, “The clouds are gathering,” from his base, Annandale-on-Houston, New York, said all the talk about the administration’s fight against corruption was nothing short of a myth.

Also, Nigerians living in the United Kingdom have sent a letter to President Obasanjo asking him to allow free and fair elections this month.

In Achebe's words: “President Olusegun Obasanjo has taken Nigeria as low as she has ever gone. This will surprise foreign ‘friends’ of Nigeria who may believe the myth that Obasanjo has been fighting to end corruption in the country and to bring democracy to its citizens. Nigerians know better.

“President Obasanjo has had the opportunity to rule Nigeria for three years (1976-79) as an unelected military dictator and later for two terms of eight years as a retired general/civilian (1999-2007). People don’t exactly remember what Obasanjo did in his first civilian incarnation. His second coming, however, was a different matter. He unfolded a gigantic scheme for staying in power beyond his tenure.

He set up agencies with long titles like the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission. It soon became clear, however, that these devices were not intended to curb the crimes they enumerated but to go after people who disagree with the President, especially on his desire to extend his tenure.

“Perhaps the strangest of these events took place in my own state, Anambra, where a governor was kidnapped by a criminal gang who claimed that they had ‘fixed’ the election and earned the right to receive the state budgetary allocation.

Whatever the merit of this bizarre story the governor refused to turn over the allocation to these thieves and began to spend it on building roads and bridges which nobody had done in decades. He began to pay pension to retired civil servants who had not been paid in years.

Anambra State was transformed overnight. No where else in Nigeria had such a change happened. Governor Ngige became the people’s governor.
“One would have thought that our anti-corruption president, Chief Obasanjo, would have embraced Governor Ngige as a fellow fighter against corruption. But no.

The fellows demanding the state revenue were Obasanjo’s friends who in anger set about burning down and destroying state property while the Police stood at a distance, watching.
“I have told this story again although we all know it. I am retelling it because as it goes with Anambra, so will it go with Nigeria.

“As Nigeria gets ready for the election of Governors, Anambra State is in a quandary. President Obasanjo’s hatchet man for elections is determined that only one candidate will be allowed to run in the state and has gone ahead to disqualify everybody else so that the President’s favourite man will be alone in the field. If this plan goes through, it would amount to nothing less than the disenfranchisement of the people of Anambra State.

“I must congratulate the Judiciary on the tough battle many of its members are waging for the soul of Nigeria. The Senate came ever so close to snatching Nigeria out of the fire, and then… That was a historic moment lost. What a pity.”


Vanguard of Nigeria

He said it all/ Chinua Achebe will pass for one of the most stupid man i have ever known. Apart from the fact that a old man ought to know that it isn't good to speak with all mouth open, i wonder wat he is doing in UK at 77. He should shut ,up. He can't represent u8s. AGBAYA!

There are times when a truth needs to be exagerated (turned into a something close to lie) in order to get it into the head of the obstinate man (OBJ) who refuses to listen to anybody telling him the real truth

Posted by Topsido:

He said it all/ Chinua Achebe will pass for one of the most stupid man i have ever known. Apart from the fact that a old man ought to know that it isn't good to speak with all mouth open, i wonder what he is doing in UK at 77. He should shut ,up. He can't represent u8s. AGBAYA

@Topsido:
My man, your words are a-little bit too assailing; you need to slow down and take your own advise.
This is democracy, it is OK and fair for one to express how he or she feels if things are not being done accordingly.

Chinua Achebe happens to be one of the greatest Nigerians around today and one should be very careful when it comes to judging unique individual like him (Achebe).

Let's slow down before Things start Falling Apart up in here! Get it?

ACHEBE is an AUthor and has no business in politics,

MAMAJAMA:

ACHEBE is an AUthor and has no business in politics,

So who has "business" in politics?

Topsido

Can you  tell  us your qualification as to know that Achebe is stupid.   Have you met him in your life? I wonder who is really stupid, Achebe who is a  world class author, or someone  who is posting anonymously on Nairaland.  If you had said what Achebe said, you would  have sounded stupid because of your unpopularity.

It seems that you did not read carefully, Achebe does not live in UK but US. Get your binoculars  before posting

why all the personal attach, can we focus on the issue. well if ACHEBE does live in the USA, then he has no business talking about Nigerian politics, he is not there and should not be taken serious. that is my view

@Mamajama

^{why all the personal attach, can we focus on the issue.} What issues are we talking about since Achebe has no business talking about Nigerian issues. It looks like we got a lot of ITK's (I Too Know) in this forum

^{well if ACHEBE does live in the USA, then he has no business talking about Nigerian politics, he is not there and should not be taken serious. that is my view.}
You have contradicted yourself. Don’t you live in the US? And you always comment on Nigerian issues. I don’t know why we always attack the messenger instead of the message. I believe that a septuagenarian like Achebe should be taken seriously when ever he talks. Why don’t we dissect and analyze his message so as to fathom where he has erred? We lack sense of decency and diplomacy in Nigeria, that's why we follow likes of OBJ, ATIKU, ORJI KALU, IBB, Wada Nas, Aresekola, Adedibu and UBAS. These are the people we have entrusted with the leadership and we have relegated intellectuals to the background. No nation has ever aspired to greatness with intellectual vacuum or apathy. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP

Well this is democracy, Achebe can say what he wants while we can call what he says nonsense.
Reason: Democracy knows no bounds. It includes telling people both what they want to hear and what they dont want to hear.

However on this issue I accept what Achebe said, Achebe as an Anambra indigene is more tempted to dislike OBJ. The fact remains that OBJ need to appologise to Anambra and Oyo people because as much as I do agree with most of what he believes in I just cant figure out his motivation in what happens in Anambra and Oyo.

McKren:

Achebe can say what he wants while we can call what he says nonsense.

Perfectly put. I don't know why people think that just because someone is famous, well-spoken etc., his opinion is more meaningful than the average agbero in the street. Chinua Achebe's one of my favorite writers, but that doesn't make him some political sage. His perspective on Nigerian politics is no meaningful than DBanj or Tuface or some other celebrity. In fact, I'd be more likely to listen to those two since they've actually lived through OBJ's two terms in office.

This present administration has been a work in progress, of cause their are still signs of corruption, lack of basic infrastructure and needs. I can attest to this, because my dad died of cardiac arrest, which he could have been saved from if we had good medical facilities in Nigeria (topic for another day). However, we do see progress and some foundation been laid which I strongly believe that the future generation will benefit from, if the next administration continues from where OBJ stops.  

In my own opinion, this writing from Chinua Achebe is just another way of openly endorsing Dr. Ngige - why has this man been silent for a while? Is Chinua Achebe just noticing all the flaws in this government. Because Chinua Achebe is a renowed poet and "the most widely read author of the 20th century" does not necessarily mean that he his politically savvy!

@TerraCotta

Am sure his political views would be more meaningful if they were closer to yours

@adconline:
Why are you wasting your time coaching MAMAJAMA? Trust me, it's a mere waste of time.

Some lack basic common sense, some just have no clue while the rest are just simply stupid.
MAMAJAMA is my boy, but honestly I'm still trying to figure out which hat will fit his BIG HEAD.

From time to time, the guy just loves to open his mouth as wide as Kanji dam and download rubbish.

I've learned to ignore and move on.

I Love you, MAMAJAMA, but please think before you speak.

In my own opinion, this writing from Chinua Achebe is just another way of openly endorsing Dr. Ngige - why has this man been silent for a while? Is Chinua Achebe just noticing all the flaws in this government. Because Chinua Achebe is a renowed poet and "the most widely read author of the 20th century" does not necessarily mean that he his politically savvy!

Nope he has been speaking, when Ngige was kidnapped as a sitting governor I remember him saying that "some group of renegades boasting their connections in high places have turned my fatherland into a bunchless fiefdom"

Back to the topic:

People like Achebe should be taken serious and definitely he has right to speak about anything regarding Nigeria.
He is not only a great senior citizen of Nigeria, the man is knowledgeable, and has solid credibility.

He's one of my favorite Nigerians.

@Egbon

_{In my own opinion, this writing from Chinua Achebe is just another way of openly endorsing Dr. Ngige - why has this man been silent for a while? Is Chinua Achebe just noticing all the flaws in this government. Because Chinua Achebe is a renowed poet and "the most widely read author of the 20th century" does not necessarily mean that he his politically savvy}

May be Achebe should have endorsed Andy and Chris Uba.  He has never been silent on Nigerian issues. He refused to accept a presidential award from OBJ.

Tercotta@
^{His perspective on Nigerian politics is no meaningful than DBanj or Tuface or some other celebrity. In fact, I'd be more likely to listen to those two since they've actually lived through OBJ's two terms in office.}

If u were writing a paper on Nigerian politics and you quoted TuFace and your friend quoted Achebe, your friend would have an authoritative citation because Achebe was involved politically in Nigeria. He was a member of a political organization, wrote a book “The Problem with Nigeria"

4 Play:

@TerraCotta

Am sure his political views would be more meaningful if they were closer to yours

No more meaningful than your's, Ramsey Nouah's, or Seun's, whether they were closer to my opinion or not. There's nothing special about Achebe's opinion and that's the bottom line.

Teracotta.
I was not surprised to see how you compared Nigerian TuFace with Chinua Achebe. This thread has not been watered down to that extent.   Comparing intellectual power  that is known beyond Nigeria with local Nigerian artistes. Most of these artistes cannot even wrtite their own memoirs let alone writing a  book.

Ramsey Nouh cannot act without a script written by someone . eg Achebe

You can attack the substance of a man's views without attacking the substance of the man.Like I noted earlier,had Achebe made contrary comments,comparisons with TuFace would not surface.


Nobody has seriously addressed the substance of the comments.The facts alleged have not been challenged nor has the opinion deducted been comprehensively analysed.

All we have is a facile debate about the relative merits and demerits of the political opinion of writers and musicians

adconline:


Tercotta@
^{His perspective on Nigerian politics is no meaningful than DBanj or Tuface or some other celebrity. In fact, I'd be more likely to listen to those two since they've actually lived through OBJ's two terms in office.}

If u were writing a paper on Nigerian politics and you quoted TuFace and your friend quoted Achebe, your friend would have an authoritative citation because Achebe was involved politically in Nigeria. He was a member of a political organization, wrote a book “The Problem with Nigeria"

Achebe's opinion on politics is no more profound than Obasanjo's opinion on literature. You're mixing up respect for someone's accomplishments in their chosen field with political savvy or analytical accuracy. Writing a book and joining a political organization doesn't make you an infallible expert. OBJ has written several books and is a member of a political organization too, but I doubt that you'd be co-signing his opinion on Achebe, right?

4 Play:

You can attack the substance of a man's views without attacking the substance of the man.Like I noted earlier,had Achebe made contrary comments,comparisons with TuFace would not surface.


Nobody has seriously addressed the substance of the comments.The facts alleged have not been challenged nor has the opinion deducted been comprehensively analysed.

All we have is a facile debate about the relative merits and demerits of the political opinion of writers and musicians

Then you've missed my initial issue with his statement by a mile--Achebe's point itself is facile and isn't backed up by anything substantial, hence it is no more deserving of debate than if Tuface had offered the same opinion. On what basis did he compare today's Nigeria to the past? What economic indexes did he consult to show that the country's at its "lowest level"? Where does he suggest that he had done any other intellectual work than grousing about Anambra's political quagmire? Anything about paying off the national debt, putting more than $40 billion in external reserves, liberalizing the banking industry, prosecuting high-level officials for corruption etc? He makes the same point about EFCC and ICPC's "selective" prosecution as many other people, but defends Ngige as the 'people's governor'? Ngige that admitted to stealing the mandate of Anambra, visiting shrines in the dead of night with his godfather to swear away his state's funds? Sorry--this stuff isn't worthy of in-depth commentary. As it is, his piece is on most Nigerian web sites I've visited today, and that's purely a function of his celebrity, not because of some profound truth. If he'd had anything new to add to the discussion about Nigeria, perhaps I'd have something more to say in response

Terracota
May be you live in space.

I wish you would compare standard of living to what was obtainable before OJB came to power.  Compare also power generation pre -OBJ and what it is today.

May be using federal police to destroy Anambra State is one of OBJ's achievements- lol

Compare the prices crude oil pre- OBJ and what its today. Compare about $200 Billion generated by OBJ and what was generated pre -OBJ and tell me if quality of life has appreciated commensurably with income generation.

Compare our road network  before OBJ and what its today

Compare sectarian violence    before OBJ and now.

Compare exchange rate @ 88 Naira  before OBJ and  N130.  Compare plane crashes before OBJ and now

Compare political violence before OBJ and now. Compare political patronage and cronyism before OBJ and Now.

I would have wanted you to tell me that TuFace would match Achebe in intellectual capability. Yes, OBJ can write a book, but not an authority in literature, But Achebe founded a party in Nigeria; the difference here is that Obasanjo has not founded any political organization in Nigeria.

Even Ray Charles can see that ACHEBE has no political credibility, where was ACHEBE during IBB and

ABACHA? why didn't he come out and be a patriotic citizen and criticize the military governmet? was he

sacred he will be beaten like they did my HERO ABAMI EDA FELA? all thisLike I've said he is a well known

poet and a good author he should stick to what he knows and let the people living through the daily stress

of working 9 to 5 talk about Nigerian politics. name one thing ACHEBE has done for the people in his

community? Now that THINGS are Fallen APART they are so quick to open their mouth to talk about the

country. I'll rather listen to a taxi driver in OJUELEGBA than to listen to ACHEBE, BIGB1 Ill be home in 2 weeks so we can go eat some pepper soup and palmwine

Achebe's opinion on politics is no more profound than Obasanjo's opinion on literature. You're mixing up respect for someone's accomplishments in their chosen field with political savvy or analytical accuracy. Writing a book and joining a political organization doesn't make you an infallible expert. OBJ has written several books and is a member of a political organization too, but I doubt that you'd be co-signing his opinion on Achebe, right?

What a bunch of crap. I hope you didn't mean to express this, judging that you're literate enough to log on the internet.

All these attacks on Achebe are infantile - even if we disregard all the other comments, Obj's actions in Anambra (Achebe's home state) are clear for all to see, The man has not commented on Oyo, Plateau or Ekiti, he spoke about his home state, which I believe he is qualified to speak about. He has been consistent on this matter, reflected by his rejection of Obj's 'bribe' of a National Merit Award. We all know Obj wanted a third term, Achebe has said nothing new, his purpose is just to show the outside world the part of Nigeria they don't get to hear from Obj's ministers who are paint Obj in pleasant colours.

Lets call a spade a spade, some ignominious, terrible and unbelievable things have gone on in that state, with Obj's tacit approval, it is a disgrace to the country and to Obj. Achebe has spoken the truth, maybe he failed to point out the few positives Obj has done due to the pain/passion he feels over the state of affairs in his state, but lets not ignore that under the guise that 'he wasn't there under Abacha' and other such comments

Obj has been far from democratic in many of his dealings, and the case of Anambra is the worst example of this.

May be Achebe should have endorsed Andy and Chris Uba. He has never been silent on Nigerian issues. He refused to accept a presidential award from OBJ.

and what impact has he had? I'll like to hear his opinion on Atiku.

BlackMamba:

What a bunch of crap. I hope you didn't mean to express this, judging that you're literate enough to log on the internet.

If you're literate enough to read what I wrote, you should be able to understand my meaning clearly. Everyone else in this thread seems to have had no problem doing that. Don't waste your time with petty insults when it comes to me--I don't care any more about your opinion than I do about Achebe's. Just debate the issue at hand or watch from the sidelines.

ADConline-- No dearie, I don't live in space . Why is it so hard for you people to stick to the simple-ass topic instead of trying to score some cheap 'humorous' points? I can sit here yabbing your poor grammar all day or we can talk seriously about the meat of the matter. You've made more concrete accusations against OBJ than Achebe did in his statement, which was precisely my point. Whether Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka hate Obasanjo means nothing to me, personally--I don't particularly like the guy either. But I'm not interested in popularity contests and if OBJ naysayers can't provide more evidence that Nigeria is at its "lowest level" than their personal preference, it's not really worth a discussion.

I'd suggest that you make those comparisons and run the figures for us. The onus is on you (or Achebe) to prove your point that Nigeria's at its lowest. Otherwise, it's just more message-board blather with no basis in reality.

For every two steps forward, take one step backwards–that’s the way you described the “experiment known as Nigeria” about 20 years ago in an interview. What phase is the country in now?
Nigeria took a huge step to get out of military dictatorship. However the military had been so powerful for so long that an ordinary civilian leader taking them on seemed to require too much luck to succeed.
So Olusegun Obasanjo [a retired general elected president in 1997] seemed to be the ideal person to navigate this problem. He was the only military ruler ever to hand power back to civilians, in 1987. And finally, he experienced the terrorism of the military dictator Sani Abacha and is lucky to be alive.
He has done fairly well. But the problem of getting Nigeria back to sanity, let alone prosperity, is far greater than anyone imagined. So there doesn’t seem to be a chance for much dramatic achievement in this first term. But the fact that we are still knocking about and asking how we should proceed is a truly great measure of success.
The fear I have now comes from rumours that the next president could be Ibrahim Babangida, the military dictator preceding Abacha. If we were to get the notion that the retired generals from the terrible past will take their turn to rule–that would be a signal for the ultimate suicide.

The question we need to ask Mr. Chinua Achebe is Sir, what has changed?


Culled from the UNESCO Website

To TERACOTA,


am not surprised, you are always armed with your views inspired by ethnocentrism which you always try to bedaub or water down to suit every purposes, quit being delusional, ask anybody from Anambra state, even an old women would tell you all the wonders Ngige has performed in Anambra in such a short time, am sick and tired of people making references of ghost achievements that people could not see or feel, all the craps you mentioned are very inconsequential to the day to day existence of any Nigeria, you see I studied in the Eastern Europe, it does not really take a long time to make a lot of difference that has to do with your  own people, charity begins at home.

The whole world thinks that Russia sucks, but the Russians living standard is improving on daily basis, my dear slightly biased friend, am beginning to question your cogitative prowess, your views on this very subject is kind of purblind because of some of your tendencies I mentioned earlier, can we all have an intelligent discurse without those sentiments. you 've always been singing it like a song that all you value is people's qualifications and credentials, then you turned around to ridicule and deride Achebe, my good friend that is very hypocritical, can't you see that all Obasanjo is interested in is looking good to the west than to improve our infrastructures and the living standard of Nigerians, which I think should be paramount,

Egbon--interesting quote . Can you give us a direct link to the original UNESCO page?

Ninetofive--I trust that you will find some kind of ethnic angle in every possible discussion on this website, so I'll probably be ignoring your contributions to this thread. I'll try to address the comparison you made between Russia and Nigeria by quoting from today's Moscow Times: "Corruption is one reason why the government prefers to keep its oil wealth under lock and key, rather than spend it. But fiscal prudence is hard to sell in a country where roads are bad, power cuts are common and monthly pensions average $80.

Helped by high prices for oil, the economy is booming and capital investment is growing at an annual rate of 20 percent.

Few private investors want to upgrade infrastructure that has crumbled since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, however.

The condition of the country's roads has historically been an obstacle to development: There is still not a single paved road linking European Russia with the Far East."

Remind you of any other oil-rich, corrupt country trying to shed the label?

Terracota.

I am soo sorry for my poor grammar. English is not my first language.” Maybe"  is soo  unEnglish.   Thanks for teaching me.  So, back to the point. You listed some of OBJ's wonderful achievements and I listed some of his failures and you went ballistic.

A comparison is based on two or more known conditions.  Why do I have to prove to you that exchange rate was at @ N88 per dollar before OBJ came into office?  Why don’t you provide contrary evidence as I have done?

The same basis you employed in enumerating OBJ's achievement without statistical or empirical evidence is what   I used to highlight OBJ's flaws.  The fact is that OBJ has received more from Nigeria and has done little. To whom much is given, much is expected. It irks me to see some folks who think that Nigerians deserve less simply because their idol is the president.  Are we saying that OBJ is the greatest thing to have happened in Nigeria politically? Or does it mean that Nigeria cannot do better?

Even Achebe is concerned about his home sate and how OBJ and Ubas want to acquire Anambra as their property. Nobody has ever said anything about this.