Anambra State was on Thursday shutdown as the late literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe was laid to rest at his country home of Ogidi, near Onitsha, the commercial nerve of the state.
Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who led other world leaders to pay last respect to the renowned writer at the funeral service held in honour of the late writer at St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Ogidi, enjoined all Nigerians to collectively join his government in its transformation efforts.
In his goodwill message, at the service attended by the Ghanaian President, John Mahama, several Governors, ministers and other international leaders, lawmakers, academics and hundreds of clerics, the President said that Achebe in his books, philosophically reflected on the ills bedeviling the progress of the country.
He said the present generation of politicians, business moguls, and thinkers should find a way of changing their negative attitudes just for the common good of the country.
“That means that those of us who are political leaders, business moguls who have business empires; our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, all of us must work hard to change this country. “So that when our grand children like Achebe junior would write, they would say, ‘there is a country’.
“And one thing for those of you who had read this book. I would like to appreciate Achebe because if you listen to what I have read, he was overtly critical about the elections.
“But one thing he appreciated at least is that the 2011 election had seen significant improvement. That means that we can change”.
“If we can fix our electoral process and we the politicians, believe that this is our country and we don’t have any other country than Nigeria; and we work together, work with the religious leaders, work with the traditional leaders, work with the businessmen and women; then, we can have a country that our grand-children would write in their own books – there is a country”, he added.
President Jonathan announced that he and President John Mahama of Ghana would rebuild the dilapidated St. Philips’ Primary School, Ogidi where Achebe attended his primary education.
In a speech at the event, President John Mahama of Ghana, said that Prof Achebe’s life was a great inspiration to Africans, stressing that the departed writer would live-on not just in his literary works, but for his forthrightness and sincerity on issues of life as it affected his people, his country and the African World.
He said: “It is my greatest regret that I made a personal acquaintance of such a great man in the very sun-set of his life. Prof. Achebe was a great man; unfortunately the circle of life dictates that everything and everyone that is born must also eventually die.
“It is what you do between those two events, it is what you make of life that you have been given that leaves a mark on people and defines how you would be remembered. I am grateful to God for the life of Prof. Chinua Achebe.’’
Gov Peter Obi of Anambra, who spoke on behalf of the governors from the South-East and South-South, noted that the people of the two zones, “now united are very grateful to Mr President who had taken his time to honour the invitation’’.
According to him, “With the love you are showing to the South-East and South-South; we would remain with you and make sure we project all your programmes and policies.’’
Earlier in his homily, Most Rev. Ikechi Nwosu, Archbishop of Aba Anglican Province, who represented Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the Primate of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria, urged Nigerians to be determined to succeed even in difficult and rough times. The cleric, who themed his message as: “Prof. Chinua Achebe, a Parable to the Nigeria Nation’’, enjoined all Nigerians to be focused and steadfast with the truth and fear of God.
He advised Nigerians not to lose hope, saying: “God shows how strong He is to His people, during rough and difficult times“.
Speaking on behalf of the elders of the South-East, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, thanked President Jonathan and his Ghanaian counterpart as well as other foreign national dignitaries for gracing the occasion.
The elder statesman stated that Achebe had made Ndi-Igbo and Nigerians proud with his literary works and life-style.
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