ICONS: Chinua Achebe (Father of African literature)

• Born on 16 November, 1930 in Ogidi town, Anambra State, Nigeria.

• He was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel, “Things Fall Apart (1958)”, often considered his best, is the most widely-read book in modern African literature.

• In 1948, in preparation for independence, Nigeria’s first university opened, known as University College (now the University of Ibadan), it was an associate college of the University of London. Achebe got admitted into the university as one of its first intakes to study Medicine. It was during his studies in Ibadan that Achebe began to become critical of European literature about Africa. He abandoned the study of Medicine and changed to English, History and Theology. While at the university, Achebe wrote his first short story, “In a Village Church”.

• Achebe’s first four books outside school are: Things Fall Apart (1958); No Longer at Ease (1960); Arrow of God (1964); A Man of the People (1966).

• Achebe, the multi-award winner, died on 21 March, 2013 in Boston, United States, aged 83.

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