Achebe Undeserving of Nigeria, Says FG
From Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The Federal Government yesterday said the decision of Professor Chinua Achebe to reject a national award given to him is an indication that the acclaimed writer "does not deserve his country" of origin.
Achebe had weekend rejected the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) comferred on him on the 2004 national honours.
In a statement special assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, stated he issued after discussing with President Olusegun Obasanjo, the government stated that "if you feel that your country does not deserve to honour you, then we believe you certainly do not deserve your country."
Fani-Kayode in the statement stated that: "I discussed its (Achebe's letter) contents with the President yesterday (Tuesday) and our response is as follows: Our response is that his position as regards the state of affairs in his native land and his rejection of the great honour done to him by the Nigerian people is regrettable. It is not a slap in the face of the Nigerian government or Mr. President, but rather it is a slap in the face of the Nigerian people.
"The truth is that even though we continue to retain the highest degree of respect and admiration for Professor Achebe, it is painfully obvious that he is not fully conversant with the enormous strides and tangible achievement that the nation has made in the last few years.
"If you feel that your country does not deserve to honour you, then we believe that you certainly do not deserve your country. This is because the greatest honour that anyone can receive is that which is bestowed upon him not by a foreign land or foreign organizations, but by his own country.
"It is unfortunate that up till today some of our people are still of the view that the quest for foreign and international awards in places like Sweden and elsewhere are more important or are of more value than an award being given them by their own homeland."
According to Fani-Kayode it was within Achebe's prerogative of to accept or reject the award, adding that government will not lose sleep over the rejection.
He said in spite of Achebe's actions, the Federal Government had tremendous respect for the author of the famous Things Fall Apart novel and the prestige, which his works and fame have brought to Nigeria over the years.
The statement said government was inviting Achebe to "come home and join hands with all Nigerians in making this country a greater place and a country that his children and grandchildren can call their very home."
The Federal Government through the President's spokeswoman, Mrs. Remi Oyo had on Monday denied receiving a formal letter from Achebe conveying his rejection of the national honour of the CFR.
"This is about 1.30pm, Monday October 18, 2004, President Obasanjo has not received, as at this time, any letter from the respected Professor Achebe. What you read in the newspapers are comments from a govenrment official (Fani-Kayode) that say it is well within the rights of Professor Achebe not to want an award that has been graciously given him by his nation," she had said.
Fani-Kayode had at the weekend told Punch newspapers that Achebe's estimation of Nigeria's problems was not right.
"If you look at the problems in 1999 and the gains we have made, it does not suggest that things are different," he said.
Achebe in rejecting the award had in a two page letter stated that "Nigeria's condition today under your (Obasanjo's) watch is however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honour awarded me in the 2004 honours list."
While stating that he was writing the letter "with a very heavy heart" Achebe had written, "For sometime now, I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom."
"I am appealed by the brazenness of this clique and the silence if not connivance of the presidency."
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