The Killing of Igbos in Kano May Have Caused Achebe's Death
First let me offer my condolence to the family of Africa's literary giant, Prof Chinua Achebe over his passing at the age of 83. May God grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
Meanwhile, veteran writers and Achebe’s compatriots, Prof. Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark, have linked his death to the bomb attacks that occurred in Kano on Monday.
In a joint statement they issued on Friday, entitled “On the Passing of Chinua Achebe,” they noted that his death might have been hastened by the shock from the violence that those they described as Achebe’s people suffered during the attacks...
The joint statement read in part:
“We need to stress this at a critical time of Nigerian history, where the forces of darkness appear to overshadow the illumination of existence that literature represents.
“These are forces that arrogantly pride themselves implacable and brutal enemies of what Chinua and his pen represented, not merely for the African continent, but for humanity.
“Indeed, we cannot help wondering if the recent insensate massacre of Chinua’s people in Kano, only a few days ago, hastened the fatal undermining of that RESILIENT WILL that had sustained him so many years after his crippling accident.”
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