Achebe rode the biggest car at UNN – Former student

Professor Albert Chinua Achebe

A former student of Achebe at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Chief Yemi Ajayi, recalls his lifestyle in a tribute, ‘The Achebe I knew’

I received the news of Prof. Chinua Achebe’s death with  a mixture of sadness and joy. Unlike most people, I wasn’t shocked. What shock could have overwhelmed one at the death of a man who lived for 82 years in a country whose life expectancy for men was recently put at 52? Given his delicate condition after an accident which paralysed his lower limbs, Achebe was lucky to have lived that long, considering the terrible situation of the nation’s health delivery system.

If Achebe hadn’t taken advantage of better health facilities in the USA, he would probably have become one of the unfortunate statistics of our poor health delivery system as he would possibly have passed on much earlier, after frequent visits to either a German or an Indian hospital to the bargain. He would also have paid through his nose for simple medical treatments that citizens in advanced countries of the world have taken for granted, but which are still largely unavailable here in Nigeria.

Achebe cheated death by 12 years after surpassing the mandatory three score plus 10 years especially ordained by God for mankind to live. But can one be jo^­yful and sad at the death of a “father figure” like Achebe at the same time?  The answer is Yes! I was joyful, (but not joyous) because he lived a life of exceptional service, selfless leadership, that radiated its brilliance across the world like a rainbow and was filled with beautiful achievements.

 I was opportune to be a student in one of the courses he taught in the English Department of  UNN in 1977. Although I was a mid-career adult-student, then pursuing a degree in Mass Communication, I took all my elective courses from the English Language Department because of Achebe. He was a soft-spoken man of letters with exceptional personality, neither lacking in virtue nor in the required commitment to do that which was right. He was a man with robust inner pride and extensive outer confidence.

As a teacher, he had great ideas which he did not keep to himself alone. He was free; he was open. He was forceful in his delivery and with a visible limitation for sentimental outpourings. He once told the class that we should not take him too seriously whenever he gave us advice because he suspected that not many people cherished ideas freely given without being sought. He however advised us to grab every idea that came our way in the course of our studentship whether from him or other lecturers, turn them around in our minds and secure them properly in our heads, because they might fly off when we needed them most, never to come back again.

Tucked away in a quiet office just a stone throw from the robust office of Prof. Emmanuel Obiechina, (the HOD) Achebe never for once envied Obiechina’s headship.  He never spoke ill behind him; he never complained about his own station. He was as cool as cucumber and as de-foamed as a settled liquid detergent in a soap jar.  His literary pedigree spoke ahead of him everywhere he went on Campus: “There goes Achebe, the Author ofThings Fall Apart”, students would proudly announce to themselves as if he had just stepped into the campus right from the moon.  His simplicity belied his firmness.  Even though he had a constant and almost permanent smile on his face, he was as affirmative as an ink cartridge, always living strong marks and indelible impressions behind him anywhere he appeared on campus.

But Achebe could be occasionally ‘loud’ when he chose, particularly if the situation was capable of producing a positive effect in the minds of his students. For instance, he rode the biggest car on campus, or put differently, one of the biggest cars, a Limousine Mercury Monarch, which he brought to the office everyday not necessarily to oppress or impress anyone, but to assure his students that they could earn their take if they remained focused and that there was always an excellent reward for hard work. He was like a Memorex spindle whose voice rekindles fresh hope on difficult literary postulations.

As already established, Achebe started his literary experiment with Things Fall Apart, unsure of what the outcome of this experiment would be and most uncertain about whether or not his people will embrace and accept his idea and message. He waited on chance but the credibility of the book propelled him to fame