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By Henry Akubuiro
The Awka Literary Society (ALS) has commended the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, for renaming the Anambra International Airport Umueri to Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri.
The Society, made up of novelists, poets, playwrights, literary critics, publishers and professors of literature, said renaming and redesignating the airport built by the governor’s predecessor, Willie Obiano, was a historic foresight which had endeared Governor Soludo to writers and workers of the imagination across the world.
“This is a monumental gesture that is bound to reverberate for generations to come. For decades, we had waited for Chinua Achebe to be honoured. We watched helplessly as previous governments named monuments for people whose legacies pale in comparison to Achebe’s. We are happy that Soludo has demonstrated a presence of mind that has erased our anxiety,” the writers declared.
According to them, “No one in living memory is more deserving of that honour than Chinua Achebe. Achebe’s entire oeuvre defines the place of the black man in the world, restoring the dignity that was plundered and stolen by the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and colonialism. When Africa was positioned as the heart of darkness in the imagination of the West, Chinua Achebe beamed brilliant rays on the continent for her better understanding and acceptance. He was indisputably, the greatest thinker out of Africa. And we are happy that he has been finally honoured by his own people.”
