Achebe: Ochei, UNN Mourn, To Unfold Memorial Programme

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, (THEWILL) –The University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka has declared a period of mourning for the loss of Prof Chinua Achebe, its former faculty member.

UNN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bartho N. Okolo, in a statement, weekend, said Achebe was one of those whose presence in the faculty helped to build the reputation of the university.

Okolo said UNN would unfold a programme in honour of the late author as well as join in all activities aimed at honouring the late distinguished writer and teacher.

Achebe Was A Literary Colossus And Committed Patriot - Ochei

The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon (Engr.) Victor Ochei FNSE, FIAS, has described Professor Achebe’s death as a colossal loss to Nigeria and the galaxy of global literary fraternity.

Hon Ochei, who made this observation in his reaction to Professor Achebe’s transition, submitted that this development has created a vacuum in the chronicle of avowed patriots, whose contributions have offered the needed diverse but constructive suggestions, in navigating Nigeria through the complexities of nationhood.

The legislator also opined that the late Achebe’s achievements as a foremost harbinger of African literature, placed Nigeria on the global literary radar, which invariably acted as the catalyst in propelling his compatriots and continental acolytes to nurturing African literature to universal acceptance.

In commiserating with the biological and professional families of the late icon, Hon Ochei counseled them to find solace in the timeless treatise of America’s Ralph Wado Emerson (1803-1822) that; “Death comes to all, but great achievements build a monument which shall endure until the sun grows old.’’

He further averred that, his death should not be construed as an end to advancements in his chosen field, rather as acquiescence to the natural sequence of continuity.