Title: "When Things Fell Apart, And Why They Still Matter"

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour to welcome you all to this significant occasion—the 67th anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe’s seminal novel, Things Fall Apart. Today, we celebrate not just a book, but a mirror. A mirror that still shows us who we are, who we were, and who we might yet become.

Achebe’s novel, written in 1958, was not merely a literary achievement; it was a cultural intervention. At a time when Africa was spoken about but rarely spoke for itself, Achebe gave voice to the silenced. He told the story of Okonkwo, a man caught in the riptide of cultural collision, struggling to hold onto tradition as colonialism reshaped his world.

The tragedy of Okonkwo was not simply his pride or his temper. It was that he stood at a crossroads where two civilizations met—but did not understand each other. The Igbo world he knew was complex, rooted in communal values, honour, and a spiritual relationship with the land. But it was also imperfect. Achebe did not idealize precolonial Africa. He showed its strengths and its cracks.

Now, more than six decades later, Nigeria still stands at a kind of crossroads—perhaps not between tradition and colonialism, but between potential and peril. And the themes that run through Achebe’s novel remain uncannily relevant.

1. The Theme of Leadership and Failure of Vision

Achebe showed us what happens when leaders fail to evolve with the times. Okonkwo could not adapt, and neither could his society’s institutions. Today, we face a similar crisis in leadership—not of adaptation, but of vision.

Insecurity, corruption, and a lack of strategic governance have eroded trust in public institutions. Much like the collapse of Umuofia’s traditional structures, our modern systems are fraying at the seams—not because we lack the resources or the people, but because we lack consistent, principled leadership.

2. The Clash Between Tradition and Change
Achebe captured the painful clash between old and new—a conflict that resonates today. Our society oscillates between preserving cultural values and embracing global modernity. But where is the balance?

We must ask: Are we building on the strengths of our traditions—communal responsibility, respect for elders, moral accountability—or have we traded them for unchecked individualism and materialism?

3. The Danger of Silence and the Erasure of Voice

Perhaps one of Achebe’s most powerful contributions was to give voice to the African experience. He showed that when people are not allowed to speak for themselves, they are spoken over, and their history becomes distorted.

Today, many Nigerians—especially the youth—still struggle to be heard. Whether it is in economic policymaking, educational reform, or employment creation, their voices remain marginal in a system that resists inclusive dialogue. Achebe’s warning remains: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

4. Community vs. Individualism
Things Fall Apart paints a picture of a society deeply embedded in community life, where identity is linked to clan, to duty, and to ancestry. Today, the fragmentation of that community ideal is painfully evident—in the rise of ethnic tensions, the failure of social safety nets, and the growing gap between rich and poor.

We are experiencing not just an economic recession but a moral one—where empathy has become scarce, and shared responsibility is diluted.

So What Can We Learn?
Achebe did not give us easy answers. But he offered us something better: the courage to look inward. He challenged us to tell our own stories, examine our own flaws, and reimagine our future.

As we celebrate the 67th anniversary of Things Fall Apart, we must move beyond nostalgia. We must ask how we, too, might be falling apart—and more importantly, how we might come together again.

Can we build a Nigeria where tradition enriches modernity, not conflicts with it?

Can we raise leaders who listen more than they command—who serve, not rule?

Can we create a society where every citizen, regardless of tribe, class, or gender, feels seen, heard, and valued?

In Conclusion
Achebe once said, “Art is man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him.” That is what Things Fall Apart achieved for Africa. And that is what we must now achieve for Nigeria.

Let us not allow things to fall apart again. Let us rewrite the narrative, just as Achebe once did—with clarity, with courage, and with conscience.

Thank you.
Dr. Ike Chioke
Chairman
Things Fall Apart Festival 2025
Speech by Dr. Ike Chioke, Group Managing Director of Afrinvest, at the Grand Finale of “Things Fall Apart Festival 2025” celebrating the 67th anniversary of the publication of the Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe