Was Achebe an apologist or a pragmatist?

Photo: Ivan Shilov

The decision by “rebellious” African writers like Ngugi wa Thiong'o to divorce themselves completely—in action, word and deed—from all that is Western in orientation sparks a debate as to whether “moderate” writers like the late Chinua Achebe can be categorised as apologists or pragmatists.

Ngugi has demonstrated his revulsion for Western ideologies and principles after discovering his “true African identity”. To assuage the spirits of his ancestors whom he had inadvertently wronged in his earlier writings in English, Ngugi has made a conscious and deliberate decision to speak and write in his hallowed mother tongue, Gikuyu.

In a recent speech in Catalonia, he shocked the world when he chose to give his speech in Gikuyu to the chagrin of the international audience which had wrongly assumed he would use either English—or Spanish for that matter.

Achebe, on the other hand, had a way of playing with the English language to make it African. He largely succeeded in coating the English language with a rich paint of African (read Igbo) idioms and proverbs to make it pass as Africanised English.

His decision to write in English highlights his determination to wrestle with his Western peers using the tools of war they provided. In a way, Achebe seems not to have rejected Western influences entirely despite once having described English as a language "history has forced down our throats".

“Achebe, on the other hand, had a way of playing with the English language to make it African. ”

Born in Ogidi on November 16, 1930, Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, the man who was later to be christened “the patriarch of the African novel”, encountered through his readings a prejudiced depiction of the African continent as a heart of darkness by European writers like Joseph Conrad. The immediate reaction of the then “revolutionary” Achebe was to drop his first name, Albert. That marked the end of his revolution. He did not take the fight to the doorstep of his oppressors and chose to dine with his colonial masters.

This leads to the questions: Was Achebe an apologist or a pragmatist? Was he right to choose English as a medium to reach a wider audience as opposed to the likes of Ngugi wa Thiong'o who have chosen to lock themselves in the cocoons of their tribes? What message was Achebe passing in his difficult decision to abandon Mother Africa by choosing to embrace the spirits of an alien tongue?

So many questions, so few answers. Africa, however, continues to bear the brunt for choosing alien tongues. One consequence of this choice is its adverse effect on the unity of the continent. A case in mind is the Southern Cameroon conflict which pits the government of Cameroon against the self-proclaimed state of Ambazonia, English-speaking region of Cameroon. In September 2017, separatists from the anglophone territories of Cameroon declared independence. The intervention of the government forces and the resistance of the insurgents saw over 3,000 people dead. It must be noted here that other underlying economic factors, other than linguistic difference, may have played a part in precipitating the conflict. However, it would be preposterous to ignore the anglophone and francophone issue as it equally played a role in the conflict. 

This problem is often compounded by the adoption of the religions of colonisers. Africa has experienced religious conflicts in areas such as Nigeria, South Sudan, Mali, Somalia, and lately Mozambique. For example, the Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Seleka rebels in the Central Africa Region have often targeted populations on the basis of their religion. 

Matthias Basedau, a German researcher, in attempting to dissect the role of religion in conflicts around the world, asserts that eight out of ten active armed conflicts have a religious dimension and religious conflicts have been on the rise over the last 15 years.

Africa has suffered immensely for its blind supplication to foreign norms; the late Ugandan poet, Okot p'Bitek, would have bemoaned Africa's decision to "uproot the old calabash" from the homestead. Like the hilarious character Maduka in Achebe's short story “The Voter,” Africa is confronted by the dilemma of choice. It may be forced to tear its conscience in the desperate attempt to please the spirits of two conflicting worlds.

About the author

Thomas Chemelil is a teacher of Literature at St. Francis Kimuron High School in Kenya.