ACHEBE:THE BIG MASQUERADE COMES TO TOWN

The Literary Giant...

The Cenotaph,Cocorde Boulevard,Venue of the lecture.

Banner....

Billboards..heralding the landing of the Eagle on the Iroko

Come January 23rd 2008,the world will shift its focus from America and Obamania to The platform of The Cenotaph,Concorde Boulevard,Owerri,Eastern Nigeria where the literary sage and world acclaimed writer,Author and speaker,Professor Chinua Achebe will deliver the Key lecture at the 2009 Ahiajoku Lecture in a climax of events at the Festival of Igbo civilization.The theme of this year's lecture is :Igbo Intellectualism And Development.

Owerri is already agog for this historic event. Meanwhile,Achebe is already talking in what looks like a tip of what to expect on Friday:

''I have not come to make a presentation. I have come to say thank you. That is fairly the reason for my being here. I was taken aback, astonished at the kindly disposition of my people to me. It is not because of any great achievement. It is simply that you want to say, this is our brother. And that is what I want to say also to you. You are my brothers and sisters. I have been away too long, for reasons you know and might not. But it has been so important for me to make this visit. I have changed my coming, well, 200 times, and yesterday, it was touch and go. I am happy to see you. I want to tell you to continue doing the good work" because "the business of journalism is good work that is how I view it. Do good work and you won't go wrong".

"I must express very profound disappointment with what is happening on the African continent concerning elections and concerning succession. Right here in Africa, we still have not learnt, that unless you have a process that makes succession easy and even friendly so that opponents can smile at each other, unless we get there, we still have a very long way to go. Politics is not warfare.
"We have to be convinced; we have to be really determined to make Nigeria work",

You don't retire from writing, you continue writing until you bow down. If you are really a writer and you are alive, don't look forward to a pension, there are some young people who think the older ones should retire, that is not the way it is done. Young, old, medium, we all have work, don't give up writing, and don't give up the idea because that is your calling. I do have a new book coming out and when it comes out, you will see it".

I am enthsiastically looking forward to be a witness of this historic occassion.I took the above pictures with my new Sony DSC-S750 Cyber-shot .