In our series of letters from Africa, Sola Odunfa in Lagos writes that acclaimed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, who died last week, was a fierce critic of corruption and misrule and would not have welcome the decision to pardon a former state governor.
Achebe would have preferred his beloved country to climb out of the pit of corruption in his lifetime but the gods did not wish it so.
He died last week while the Nigerian government was labouring to defend its decision to pardon a convicted thief, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, a former state governor and ally of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Achebe built a strong reputation not only as a literary giant but also as a patriot who felt great pain as his country’s politicians thrust daggers of misrule and impunity into its body. He cried through his writings.
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