- says he stood for anti-corruption and social justice
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lamented the death of Nigerian born, world acclaimed literary giant, Prof. Chinua Achebe, describing his passage as a “monumental national loss.”
The party said Achebe will be greatly remembered for his unwavering anti-corruption stand; his efforts towards promoting high moral values in the country as well as his contributions toward national development.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement yesterday said the party received the news of Achebe’s death with deep sadness especially as he left when the nation needed his wise counsels the most.
“Achebe was a rare gift to the nation. He was a hero and a great patriot who used his intellectual and physical energies to wage an unrelenting war against corruption and championed the inculcation of true moral values and social integrity in our polity.
“Achebe’s contribution to national human capital development using his books is unprecedented. His works stood out in projecting African cultural and social values. He used them to instill and sustain national pride and the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in contemporary Nigerians in particular and Africans in general”, the statement said.
The party urged the Federal Government to honour Achebe’s numerous contribution to the nation by immediately commencing works on the rehabilitation of Enugu-Ogidi-Onitsha road which passed through his home town, Ogidi in Anambra state. It also urged the Federal Government to take steps to immortalize the literary giant.
Describing Achebe’s death as a national loss, the PDP leadership commiserated with President Goodluck Jonathan, the Government and people of Anambra state as well as the literary world and the academia.
The party also condoled the Achebe family and prayed God to give the bereaved the fortitude to bear the “irreparable loss”.
Signed,
Chief Olisa Metuh
National Publicity Secretary
