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As a graduate of English and Literature from the University of Benin, there is no way I could have escaped studying and critiquing the works of one of the greatest novelists and writers Africa has been privileged to produce, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. His great writing prowess, captivating imageries and arresting metaphors is the delight of any literary scholar adept at the aesthetic quality of a literary work. Some of his novels like the iconic Weep not Child not only served as a wake up call to Kenyans but all Africans to put all their experiences of debilitating colonialism behind them and embrace a new vision for Africa, it served as a compass for many of us who saw the great potential in this new direction despite our late start at self-determination, sovereignty and advancement that is sociologically and culturally- rooted.
Ngugi is one of the few great patriots of the black race who has bowed out today in death but his footprints like immortal art which never dies according to Williams Shakespeare will live on till the end of time. One of his latter day philosophy is “never write in the language of the colonizer”. By this, I believe essentially that it means we should never think in the language of those who have colonized us and enslaved our forefathers because then, we won’t be authentic and original in the application of the right home-grown solutions to our own unique African problems. This truism has continued to manifest in many African countries still grappling with “Europeanised, cosmetic but ruinous brainwashing’ multiplying our developmental problems, stagnating our growth and steeping our people in fruitless materialistic pursuits, corruption and greed.
Like his contemporaries Chinua Achebe, Sembene Ousman, Ama Aita Aido, Wole Soyinka and Kofi Awonoor just to mention a few, Ngugi’s place as one of those who fought for the independence of Africa and the need to end its post-independence and imperialistic chokehold on the fortunes of the continent can never be downplayed. The need for Africans to return to the traditional norms and ethos is a running motif in most of his works. The political struggles of most African countries even after independence from their colonial masters are constant thematic concerns. We must not forget where we are coming from if we must forge a clear path for the future.
As a literary scholar, I and millions of my colleagues and literature students all over the world mourn this great icon of words, dreams and vision. The pen has slipped from your lifeless hands Ngugi, but the words imprinted on paper by your great mind will continue to live after you.
Goodbye great father, leader, role model and pride of the black race. May your spirit and new status as our ancestor continue to be reborn in generations of Africans yet to visit the planet earth.
