SaharaReporters learned that the Achebe family was disturbed by the fraudulent use of the late writer’s name by an illegal group that is not known to the family.
The family of the late renowned novelist, Chinua Achebe, has denied any links to a Nigeria-based “Chinua Achebe Center For Leadership And Development” that recently urged the World Bank not to grant a $29 billion loan to Nigeria.
SaharaReporters obtained an email written by the late novelist’s son, Chidi Achebe, to the managers of the Chinua Achebe Estate in London. In the email, Mr. Chidi Achebe, who has a medical practice in Massachusetts, stated that his mother, Mrs. Christie Achebe, was not aware of and had not granted permission to any group to use the deceased writer’s name, likeness, brand and reputation in any manner. Mrs. Achebe, a retired professor of psychology, serves as the executor of her late husband’s estate.
SaharaReporters learned that the Achebe family was disturbed by the fraudulent use of the late writer’s name by an illegal group that is not known to the family. A family member revealed that the Achebe family had asked the Wylie Agency in the UK to compel the characters behind the so-called center to cease and desist henceforth. Mr. Andrew Wylie was the late novelist’s literary agent.
The shadowy “Chinua Achebe Center” had written to the World Bank cautioning the financial body against granting a $29.9b loan sought by President Muhammadu Buhari. The letter was signed by three officers of the center, namely Ugochukwu Nwachukwu, who claimed to be the executive director of operations, Matthew Mbanaja, public relations officer, and Samuel Ejiofor, acting as legal adviser to the center.
Chinua Achebe, who was a professor of Africana and literary arts at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, died March 21, 2013. He achieved global literary fame with the publication of “Things Fall Apart” and four other critically acclaimed novels, essay collections, poetry, and a memoir of the Biafran War.
