Why we honoured Chinua Achebe – Google

Technology giant, Google said it honoured Nigerian literary icon, Chinua Achebe on its doodle to underscore his status as a figure of 20th century literature.

Surrounded by iconic images of his most famous literary works, the Doodle celebrates Achebe’s legacy on what would have been his 87th birthday.


“One man took it upon himself to tell the world the story of Nigeria through the eyes of its own people.

”Chinua Achebe was the studious son of an evangelical priest. A student of English literature, he started writing in the 1950s, choosing English as his medium but weaving the storytelling tradition of the Igbo people into his books.

”His characters were insiders, everyday people such as the village chief (in Things Fall Apart); the priest (in Arrow of God) or the school teacher (in A Man of the People).

”Through their stories, we witness a Nigeria at the crossroads of civilisation, culture and generations.”

The search engine said that Achebe’s pen brought to life the land and traditions of the Igbo, the hum of everyday village life; the anticipation and excitement of sacred masquerades.

Google added that Achebe’s pen brought to life the stories of the elders and the honour of warriors; the joy of family and the grief of loss.

It said that Achebe was considered by many to be the father of modern African literature and was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2007.

The honour by the technological giants added up to the long list of awards clinched by the writer in life and in death.

Today: Nov. 16 would have been Achebe’s 87th birthday. The writer died in March, 2013 at the age of 82.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Google Doodle is a special logo on Google’s homepage that is always temporarily alternated and intended to celebrate holidays, events, achievements and people.