4 Classic african writers ,I will akways love and respect .

  As a budding writer ,these classic authors have been an inspiration to me,through their lifestyles,works ,wisdom and legacy.

 

1.Ken Saro Wiwa :  Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award for "exemplary courage in striving non-violently for civil, economic and environmental rights" and the Goldman Environmental Prize. Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s and which has suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Initially as spokesperson, and then as president, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by the operations of the multinational petroleum industry, especially the Royal Dutch Shell company. He was also an outspoken critic of the Nigerian government, which he viewed as reluctant to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum companies operating in the area. 

       At the peak of his non-violent campaign, he was tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the gruesome murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and hanged in 1995 by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. His execution provoked international outrage and resulted in Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years. 

  Ken Saro Wiwa has written works like Sozaboy:a novel in written in rotten English,Tambari,Genocide in Nigeria:the ogoni tragedy. 

Ken Saro Wiwa legend lives on!

But I really wish some names were brought to book ,concerning his death. 

2.Chukuemaka Ike: 

Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike (28 April 1931 – 9 January 2020) was a Nigerian writer known for a mixture of lampoon, humor and satire. He owed a little bit of his style to his Igbo cultural upbringing. He studied history, English and Religious Studies at the University of Ibadan and earned a master's degree at Stanford university. Among many of the younger generation, he was popular as the author of Expo '77, a critical look at academic examination abuses in West Africa. Ike was a former registrar of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).  He was made king of his hometown.

  He was a king, Eze Ndikelionwu of the great Aro town Ndikelionwu in eastern Nigeria, with the title "Ikelionwu XI" in his hometown of Ndikelionwu in Anambra State. He died early January, 2029

Chukwuemeka's books were so fun to read and were beautifully narrated. He is one of the authors dear to my heart. And has inspired. His books, The Bottle leopard and The Potter's wheel are one my favorite books.

3. Chinua Achebe: Chinua Achebe  born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe, 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958), often considered his masterpiece, is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Chinua Achebe is one of my first inspirations. One of the first books I read was ,Chike and the river. His speech about the story of the lions and the hunters,really touched me. He said  that until the lions had their story written,the hunters hunting will always be glorified. Achebe died after a short illness on 21 March 2013 in Boston, United States. 

     

4. Christopher Okigbo:  Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo (16 August 1932 – 1967) was a Nigerian poet, teacher, and librarian, who died fighting for the independence of Biafra. He is today widely acknowledged as an outstanding postcolonial English-language African poet and one of the major modernist writers of the 20th century.