Achebe Firm on Rejection of National Honour, Displeases Presidency

The president of Nigeria was to honour Nigeria’s renown author, Prof. Chinua Achebe with a national honour today along with some other  Nigerians in Abuja but Prof. Chinua Achebe rejected the offer.

President Jonathan had earlier offered Achebe the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). But in rejecting the honour, Achebe was quoted as saying that the issues that made him to reject a similar honour from the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo about seven years ago remained unresolved.

Achebe’s decision to reject the latest national honour was contained in a statement he issued on Saturday. The statement read, “The reasons for rejecting the offer ‘national honour’ when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved. It is inappropriate to offer it again to me. I must therefore regretfully decline the offer again.”

But presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, in a statement on Sunday, said the President regretted Achebe’s decision to once again reject the national honour. Adding that Jonathan was also surprised by the author’s claim that the issues which informed his decision to reject the same award seven years ago, still remained unresolved.

He said, “Politically, Nigeria cannot be said to be where it was in 2004 as the Jonathan administration has embarked on extensive electoral reforms to institute a regime of electoral integrity that all Nigerians can be proud of, believing that governance will be greatly enhanced in the country if the will of the people prevails at elections.

“While President Jonathan acknowledges that there are still challenges in the path of Nigeria’s attainment of its full potentials as a nation, he believes that his administration is moving the country in the right direction and therefore deserves the support, encouragement and cooperation of all citizens.”

However, according to Abati, the President continues to hold Achebe in very high esteem in spite of his “regrettable decision” which he said might have been borne out of “misinformation as to the true state of affairs in Nigeria.”