Nigeria History and Current Affairs
Brief Biography of Notable Nigerians
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Chinua Achebe - (16 November 1930 - 21 March 2013 ) Place Of Birth:Ogidi, Anambra State. A Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. He studied at the University of Ibadan and University of London. He was best known for his first novel and magnum opus,Things Fall Apart, it went on to sell more than 12 million copies and has been translated into more than 50 languages. which is the most widely read book in modern African literature. Other novels written by him include ; No longer at ease, Arrow of God, A Man of the People and Ant Hills of the Savannah. In 1975, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Achebe gave a lecture called "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," in which he asserted that Joseph Conrad's famous novel dehumanizes Africans. Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era. His style relies heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books “How the Leopard Got His Claws 1973, Soul-Brother (1971) and Christmas in Biafra (1973) and Achebe's first book of essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975). He received numerous awards for his writings such as ; Man Booker International Prize, Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, St. Louis Literary Award. He served as a professor at Brown University in the United States and died March 21, 2013, at age 82, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Chinua Achebe Quotes:
· "Art is man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him."
· “When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has
brought his own stool."
· “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised."
Bukola Saraki (born Olubukola Abubakar Saraki, 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician who has been President of the Senate of Nigeria since 2015. Previously he was Governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011. He was first elected to the Senate in April 2011, representing the Kwara Central senatorial district, and he was re-elected in the March 2015 elections. He is currently a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC); previously he was a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). In 2003, he ran for the office of the Executive Governor of Kwara State on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and won. He was sworn into office in May 2003. He ran again for re-election in 2007 and won his second term. As governor of Kwara, he led reforms in agriculture, health, education, finance and environment policy. One of his major achievements was inviting displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara State and offering them an opportunity to farm. This led to the establishment of Shonga Farms programme, which is now being replicated across Nigeria.
Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (23 January 1962 - 7 June 2016) was a Nigerian football defender. He was also a football manager of the Nigeria national team. He was one of only two people, along with Egypt's Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach.
Shuaibu Amodu (April 1958 - 10 June 2016) was a Nigerian football coach. Amodu has managed a number of club sides in Nigeria, such as BCC Lions, El-Kanemi Warriors, and Shooting Stars; he also managed Orlando Pirates in South Africa.He first managed the Nigerian national team from April 2001 to February 2002.He was re-appointed manager in April 2008.In December 2009 the Nigeria Football Federation stated that Amodu was under pressure, and in January 2010 there was speculation about his future.He was sacked in February 2010.Amodu was appointed technical director of Nigeria's national teams in May 2013.He was re-appointed Nigeria manager in October 2014, replacing Stephen Keshi.It was his fifth spell in charge of the country.Keshi returned to the role two weeks later but was fired in July 2015 and Amodu took over the Eagles again temporarily.He was replaced by Sunday Oliseh on a permanent basis later that month.
Prince Eheneden Erediauwao (Oba of Benin), born 1953, He his a former Nigerian Ambassador to Norway, Nigerian Ambassador to Angola. He has a B.A. in economics and sociology from the University of Wales. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. Since 1987 he has been active in leading positions within the Nigerian business community, especially the gas and oil industries.
To be continued………