BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
United Nigeria Airlines (UNA) has pledged N20 million to sponsor the Chinua Achebe Prize for Fiction, administered by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), for the next 10 years.
Under the sponsorship arrangement, the airline will provide N2 million annually to the association, bringing its total commitment to N20 million over the period.
The Executive Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, disclosed the commitment following discussions with the President of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Dr. Usman Akanbi.
The intervention is expected to provide a stable source of funding for the annual literary prize, which has faced uncertainty following the withdrawal of sponsorship by the Anambra State Government.
The Chinua Achebe Prize for Fiction was established in 2021 by the Anambra State Government in partnership with the ANA leadership to honour the legacy of the late literary icon and encourage excellence in Nigerian fiction.
The state government initially sponsored the prize with N1 million under the administration of former Governor Willie Obiano.
The succeeding administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo continued the sponsorship and agreed to increase the annual funding to N2 million, following a request by ANA to reflect rising inflation and administrative costs, including payments to judges.
However, the organisers said the state government’s sponsorship was not sustained after two years, despite several letters from the association reminding the government of its earlier commitment.
The funding gap had raised concerns about the future of the prize until United Nigeria Airlines stepped in with its 10-year commitment.
Announcing the sponsorship, Akanbi quoted Okonkwo as saying that the legacy of Achebe was too important to be allowed to suffer from inconsistent funding.
“Prof Achebe is too precious in our consciousness for the award to continue to suffer the current epileptic funding,” Okonkwo was quoted as saying.
Explaining the decision, the UNA chairman said Achebe’s contribution to African literature and the global image of the black race warranted a sustained effort to preserve his legacy.
“Very few men and women of letters and culture in recent history have brought as much attention and honour to the black race and the African world as the great Achebe through his writings, lectures, speeches, intellectual activism, ethical conduct, and intermittent interventions in political affairs which has made him an authentic conscience of the Nigerian people,” he said.
Achebe, who died in 2013 at the age of 82, is widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential writers. His landmark novel,
Things Fall Apart, has been translated into numerous languages and remains one of the most widely read African novels globally.
Reacting to the sponsorship, the ANA president expressed appreciation to Okonkwo and United Nigeria Airlines for what he described as a patriotic intervention.
“We are immensely grateful to Prof. Okonkwo and his airline for their patriotic intervention,” Akanbi said.
He described Achebe as not only a world-class writer, raconteur and essayist, but also a founding figure in the history of the Association of Nigerian Authors.
According to him, Achebe founded ANA in 1981 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and became its first president, helping to establish the credibility and platform that have enabled the association to gain recognition in Nigeria and internationally.
Akanbi also commended Okonkwo for his sustained efforts to preserve and promote Achebe’s legacy.
He noted that Okonkwo personally financed the construction of a statue of the late literary icon, which was unveiled in July by Governor Soludo at Ugwunwasike Roundabout in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Achebe’s hometown.
The sponsorship of the annual fiction prize is the latest in a series of initiatives by Okonkwo and United Nigeria Airlines in honour of prominent Nigerian figures.
In June, the airline named one of two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft it acquired after Chinua Achebe, while the second aircraft was named after His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha.
The airline said the decision to honour the two men reflects Okonkwo’s determination to promote and preserve values associated with their contributions to Nigerian society.
With the latest sponsorship, ANA is expected to have greater financial certainty in organising the Chinua Achebe Prize for Fiction over the next decade, regardless of changes in government or shifts in public funding priorities.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
