Chinua Achebe, a giant of African literature, entered the world on this day.

If he were still alive today, he would have been 92 years old.

At age 28, he penned his debut novel, “Things Fall Apart,” which has already sold over 20 million copies and been translated into more than 50 languages.

One of my favourite quotes from Things Fall Apart:

A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.

Another favourite quote from Anthills of the Savannah:

It is proper that a beggar should visit a king. When a rich man is sick a beggar goes to visit him and say sorry. When the beggar is sick, he waits to recover and then goes to tell the rich man that he has been sick. It is the place of the poor man to make a visit to the rich man who holds the yam and the knife 

Thank you so much for the wisdom Prof Achebe, may you continue to rest in peace.