generation.
Hailing from Abba, Njikoka LGA, Chimamanda grew up on the
campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka- where her father was a
Professor of Statistics- in fact, the first Professor of Statistics in
Nigeria. He also served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Chimamanda’s mother- in another first- was the first female
Registrar of the University.
Chimamanda entered UNN to study medicine and pharmacy. She
however then left at the age of 19 to the US to continue her
education, but in a different path.
She had been writing from the age of four, with her very first
publication being when she was in JSS 3 in secondary school in
Nsukka. It was a piece published in the now-defunct Nigerian
magazine Prime People. Writing was what she always felt was her
calling, what she loved to do more than anything else.
In fact, Chimamanda’s basic foundation could be said to be have been
laid at secondary school, in Nsukka. In JSS she got the best result in
the history of the University of Nigeria Secondary School, a feat she
repeated at the Senior Secondary School Examination level.
She was fortunate that her parents were understanding and
supportive of her decision to leave medical school after only one
year, despite her obvious very high academic ability. But writing was
what she wanted to do, fortunately for ndi Anambra, Nigerians, and
the world.
Chimamanda applied her academic brilliance to furthering her
education, but now in the direction she desired. In the US, she first
entered Drexel University in Philadelphia, but transferred to Eastern
Connecticut State University to be able to live with her sister, a
doctor based in Connecticut. She graduated with a degree in
communication and political science, summa cum laude, Highest
Honors Degree, the equivalent of a First Class Degree in Nigeria.
She subsequently took a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from
Johns Hopkins University.
After publishing her first two books, which the citation shall discuss
further, she followed that up with a Master of Arts degree in African
History from Yale University.
She subsequently was awarded a fellowship at Princeton University
during the 2005-2006 academic year.
She more recently was awarded a fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute
of Harvard University for the 2011-2012 academic year.
In 2008 Chimamanda was awarded a Macarthur Fellowship,
popularly known around the world as the Macarthur Genius Award.
The Macarthur Fellowship is a five-year grant to individuals who
show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still
more creativity in the future.
Chimamanda’s work is read around the world, and has been
translated into over thirty languages.
She is the author of the novel Purple Hibiscus; which won the
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy
Award, and which is used in school curriculums around the world,
including of course, here in Nigeria.
Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, won the Orange Prize (now
called the Bailey’s Women’s Prize), which is the world’s top prize for
female writers.
Half of Yellow Sun was also a National Book Critics Circle Award
Finalist. The National Books Critic Circle Award is the most
prestigious literary prize in the U.S. because it is selected by
professional book critics- the most critical audience as it were.
As you may know, Half Of A Yellow Sun has made into a feature film,
starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton and Onyeka Onwenu. The
movie has been released in the UK and Australia and will be released
around the world later in the year. Half Of A Yellow Sun is due to be
released in Nigeria, and is awaiting classification from the National
Film & Video Censors Board before release.
Chimamanda’s latest novel Americanah, was published around the
world in 2013, and has received numerous accolades.
As previously mentioned, her second novel, Half of A Yellow Sun had
been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.
Americanah was also a finalist for the Award, and in fact this time
won the Award for 2013.
Americanah was also named as one of The New York Times Top Ten
Best Books of the Year, and won the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize.
In many of these awards, including the Orange Prize, the Macarthur
Fellowship, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, she has the
distinction of being the first Nigerian and in fact, the first African, to
receive these recognitions.
In addition to her writing, Chimamanda has been invited to speak at
many occasions around the world. Two of the most notable are TED
Talks. The first, delivered in 2009, titled: “The Danger of A Single
Story” - is now one of the Top Ten most-viewed TED Talks of all time,
with over five millions views. The second, titled “We Should All Be
Feminists” has a started a worldwide conversation about feminism,
especially after it inspired a song by world-famous singer and artist
Beyonce, just a few months ago, in December.
Chimamanda is committed to assisting young aspiring writers, and as
one of her commitments, she started out an Annual Writers
Workshop in Nigeria for which applications come from around the
world. Her emphasis is to try and admit as many Nigerians as
possible into the workshop, while ensuring that there is an
international contingent to make the workshop richer for all the
participants, through sharing of diverse views and experiences.
Chimamanda is absolutely committed to Anambra and ndi Igbo. She
is also committed to Nigeria as a whole, and her deep love for our
country is evident in her work. In 2011 the Nigerian Government,
through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, awarded her the Global
Ambassador Achievement Award.
Chimamanda often comes to her home town, Abba, and last year
December, was again in Abba to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of her distinguished parents- who also received a special
recognition for their own achievements from then Governor Peter
Obi. In fact, former Governor Obi’s first visit to Abba in 2009 was to
attend a reception organized in honour of Chimamanda by the Abba
Town Union, a reception which saw the whole of Abba town turn up
en masse at the town hall to honour their daughter.
We are honoured to welcome her home again, to speak on the
occasion of the Governor’s 100 Days in Office Anniversary Event.
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