Catherine Acholonu

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Catherine Obianuju Acholonu (also Acholonu-Olumba ; born October 26, 1951 in Orlu , Imo , Nigeria ; † March 18, 2014 ibid.) Was a Nigerian writer, researcher and lecturer in African studies and gender studies . She served as Senior Special Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and was a founding member of the Association of Nigerian Authors .

Life

Origin and education

Acholonu was born on October 26, 1951 in the city of Orlu in the Nigerian state of Imo into an Igbo family. Her parents were Chief Lazarus Emejuru Olumba and Josephine Olumba. Acholonu attended elementary and secondary school in Orlu before she was married at 17 in an arranged marriage to Douglas Acholonu, who was then living in Germany. She moved to Germany and had four children with her husband there. Living in Germany, she matriculated in 1974 for English / American studies, German and literature studies at the University of Düsseldorf and graduated in 1977 with a master's degree.

In 1980 Acholonu returned to Nigeria, where she began to work as a teacher at the Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Owerri . At the same time she wrote her dissertation until 1982, which she defended in 1982 with magna cum laude. This made her the first black African woman to complete a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Düsseldorf. Parallel to her work as a teacher, she began to work as a writer and published poems and essays. In 1982 she founded the publishing house AFA Publications and a magazine called AFA: The Journal of Creative Writing , in which she published reviews, essays, etc.

Research on the Igbo

In the 1980s, Acholonu researched the roots and origins of the former slave and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano (also known as Gustavo Vassa), and found out his Igbo origins. She received a Fulbright grant for her work on Equiano's family history . She was also a "Writer in Residence" at the Westchester Consortium for International Studies (1990–91) and visiting professor at Manhattanville College, Marymound College, Iona College and College of New Rochelle in New York State. At Manhattanville College she successfully suggested the establishment of an African studies course and was supposed to lead it, which Acholonu decided not to do for family reasons. She later lectured again at the college, u. a. "The African Feminist Challenge in Life and Literature," from which she later developed the Afro-feminist variant of Motherism . Her work “Motherism: The Afrocentric Alternative to Feminism” from 1995 is considered the first and complete African theory of gender studies.

In 2005 and 2009 she published two works on the prehistoric origins of the Igbo (2005: "The Gram Code of African Adam: Stone Books and Cave Libraries, Reconstructing 450,000 Years of Africa's Lost Civilizations"; 2009: "They Lived Before Adam: Prehistoric Origins of the Igbo ”) for which she received several awards. She is considered a pioneer in researching the early history of Nigeria.

For recognition of her work and her contribution to Nigerian science, she received an honorary professorship in history and philosophy at Pilgrim's University and Theological Seminary in Aba . The Center for African Cultural Studies in Abuja and Owerri received their name in recognition.

politics

From 1999 to 2002 she was special advisor for art and culture to the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo . In 2002, she resigned from office to run for the upcoming 2003 parliamentary election. However, she lost the election in the Orlu constituency.

death

Acholonu died on March 18, 2014 after years of kidney disease .

Works

Poems

  • Going home
  • Spring's last drop
  • Dissidents
  • Harvest of War
  • Other forms of slaughter

Collections

  • The Spring's Last Drop , 1985
  • Nigeria in the Year 1999 , 1985
  • Recite and Learn - Poems for Junior Primary Schools , 1986
  • Recite and Learn - Poems for Senior Primary Schools , 1986

Plays

  • Trial of the Beautiful Ones: a play in one act , 1985
  • The Deal and Who is the Head of State , 1986
  • Into the Heart of Biafra: a play in three acts , 1970

Essays

  • Western and Indigenous Traditions in Modern Igbo Literature , 1985.
  • Motherism, The Afrocentric Alternative to Feminism , 1995.
  • The Igbo Roots of Olaudah Equiano , 1995, revised 2007.
  • The Earth Unchained: A Quantum Leap in Consciousness: a reply to Al Gore , 1995
  • Africa the New Frontier - Towards a Truly Global Literary Theory for the 21st Century . Lecture Delivered to the Association of Nigerian Authors annual Convention, 2002.
  • The Gram Code of African Adam: Stone Books and Cave Libraries, Reconstructing 450,000 Years of Africa's Lost Civilizations , 2005
  • They Lived Before Adam: Pre-Historic Origins of the Igbo - The Never-Been-Ruled (Ndi Igbo since 1.6 million BC) , 2009.
  • The Lost Testament of the Ancestors of Adam: Unearthing Heliopolis / Igbo Ukwu - The Celestial City of the Gods of Egypt and India , 2010

literature

  • Nudka Otiono: “Catherine Acholonu (1951–2014). The Female Writer as a Goddess ", in: Nokoko , No. 4 (2014), Institute of African Studies Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada ( available online )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Marie Umeh: Acholonu, Catherine Obianuju . In: Emmanuel K. Akyeampong and Henry Louis Gates, Jr (Eds.): Dictionary of African Biography . Oxford Press, Oxford 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5 , pp. 85 .
  2. ↑ Celebrated scholar, Acholonu dies at 63 - Vanguard News . In: Vanguard News . March 19, 2014 ( vanguardngr.com [accessed December 22, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Acholonu, Catherine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Acholonu, Catherine Obianuju (full name); Acholonu-Olumba, Catherine Obianuju (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian writer and lecturer
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Orlu , Imo , Nigeria
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 2014
Place of death Orlu , Imo , Nigeria