She Was Deeply Wise – Chimamanda Adichie Mourns Ghana’s Ama Aidoo

Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie has mourned her Ghanaian counterpart, Ama Aidoo who died recently.

Adichie described Aidoo as a “deeply wise writer.”

The Ghanaian writer passed away on May 31, 2023, at the age of 81 after a short illness.

Taking to her official Instagram story on Monday, Ngozi Adichie shared a photo of the deceased and wrote, “She wrote brilliant and insightful books. She was deeply wise. She had integrity. Her heart was large and kind. A great great great writer is gone. Rest well, Aunty Ama. And thank you.”

Ama Aidoo’s brief biography

Ata Aidoo was born on March 23, 1942, in a small village in Ghana.

Her father is credited for opening the first school in their village and he had a huge influence on her. She was just 15 years old when she decided to become a writer.

Ata Aidoo is best remembered for her writings which depicted the modern African woman.

Her first novel was the semi-autobiographical “Our Sister Killjoy”, published in 1977 and about a Ghanaian girl travelling through Europe. In 1992 Ata Aidoo won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best African Book for her novel Changes: A Love Story, about a career-oriented woman as she divorces her first husband and navigates a new relationship.

As well as being a writer and university professor, Ata Aidoo also served as Ghana’s education minister in the early 1980s; she resigned when she could not make education free.

In other news, Kanyi Daily the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it will go ahead with its proposed strike scheduled for Wednesday.

The union said the federal government has not handled the subsidy removal process properly.

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