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United Nigeria Airlines Honours Chinua Achebe with Sculpture
Stories by Chinedu Eze
United Nigeria Airlines has fully funded the sculpture of the renowned novelist, Chinua Achebe.
The giant sculpture is located in the quiet town of Ogidi, in Anambra State’s Idemili North Local Government Area, the home of the late sage.
It is a bronze sculpture which now stands watch over the Ugwunwasike Roundabout.
It depicts Achebe, a novelist and essayist, widely regarded as the father of modern African literature.
The sculpture was unveiled in July by the Ogidi community, courtesy of the airline. It is the latest chapter in a sustained campaign by United Nigeria Airlines to keep Achebe’s memory alive in the land that produced him.
The airline’s Executive Chairman, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, is from Ogidi, Achebe’s hometown, and regards the author as a kinsman whose legacy he feels responsible for protecting. This relationship explains why United Nigeria Airlines’ tribute to Achebe is not a one-time gesture but an ongoing, layered commitment.
It began in June 2026 when the airline unveiled two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, with registration numbers 5N-CFC and 5N-CFB. One was named after His Royal Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, and the other bore Achebe’s name.
