SE 3/EP 30: Conversation with Chinedu Achebe author of The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi.

In early summer, I received an email from Chinedu Achebe introducing me to his recently published book The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi. I reviewed the synopsis and the e-book he attached to the email. The book reflects on the second generation of highly educated Nigerians trying to balance family life, career, and intergenerational relationships within the family and society. The plot of the story aligns with many discussions on Pánsá Pánsá Forum and on the podcast. Mr. Chinedu Achebe is a storyteller, writer, and author of The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi. His first book, Blunted on Reality was published in 2012 and he has also written articles for Huffington Post, Medium, and Bella Nigeria.  As I regularly do with my guest on the podcast, we talked about Mr. Achebe’s family background, his identity as a son of a Nigerian immigrant family, the challenges, and the benefit of growing up in an African immigrant home. We further discussed balancing the two identities of his Nigerian background and his black identity. We talked about his college experience and his social circle during those early years. As a son of a Nigerian immigrant born and raised in the USA, Mr. Achebe shared some wisdom on how African immigrant parents can build better relationships with their children.  The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi reflects on the second generation of highly educated Nigerians trying to balance family life, career, and intergenerational relationships. The book reflects on Obi's relationship with his parents. A father who steps in when he sees his son Obi, the main character in the book, struggling financially with his family. We further discussed the political, religious, and cultural belief that was generously injected into the dialogues among the characters in the book. It shows that Mr. Achebe is an avid reader of diverse subjects, and he confirmed it during our conversation. As I always said, “to be a writer, you must first be a reader.”  As we discussed the male characters in the book, we also talked about the female characters.  Mr. Achebe accurately portrayed Nkechi as another strong character in the book. In Nkechi persona, he interwoven the challenges of motherhood and a stay home mother who continues to build her career and work on her ambitions. Nkechi was a self-assured woman who stated her opinions and had a strong personality, commonly attributed to many Nigerian women. The question is, can a woman of African origin do it all? Can a woman of this era balance traditional values associated with African women, such as motherhood, dutiful housewife to husband and the extended family, and modernity of navigating their career as well as climbing the ladder in a corporate world? You must read the book to find out.  I could not resist discussing the character of Sade, who was campaigning for political office as a woman of color. Sade felt she had to defend her blackness to black people simply because she is half Nigerian. The question is, who is black enough in America? If only one of your parents is African American descendant of an enslaved person, your blackness would be challenged. If you were born in America to immigrants of African descent, or/and Asian descent your blackness would be challenged. (Kamala Harris, United States Vice President). If you are biracial born in the USA and one of your parents originates from Africans in the diaspora, your blackness would be challenged (President Barack Obama). The book is a page-tuner, and there was no dull moment. The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi is available on Amazon both in hard copy and eBook. I really appreciate Mr. Achebe introducing me to his publications and for coming to the Pánsá Pánsá podcast to have a conversation with me. I know this book could be a source of open discussion within the community to openly discuss the uncomfortable conversation.