I find it sad that new African authors are beginning to inundate Afro-Literary-Space with foreign language bias, challenging African readers and writers to learn proper English, with the belief that their books will attain a higher readership. They are probably convinced by the argument that Achebe became big because he was the first to 'sell' Africanness in the English language. Now that the product is old, they probably believe that it is high time to ditch Achebe's African English and write the real thing. I suspect that this might be the reason why Africans are trying to use actual English in their stories or novels. An example is Bleeding Stubs (Besong). While his writing entices all of us with its humour, depth and intrigue, the earlier we oppose him, the better it will be for African literature. I hope you guys have some advice as to where I'm coming from.
Why should you guys control the direction of your writing literature? Every author is an individual, working with a style that they enjoy most. The moment to put an agenda in language or writing, it becomes dead and controlled. That is why the 1962 conference with Achebe, Thing'o, Wali, Obi, etc. was not too helpful.
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