Post-colonial literature relates to the colonized-colonizer experience, with Nigerian Chinua Achebe as one of its leading authors. In these works of literature we often meet characters struggling with their identities and ‘us-and-them’-mentality in the wake of colonization. In the personal essay: “My Daughters”, an excerpt from “The Education of a British-Protected Child” by the above-mentioned writer, Achebe denounces colonialism and claims that the education, he and his children received in Nigeria from their self-proclaimed protectors, was racially offensive and exploitative. He learned from one of his daughter’s children’s books, how the literature could manipulate the colonized children to admire their colonizers and hate themselves, and juxtaposes private reminiscences with political ruminations.
The excerpt is from a collection of essays from December 2009, all written by Chinua Achebe, and this particular one is reflections back to the 60’s and early 70’s. In “My daughters” Achebe tells us how he once began to pay attention to the type of books his oldest daughter was exposed to at her school, after she announced herself of being brown instead of black. In Lagos, Nigeria, they were taught by white women in school, and their books were about civilized white people and coconut-eating black people. This motivated Achebe to write for children himself in a manner that did not cause them self-hatred. With this intention, he uncovers the debate as to what is the most suitable medium for African writers to communicate in - their colonizers language or their indigenous language.
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