Quote of the Day by Chinua Achebe: ‘There is moral obligation...not to ally oneself with power against the powerless’

Today, we delve into one of the famous quotes by African writer Chinua Achebe. It reads: “...Let me say that I do think decency and civilization would insist that the writer take sides with the powerless. Clearly, there's no moral obligation to write in any particular way. But there is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless. I think an artist, in my definition of that word, would not be someone who takes sides with the emperor against his powerless subjects.”

Meaning of the Quote

In this quote, Chinua Achebe argues that while writers and artists have the freedom, they, as per Achebe, have a moral responsibility not to side with the powerful against those who lack power.

For Achebe, literature is not merely a form of entertainment; it shapes how societies understand people, cultures, and history.

Having witnessed how colonial narratives often misrepresented Africa and justified oppression, he believed that writers must be conscious of the power dynamics embedded in storytelling.

The quote does not demand that writers become political activists or support a particular ideology. Instead, it calls on them to remain sensitive to injustice and to avoid becoming instruments of authority, privilege, or domination.

Achebe suggests that true art questions power instead of blindly serving it. The “emperor” in the quote symbolises any dominant institution—whether a government, corporation, social elite, or cultural authority—while the “powerless subjects” represent those whose voices are often ignored or suppressed.

Who was Chinua Achebe?

The poet, critic and novelist, Chinua Achebe came to prominence in 1958 with Things Fall Apart. By 1987 and Anthills of the Savannah, he was a venerated figure.

Writer Chinua Achebe was born in the village of Ogidi in eastern Nigeria. After he graduated in 1953, Achebe decided to make writing his life’s work. He made as his goal effectively and realistically communicating the stories of the African people, particularly the Igbo civilization.

Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958) presents an account of colonial history from the point of view of the colonized. His writing also encouraged Achebe to learn about his native culture and to accurately depict it with his words. He did so by interviewing older people and reading the writings of colonial administrators and missionaries. The novel has since been translated into 45 different languages.

Achebe’s two follow-up novels to Things Fall Apart—No Longer at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964)—continued the story that the first novel began. Together, these three novels span precolonial Africa to colonial times to the days before Nigeria’s independence from Britain, the Poetry Foundation added.

He won the 2007 Man Booker International Prize. "When I started writing all those years ago, I wasn’t even aware there were such rewards. All I had in mind was to write a story, in the way that fiction can be true. I had to be honest," the author had said back then.