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Nigerian writer and author of 'Things Fall Apart', Chinua Achebe has died in a hospital in the United States at the age of 82, after suffering from illness.
His close friend and Nobel prize winner in literature, Wole Soyinka confirmed that the most widely read African author died in Boston.
Achebe was awarded the Man Booker International Prize in 2007 and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2010.
His works include the famous book 'Things Fall Apart', which describes African traditional government before the advent of British colonialism, and is being taught as text books in schools across Nigeria. It has also been translated into dozens of languages and he also wrote several other books, essays and short stories.
Achebe's last work, There Was A Country, published recently drew lots of attention in Nigeria as it contained his memoire of the country's civil war during which his Igbo ethnic group tried to secede themselves from the country in the 60s.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan described him as a fearless person who told the truth as it is.
"As he mourns however, the President is consoled by the knowledge that Prof Achebe will live forever in the hearts and minds of present and future generations through his great works which brought him enduring international fame and countless honours" a statement from Jonathan's office said.