An haife Ngugi wa Thiong’o a ranar 5 ga watan Janairun shekarar 1938, a ƙauyen Limuru na ƙasar Kenya. Ngugi wa Thiong’o fitaccen marubuci ne ɗan ƙasar Kenya, wanda ake ɗauka a matsayin babban marubuci a yankin gabashin Afirka. Shahararren littafinsa mai suna “Weep Not, Child” wanda aka buga a shekarar (1964) shi ne babba kuma sanannen littafi na farko da aka buga a harshen Ingilishi daga wani marubuci ɗan yankin Afirka ta gabas ɗin. Yayin da ya fahimci illolin mulkin mallaka a Afirka, sai ya juya akalar rubutunsa ya koma harshensa na gado wato “Bantu” wanda al’ummar Kikuyu ke magana da shi a Kenya.
Karatunsa
Ngugi wa Thiong’o ya yi karatun firamare a Kamandura, a makarantun Manguu da Kinyogori; da kuma karatun sakandare a makarantar Alliance, duk a Kenya. Daga nan ya tafi Kwalejin Jami’ar Makerere, bayan nan sai kuma Jami’ar London, Kampala, Uganda; da Jami’ar Leeds, Burtaniya. Ya samu digirin girmamawa guda bakwai kamar haka: D Litt (Albright); PhD (Roskilde); D Litt (Leeds); D Litt & Ph D (Jami’ar Walter Sisulu); PhD (Carlstate); D Litt (Dillard) da D Litt (Jami’ar Auckland). Sannan kuma shi memba ne babba a Kwalejin Wasika ta Amurka. Haziƙi ne a fannoni Adabi da dama, yana rubutusa ne a ɓangarori kamar zube, wasan kwaikwayo, a jarida da mujallu, sannan kuma edita ne. Har ila yau malamin jami’a a ne sannan ɗan gwagwarmaya ne.
Kasar Kenya, wato mahaifarsa da kuma ƙuruciyarsa ta kasance yankin da Turawan Biritaniya suka yi sansani a shekarun (1895-1963). Lokacin da yake matashi, aka yi yaƙin Mau Mau na ƙwatar ‘yanci a shekarun (1952-1962), yaƙin da ya zama babban jigon a tarihin samar da ƙasar Kenya wacce ta wanzu har kawo wannan zamani, kuma babban gudummuwa a cikin ayyukansa na farko-farko.
Ayyukansa
A cikin 1967, Ngugi ya zama malami a fannin adabin Turanci a Jami’ar Nairobi. Ya koyar a nan har zuwa 1977 yayin da a tsakanin (1969-1970), ya yi aikin rubuce-rubuce na haɗin gwiwa a Makerere. Haka nan ya yi aiki a matsayin mataimakin farfesa na Turanci da Nazarin Afirka a Jami’ar Arewa maso Yamma (1970-1971). A wannan lokacin da yake a Nairobi, Ngugi ya kasance cibiyar siyasar Ingilishi a Afirka, inda ya yi gwagwarmayar sauya suna daga English zuwa Literature don nuna adabin duniya tare da adabin Afirka. Haka kuma ya yi aiki a matsayin visiting professor na Turanci a Jami’ar Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, a Amurka. Daga 1977 zuwa 1972 ya zama shugaban sashen adabi a jami’ar Nairobi.
Harkokin rubutu
Ya fara rubutu da Turanci kafin daga baya ya canza zuwa rubutu da farko a Gikuyu, inda ya zama mai ba da shawara kan adabin da aka rubuta cikin harsunan Afirka na asali. Ayyukansa sun haɗa da mashahurin labari mai suna The River Between, wasan kwaikwayo, gajerun labarai, da kasidu. Shi ne wanda ya kafa kuma editan mujallar Gikuyu ta harshen Mũtĩiri.
Ngugi ya shahara ne fagen adabi a gabashin Afirka ta hanyar nuna babban wasan kwaikwayonsa na farko, mai suna “The Black Hermit”, a National Theatre da ke Kampala, Uganda, a shekara ta 1962, a wani bangare na bikin samun ‘yancin kai ga Uganda. Ngugi ya yi magana game da nahiyar Afrika, kamar yadda ya zo a kanun “The Makererian”, wata mujallar ɗalibai, a cikin nazarin wasan kwaikwayon da Trevor Whittock ya rubuta, ɗaya daga cikin farfesoshi.
Iyalansa
Huɗu daga cikin ’ya’yansa su ma matuka alƙalamin ne, sun gaji mahaifin nasu. Wato dai su ma marubuta, su ne: Tee Ngugi, Mukoma wa Ngugi, Nducu wa Ngugi, da Wanjiku wa Ngugi. A cikin watan Maris na shekarar 2024, Mũkoma ya wallafa a shafinsa na Twitter cewa mahaifinsa ya ci zarafin mahaifiyarsa, yanzu ta rasu. Sai dai Ngũgĩ din ya musanta hakan bai yarda da zargin ba.
Rashin lafiya da mutuwarsa
Gwaji ya nuna cewa Ngugi wa Thiong’o yana da ciwon daji tun a shekara ta 1995. A cikin 2019, an yi masa tiyata a zuciya sau uku, kuma a wannan lokacin, ya fara kokawa da gazawar ƙoda. Daga ƙarshe dai ya mutu a Buford, Amurka, a ranar 28 ga Mayun 2025, yana da shekaru 87.
Manufofin rubuce-rubucensa
Rubuce-rubucen Ngugi wa Thiong’o sun yi la’akari da ƙalubalen Turawan mulkin mallaka da tsare-tsarensu a kan al’ummomin Afirka, musamman a Kenya. Ya soki batutuwan mulki, cin zarafi, da fafutukar ƙwato ‘yanci, sau da yawa ta hanyar ma’aunin harshe, al’ada, na asali. Har ila yau, aikin nasa ya shiga cikin sarkakiyar gwagwarmayar matsayi da kuma abubuwan da aka sani da waɗanda aka ware. Mahimman ƙalubalen da aka magance a cikin ayyukan Ngugi wa Thiong’o sun haɗa da:
Illar mulkin mallaka
Litattafai da wasan kwaikwayo na Ngugi sun fallasa hanyoyin da mulkin mallaka ya kawo cikas ga al’adun gargajiya, da murkushe harsuna da al’adun Afirka, da cusa ƙasƙanci a tsakanin al’ummar Afrika. Ya yi nazari kan tasirin tunanin da mulkin mallaka ke da shi a kan ɗaiɗaikun mutane da al’ummomi, yana mai bayyana illolin zalunci da cin zali.
Illa ga tattalin arziki
Ya yi suka game da sabon tsarin da ya biyo bayan mulkin mallaka wanda ya haifar da rashin daidaito na tattalin arziki da kuma dogara ga tsoffin ƙasashen Turawan da suka yi mulkin mallakar, yana mai cewa ‘yanci na gaskiya yana buƙatar ba kawai ‘yancin siyasa ba har ma da adalci na tattalin arziki da zamantakewa.
Rashin daidaiton zamantakewa
Ayyukan Ngugi galibi sun bayyana nau’o’in zamantakewa daban-daban kuma suna nuna rashin daidaito tsakanin al’ummar Kenya, musamman gwagwarmayar waɗanda aka yi watsi da su, aka fifita masu kuɗi da madafun iko.
Harshe da al’adu
Matakin da Ngugi ya yanke na yin rubutu da Gikuyu (harshensa na asali) wani yunƙuri ne gangan na bijirewa ikon Ingilishi da kuma hanyar dawo da asalin al’adun al’ummar Afrika. Ya jaddada mahimmancin harshe wajen tsara hankali.
Danniyar siyasa
Ngugi dai ya fuskanci zalunci na siyasa a Kenya, da suka haɗa da ɗauri da gudun hijira, saboda rubuce-rubucen da ya yi da kuma fafutuka. Yana amfani da fasaharsa don ƙalubalantar ikon siyasa da bayar da shawarar tabbatar da adalci a zamantakewa.
Tasirin zurfin tunani
Ngugi yayi tunani a kan nauyi da ƙalubalen masu hankali a cikin al’umma bayan mulkin mallaka, yana mai jaddada mahimmancin shiga cikin bincike mai mahimmanci da ƙalubalantar tsarin zalunci.
Misalai daga littafan Ngugi
“A Grain of Wheat”
Wannan labari ya yi nazari kan gwagwarmayar ‘yan tawayen Mau Mau da kalubalen gina sabuwar al’umma bayan samun ‘yancin kai.
“Petals of Blood”
Wannan labari ya soki tasirin jari-hujja da dunƙulewar duniya ga al’ummar Kenya da yadda ake amfani da albarkatu da mutane.
“The River Between”
Wannan labari ya yi nazari kan tashe-tashen hankula tsakanin hanyoyin rayuwa na gargajiya da tasirin ilimi da addini na Turawan Yamma.
“Devil on the Cross”
Wannan wasan kwaikwayo ya fallasa cin hanci da rashawa da rashin daidaito tsakanin al’ummar Kenya.
Jerin littafan marubucin
- Njamba Nenes Pistol (1986)
- Weep Not Child (1964)
- The River Between (1965)
- A Grain of Wheat (1967)
- Petals of Blood (1977)
- Devil On the Cross (1982)
- Matigari (1989)
- Wizard of the Crow (2006)
- The Perfect Nine (2020)
- This Time Tomorrow (1970)
- Secret Lives (1975)
- To Stir the Heart (2007)
- Minutes of Glory (2019)
- The Black Hermit (1968)
- The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1977)
- The Upright Revolution (2019)
- Homecoming (1972)
- Writers in Politics (1981)
- Detained (1981)
- Barrel of a Pen (1983)
- Decolonising the Mind (1986)
- Writing Against Neocolonialism (1986)
- Walter Rodney’s Influence on the African Continent (1986)
- Moving the Centre (1993)
- Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams (1998)
- Ngugi Wa Thiong’o Speaks (2005)
- Something Torn and New (2009)
- Dreams in a Time of War (2010)
- Globalectics (2012)
- In the House of the Interpreter (2012)
- In the Name of the Mother (2013)
- Secure the Base (2016)
- Birth of a Dream Weaver (2016)
- Wrestling with the Devil (2018)
Kambun girmamawa
- 1966: UNESCO First Prize for his debut novel Weep Not Child, at the first World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal.
- 1973: The Lotus Prize for Literature, at Alma Atta, Khazakhistan.
- 1992 (6 April): The Paul Robeson Award for Artistic Excellence, Political Conscience and Integrity, in Philadelphia, U.S.
- 1992 (October): honoured by New York University by being appointed to the Erich Maria Remarque Professorship in Languages to “acknowledge extraordinary scholarly achievement, strong leadership in the University Community and the Profession and significant contribution to our educational mission.”
- 1993: The Zora Neale Hurston-Paul Robeson Award, for artistic and scholarly achievement, awarded by the National Council for Black Studies, in Accra, Ghana.
- 1994 (October): The Gwendolyn Brooks Center Contributors Award for significant contribution to The Black Literary Arts.
- 1996: The Fonlon-Nichols Prize, New York, for Artistic Excellence and Human Rights.
- 2001: Nonino International Prize for Literature.
- 2002 (July): Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, UCI.
- 2002 (October): Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Cabinet Awarded by the International Scientific Committee of the Pio Manzù Centre, Rimini, Italy.
- 2003 (May): Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is No. 3 on Time magazine’s Top 10 Books of the Year (European edition).
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is one of The Economist’s Best Books of the Year.
- 2006: Wizard of the Crow is one of Salon.com‘s picks for Best Fiction of the year.
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow – shortlisted for the 2007 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book – Africa.
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow – Gold medal winner in Fiction for the 2007 California Book Awards.
- 2007: Wizard of the Crow – finalist for the 2007 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Black Literature.
- 2008: Wizard of the Crow nominated for the 2008 IMPAC Dublin Award.
- 2008 (2 April): Order of the Elder of Burning Spear (Kenya Medal – conferred by Kenya’s Ambassador to the United States in Los Angeles).
- 2008 (24 October): Grinzane for Africa Award.
- 2008: Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
- 2009: Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize.
- 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist Autobiography) for In the House of the Interpreter.
- 2012 (31 March): W.E.B. Du Bois Award, National Black Writer’s Conference, New York.
- 2013 (October): UCI Medal.
- 2014: Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- 2014: Nicolás Guillén Lifetime Achievement Award for Philosophical Literature.
- 2014 (16 November): Honoured at Archipelago Books’ 10th anniversary gala in New York..
- 2016: Park Kyong-ni Prize.
- 2016 (14 December): Sanaa Theatre Awards/Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of excellence in Kenyan Theatre, Kenya National Theatre.
- 2017: Los Angeles Review of Books/UCR Creative Writing Lifetime Achievement Award.
- 2018: Grand Prix des mécènes of the GPLA 2018, for his entire body of work.
- 2019: Premi Internacional de Catalunya Award for his Courageous work and Advocacy for African languages.
- 2019: Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize.
- 2021: Longlisted for the International Booker Prize for The Perfect Nine.
- 2021: Elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer.
- 2021: EBRD Literature Prize.
- 2022: PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.
Digirin girmamawa
- Albright College, Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa, 1994
- Roskilde University, Honorary Doctor, Denmark, 1997
- University of Leeds, Honorary doctorate of Letters (LittD), 2004
- Walter Sisulu University (formerly U. Transkei), South Africa, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Literature and Philosophy, July 2004.
- California State University, Dominguez Hills, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005.
- Dillard University, New Orleans, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, May 2005.
- University of Auckland, Honorary doctorate of Letters (LittD), 2005
- New York University, Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, 15 May 2008
- University of Dar es Salaam, Honorary doctorate in Literature, 2013
- University of Bayreuth, Honorary doctorate (Dr. phil. h.c.), 2014
- KCA University, Kenya, Honorary Doctorate degree of Human Letters (honoris causa) in Education, 27 November 2016
- Yale University, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt. h.c.), 2017
- University of Edinburgh, Honorary doctorate (D.Litt.), 2019
Manazarta
Center for African Studies. (n.d.). Biography Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Center for African Studies
Chibelushi, W. (2025, May 28). Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o – a giant of African literature – dies aged 87. BBC News.
Editorial. (2022, March 25). Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Books In Order – Books In Order.
Lanum, M. (2011, December 3). Ngugi wa Thiong’o (AKA James T. Ngugi) (1938). BlackPast.org.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025f, May 29). Ngugi wa Thiong’o | Books, Decolonising the Mind, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica.
*****
Duk maƙalun da kuka karanta a wannan taska ta Bakandamiya, marubuta da editocinmu ne suka rubuta. Kuma kowace maƙala da aka buga ta bi muhimman matakai na tantancewa don ganin cewa bayanan dake cikinta sun inganta.
Idan kuma an ga wani kuskure a cikin kowace maƙalarmu, a sanar da mu. Za mu yi bincike sannan mu gyara gwargwadon fahimtarmu.
