One of Africa’s most prominent literary icons, Chinua Achebe, has rejected a national honours award from his government in Nigeria in protest at the “dangerous” state of the country, newspapers reported on Sunday.

Achebe, who achieved worldwide acclaim for his 1958 novel “Things Fall Apart” and his criticism of the Nigerian political class in “The Problem With Nigeria”, rejected the award in a two page letter addressed to President Olusegun Obasanjo. “Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honour awarded me,” he told Obasanjo in his letter, published in part in the Guardian newspaper.

Obasanjo’s administration has been criticised heavily over the last year by civil society figures, who accuse the former military ruler of presiding over a “civilian dictatorship”. Many Nigerians say poverty, crime, corruption and violence have increased since Obasanjo’s election as a civilian president in 1999.

Ethno-religious violence stoked by politicians within Obasanjo’s ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has rocked the country this year, killing hundreds and prompting Obasanjo to assume emergency powers in one of Nigeria’s 36 states. Rebel warlords backed by political figures have also threatened to destabilise the country’s vast oil wealth.

In his letter, Achebe said he was particularly dismayed by the events in his state of Anambra where political infighting led to the brief abduction of the state governor by political rivals last year. Nigeria’s other literary giant and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, criticised the government earlier this year and warned that Nigeria was heading for a “violent implosion”.