PAUL ONYEMECHI ONOVOH
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Ezenwa–Ohaeto As I Knew Him
S A GRADUATE STUDENT at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I heard about the man Ezenwa–Ohaeto and his achievements as a A poet and as a genius in creative writing. He was an alumnus of UNN and therefore was beloved by most of us, for he was an example of excellence. Most of the students (those in my circle) used to compare Ezenwa–Ohaeto’s poetry to Christopher Okigbo’s. Ezenwa–Ohaeto was quite famous as a rising star in the arts. Finally, I briefly saw and spoke with him first in 1990 at the Eagle on Iroko International Symposium celebrating Chinua Achebe’s sixtieth birthday. It was a brief meeting indeed. The first impression I had of Ezenwa–Ohaeto has lasted till today and certainly will continue to survive. I saw an easy-going, unassuming, polite, friendly and energetic man with jet-black hair. Our exchange in Igbo was short, as happens to most people meeting for the first time. A handshake, then one of us said: Nnaa, kee kwanu? (How are you fatherman?). The other responded: O di mma (It is well). That was that. It was during the “Eagle on Iroko” symposium that Professor Obidiegwu Nnaemeka made a general announcement requesting support from all scholars present for Ezenwa–Ohaeto’s project: namely, the collection of materials for the eventual publication of the biography of the “Eagle on Iroko” – Chinua Achebe himself. One was under the impression that scholars and the general public were, by this means, officially informed that Ezenwa–Ohaeto was the
© Of Minstrelsy and Masks: The Legacy of Ezenwa–Ohaeto in Nigerian Writing, ed. Christine Matzke, Aderemi Raji–Oyelade & Geoffrey V. Davis (Matatu 33; Amsterdam & New York NY: Editions Rodopi, 2006).