DOCSLIB.ORG

Ezenwa–Ohaeto As I Knew Him

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ezenwa–Ohaeto As I Knew Him PAUL ONYEMECHI ONOVOH ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ 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). Ezenwa–Ohaeto As I Knew Him 95 man who forthwith had been entrusted with the job of writing the biography of the “Eagle on the Iroko.” The mood was electric for most of the UNN graduate students who knew a thing or two about Ezenwa–Ohaeto. It was as if fresh plumage from the wings of a great eagle has been officially added to Ezenwa–Ohaeto’s already shining cap. One could say that Ezenwa–Ohaeto is a ripe corn, which manifests its ripeness to all in sight. In 1994 in Bayreuth, a small but friendly university town in Bavaria, Ger- many, Ezenwa–Ohaeto and I met a second time. We became friends. He was a fellow-in-residence with Eckhard Breitinger. He used to travel between Bayreuth and Mainz for research and teaching, as the case may be. I remem- ber Ngozi Ohaeto came the next year and stayed in Mainz with him for a while. Ezenwa–Ohaeto was an amazing individual. He told me stories of his secondary school days and university days at the UNN. He talked about how he and a classmate would bet on who would read what books on which shelf in the library and for how long, and who would finish first. On some nights we would talk into the wee hours of the morning on African literature: who is what, what has become of which writer, who is where and doing what, femin- ist writers, the Nigeria–Biafran war, his project on Chinua Achebe’s biogra- phy, his intention to write Wole Soyinka’s biography, and biographies of other Nigerian writers he intended to write. He also talked about the comple- tion or near-completion of the biography of Chukwuemeka Ike. He would talk about Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and even the gospel singer Helen Nkpume. Ezenwa told me he feels great inspiration from listening to Igbo songs, be it gospel, highlife, or minstrel music. Name it; Ezenwa has some- thing noteworthy to say on all aspects of African and world literatures. The idea for this second interview that you are about to read was born from a lengthy discussion I had with Dr Chielozona Eze, the winner of the first Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction, who currently teaches literature at North- eastern Illinois University, Chicago. I recounted to him my experiences during a short visit to Boston where Ezenwa–Ohaeto was completing his Ful- bright fellowship. Dr Eze said it would be nice to do a formal interview with Ezenwa–Ohaeto to document his visions and insights on world literature, as this would also be beneficial not only to academic circles but also to future generations. Frail and emaciated from sickness and treatment, Ezenwa– Ohaeto was nevertheless very happy to grant the interview. He talks, in the interview, about the life-threatening illness that eventually led him to the golden gates of peace. He exposes the depth and details of his life, his re- search interests and scholarship in Boston, Germany, Italy and other parts of the world where he carried out his ‘ambassadorial duties’ of presenting and interpreting African literature in its myriad forms and manifestations. A .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Obumselu on African Literature
    Obumselu on African Literature Obumselu on African Literature: The Intellectual Muse Edited by Isidore Diala Obumselu on African Literature: The Intellectual Muse Edited by Isidore Diala This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Ben Obumselu All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-2305-5 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-2305-0 For Professor Ben Obumselu: Master, mentor, model, and much more A solid academic, one of the pioneers of the distinctive University of Ibadan brand, and one whose personality helped to shape Nigeria’s collegial culture before its later debasement . This volume fills in a yawning gap in the compendium of African literary criticism, since Obumselu was such a reticent expositor of his own productivity. —Wole Soyinka Wherever Obumselu’s name was evoked, it was always with uncustomary reverence. The reverence was for his solid scholarship and perspicacious mind; his assured, limpid prose which lent to his pronouncements a kind of magisterial poise; his cool and classical power of exegesis. This compendium of Obumselu’s work is an invaluable contribution to the criticism of African literature. —Femi Osofisan This compendium is a welcome tribute to Ben Obumselu, one of the most widely read, liberally educated, and profoundly cerebral scholars Nigeria has ever produced.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Nigerian Civil War Poetry
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics - An Open Access International Journal Vol.1 2013 The Literary Artist as a Mediator: the Case of Nigerian Civil War Poetry Ade Adejumo (Ph.D) Department of General Studies, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology P.M.B. 4000, Ogbomoso,Oyo State, Nigeria. e-mail: [email protected] Abstract This paper contends that there exists a paradoxical relationship between violence and conflictual situations on one hand, and the literary art on the other. While conflictual violence exerts tremendous strains on human relations, literary artists have often had their creative sensibilities fired by such conflicts. The above accounts for the emergence of the war-sired creative enterprise collectively referred to as war literature. These writers have used their art either as mere chronicles of the unfolding drama of blood and death or as interventionist art to preach peace and restoration of human values. Using the Nigerian experience, this paper does an examination of select corpus of poetry, which emanated from the Nigerian civil war experience. It isolates the messages of peace, which went a long way in not only pointing out the evils occasioned by war and conflict but also in suturing the broken ties of humanity while the war lasted. As our societies are becoming increasingly conflictual, our literary endeavours should also assume more social responsibilities in terms of conflict mitigation, prevention and promotion of global peace. This paper therefore envisions a new literary movement i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • A GOLDEN JUBILEE PUBLICATION, EDITED by CHINUA ACHEBE Terri Ochiagha
    Africa 85 (2) 2015: 191–220 doi:10.1017/S0001972014000990 THERE WAS A COLLEGE: INTRODUCING THE UMUAHIAN: A GOLDEN JUBILEE PUBLICATION, EDITED BY CHINUA ACHEBE Terri Ochiagha Because colonialism was essentially a denial of human worth and dignity, its education programme could not be a model of perfection. And yet the great thing about being human is our ability to face adversity down by refusing to be defined by it, refusing to be no more than its agent or victim. (Achebe 1993) Government College, Umuahia, one of Nigeria’s three leading colonial secondary schools, is known among literary critics around the world for being the alma mater of eight important Nigerian writers: Chinua Achebe, Chike Momah, Elechi Amadi, Chukwuemeka Ike, Christopher Okigbo, Gabriel Okara, Ken Saro- Wiwa and I. N. C. Aniebo. Many are the illustrious Nigerian scientists, intellec- tuals and public leaders who passed through the Umuahia Government College in its prime, and in Nigeria – and to a lesser extent in the former British Cameroons – the name of the school evokes an astounding range of success stories. But Umuahia’s legend as ‘the Eton of the East’ and the primus inter pares of Nigeria’s elite colonial institutions obscures its present reality: nothing remains of its magnificent past but its extensive grounds, landmark buildings, and the glittering roll call of Nigerian dignitaries who once studied within its walls. Upon a cursory search, the inquisitive web surfer is greeted by alarming synopses of the school’s current state and status: ‘Government College, Umuahia in tatters’, ‘Government College, Umuahia still crying for redemption’.
    [Show full text]
  • TIE NIGERIAN LIIEFMY 8Fillsi W H.Ls. ~IEIY* by R.N
    - 59 - TIE NIGERIAN LIIEFMY 8fillSI W H.lS. ~IEIY* by R.N. EGUOU In a very significant sense, there has always been an uneasy relationship (with varying degrees of seriousness in different places and at different times) between the artist and his society; and it seems to me that the current argument on the proper role of the African artist is part of an age-old tradltion in which the artist is continual ly being required, by society, to justify the social relevance of his art. One might note that as early as Plato, the artist was viewed suspiciously as a sort of moral hazard, a poor imitator who, because his medium is several removes from reality, can impair the reason and harm the good with his 'inferior degree of truth.' In Plato's opinion, the artist has no business in the well-ordered Republic un l ess he can show that there is "a use in poetry as well as a delight. "1 It was because the artist-dramatist was thought to be doing a moral disservice to his society that playhouses in England were closed down in 1642, and ordinances made in 1647 and 1648 "ordering players to be whipped and hearers to be fined."2 The zealous Puritans of the time saw the players and playhouses as disseminating disease and ungodliness, and as dwelling •amid incest. horrors. and perversities." 3 By the Victorian era, the doctrine of 'moral aesthetic' had become the principal yardstick for assessing all literary works. To the traditional Victorians, art lies between religion and hygiene, and hygiene meant the health of the body politic.
    [Show full text]
  • Governance and Human Security in Anambra State, 1999-2007
    GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN SECURITY IN ANAMBRA STATE, 1999-2007 BY GINIKA UCHE-NWANKWO PG/MSC/08/48783 DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA FEBRUARY, 2010 i GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN SECURITY IN ANAMBRA STATE, 1999-2007 BY GINIKA UCHE-NWANKWO PG/MSC/08/48783 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS.c) IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (GOVERNMENT) TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. SUPERVISOR: PROF. JONAH ONUOHA Ph.D. FEBRUARY, 2010 ii APPROVAL PAGE GINIKA UCHE-NWANKWO a postgraduate student in the Department of Political Science with Registration Number PG/MS.c/08/48783 has satisfactorily completed research requirements for the award of Master of Science in Political Science (International Relations). The work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or in full for another degree of this or any other university, to the best of our knowledge: ---------------------------------- ------------------------------- Prof. Jonah Onuoha Ph.D Prof. E. O. Ezeani, Ph.D (Supervisor) (Head of Department) ---------------------------------- ------------------------------- External Examiner Dean iii DEDICATION To my brother Reverend Father, Prof. Ben, Ejide who inspired me iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The completion of this project report is due to the contribution of people too numerous to mention. However, I must thank my husband for his patience, understanding, prayers and financial support . I have benefited greatly from the assistance of my supervisor, Prof. Jonah Onuoha Ph.D., who expertly supervised this study. I am also grateful to the academic staff of the Department of Political Science, especially Prof. Ikejiani-Clark who encouraged and offered useful suggestions to me during the period of this programme.
    [Show full text]
  • File Download
    Fashioning the Modern African Poet Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, Emory University Book Title: Poetry, Print, and the Making of Postcolonial Literature Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication Place: New York, NY Publication Date: 2017-07-31 Type of Work: Chapter | Final Publisher PDF Permanent URL: https://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/s9wnq Final published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781316711422 Copyright information: This material has been published in Poetry, Print, and the Making of Postcolonial Literature by Nathan Suhr-Sytsma. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Nathan Suhr-Sytsma 2017. Accessed September 25, 2021 6:50 PM EDT chapter 3 Fashioning the Modern African Poet DEAD: Christopher Okigbo, circa 37, member of Mbari and Black Orpheus Committees, publisher, poet ; killed in battle at Akwebe in September 1967 on the Nsukka sector of the war in Nigeria fighting on the secessionist side ...1 So began the first issue of Black Orpheus to appear after the departure of its founding editor, Ulli Beier, from Nigeria. Half a year had passed since the start of the civil war between Biafran and federal Nigerian forces, and this brief notice bears signs of the time’s polarized politics. The editors, J. P. Clark and Abiola Irele, proceed to announce “the poem opening on the opposite page”–more accurately, the sequence of poems, Path of Thunder – as “the ‘last testament’ known of this truly Nigerian character,” reclaiming Christopher Okigbo from Biafra for Nigeria at the same time as they honor his writing.
    [Show full text]
  • Living the Myth: Revisiting Okigbo's Art and Commitment
    Dan Izevbaye Living the myth: Revisiting Okigbo’s Dan Izevbaye is Dean of the Faculty of art and commitment Social and Management Sciences, Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria; he was previously Professor of English at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected] Living the myth: Revisiting Okigbo’s art and commitment This is a study of the nature and sources of the persona’s quest in Christopher Okigbo’s poetry. The protagonist in Okigbo’s writing explores the fluid borders between aesthetic and spiritual states, with language and social action as instruments of the self’s aspiration towards spiritual and aesthetic fulfillment. Although Okigbo’s narration is presented in the form of dramatic ritual, the distance or severance of the material from the poet’s own spiritual history is not total, for the historical content eventually intrudes into the writing and reestablishes the authentic autobiography of the poetic self. The historical context, the 1960s, is an age of transition. Okigbo’s characterisation of his persona as an actor in a state of personal transition reflects the poet’s sensitive immersion in the spirit of his times and establishes Okigbo the poet as perhaps its ideal representative. One of the issues raised in this study is that in spite of the protagonist’s recurrent return to the point of passage, there is a relentless drive towards death seen ambiguously as the ultimate goal and state of perfection as well as the perfect form of transition. The central question explored in this study is the roles of poetic diction, the tense politics of the 1960s and the poet’s own intense temperament in determining his peculiar choice of resolution to the dilemma at the centre of his poetry.
    [Show full text]
  • The Igbo Tradition in the Nigerian Novel
    22-2/1 03.4.8 4:09 PM ページ53 African Study Monographs, 22(2): 53-72, July 2001 53 THE IGBO TRADITION IN THE NIGERIAN NOVEL Herbert IGBOANUSI Department of Linguistics and African Languages, University of Ibadan ABSTRACT This study aims to establish the Igbo tradition in Nigerian literature through the use of English language. The language of the writers of Igbo literary tradition is an ethnic variety of Nigerian English, which is characterized essentially by lexical innovation, transla- tion and linguistic and cultural transfer. Chinua Achebe stands out in this direction in view of his contributions to Nigerian literature through his peculiar and creative use of language. This effort is not peculiar to Achebe, but an Igbo tradition which emanates from Igbo lan- guage and culture as has been demonstrated in the works of some of the most prolific Igbo English writers, precisely John Munonye, Buchi Emecheta, Chukwuemeka Ike, Cyprian Ekwensi, Nkem Nwankwo, and Elechi Amadi. This literary tradition has become a signifi- cant stylistic device in that it grants writers the freedom to use the English language cre- atively. Key Words: Igbo; Tradition; Novel; Linguistics; Innovation. INTRODUCTION Igbo writers have so far dominated the prose literature, in Nigeria, probably as a result of the early presence and influence of the printing presses at Onitsha, the motivating influence of the successes attained by the pioneer Igbo writers of English, and more importantly, the rich linguistic and cultural resources which derive from the creative use of English by incorporating Igbo speech habits. Igbo writers are, today, some of the most prolific writers in Africa in terms of output and attention given to their novels.
    [Show full text]
  • Fashioning Biafra: Identity, Authorship and the Politics of Dress in Half of a Yellow Sun and Other Narratives of the Nigeria­Biafra War
    (Re)fashioning Biafra: identity, authorship and the politics of dress in half of a yellow sun and other narratives of the Nigeria-Biafra war Article (Accepted Version) Lecznar, Matthew (2017) (Re)fashioning Biafra: identity, authorship and the politics of dress in half of a yellow sun and other narratives of the Nigeria-Biafra war. Research in African Literatures, 47 (4). pp. 112-132. ISSN 0034-5210 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/66663/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way.
    [Show full text]
  • Anatomy of Boys, Men and Others
    BANSI III | ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS Page 1 of 210 BANSI III | ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS © March 2021 Boys Are Not Stones III ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS ISBN: 978-978-58560-2-6 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [email protected] Published in Nigeria by: Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. Tel: (+234)7064982214 http://poemifypublishers.com/ Page 2 of 210 BANSI III | ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS Edited By: Jaachi Anyatonwu, Jamiu Ahmed, John Chizoba Vincent, Ebubechukwu Nwagbo & Opia-Enwemuche Maxwell Onyemaechi Page 3 of 210 BANSI III | ANATOMY OF BOYS, MEN AND OTHERS TABLE OF CONTENTS FLAWED GOD: BOYS ARE NOT STONES, A FOREWORD _____ 8 INTRODUCTION: BOYS ARE NOT STONES ANTHOLOGY III __ 11 BECAUSE I AM JOHN CHIZOBA VINCENT ________________ 14 WRONG SIGNALS __________________________________ 19 BURNING OCEAN __________________________________ 21 FOR BOYS WHO KNOW THEY ARE _____________________ 24 THESE BOYS YOU CALL STONES ARE NOT (A LESSON FOR ALL) _________________________________________________ 26 DEATH WAS HERE __________________________________ 33 I'LL DIE FOR YOU ___________________________________ 34 THE CONFIGURATION OF STAYING AFLOAT _____________ 36 FOR THE BOY CHILD WHO WEARS A RAINBOW FULL OF STORIES
    [Show full text]
  • ACHEBE and FRIENDS at UMUAHIA the Making of a Literary Elite by Terri Ochiagha
    ACHEBE AND FRIENDS AT UMUAHIA The Making of a Literary Elite by Terri Ochiagha James Currey (Imprint of Boydell & Brewer) Published: 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1847011091 ISBN-10: 1847011098 pp 216; Price: $30.97 Reviewed by: Olatoun Williams For her towering achievement “Achebe & Friends at Umuahia: The Making of a Literary Elite”, Terri Ochiagha won the ASAUK Fage & Oliver Prize in 2016. I can think of no better book to introduce the 3rd and 4th generation of African writers – than this great work. Achebe & Friends will remain - I am sure - the definitive biography of 5 distinguished 1st generation writers whose secondary school education took place in the 1940s at Government College Umuahia, South East Nigeria. The school motto: In Unum Luceant. Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike, Elechi Amadi, Chike Momah and the irrepressible Christopher Okigbo, are our school boys, the “shining ones” – who grew up to become literary giants, straddling their own peculiar universe at a magical time in Nigerian history and it is on their shoulders that our 21st century literary icons stand. Without a doubt, this is a scholarly monograph, but Ochiagha establishes intimacy with the reader and her subject quickly. It is her voice we hear as she narrates in the 1st person, walking us through what is not only an historian’s journey but a personal one to chart the individual and collective pilgrimage of 5 Nigerian boys through and beyond their colonial British education. I say personal because Ochiagha, of mixed race parentage, is frank about her indebtedness to 4 of these writers for the “nurturance and solace” their literature provided her “at pivotal moments” in her own “travails at the crossroads of cultures.” The greater part of Achebe & Friends is devoted to their school days at GCU where in academic and sporting prowess the boys were unmatched.
    [Show full text]
  • Christopher Okigbo's Poetics and the Politics of Canonization
    Matatu 49 (2017) 260–279 brill.com/mata Christopher Okigbo’s Poetics and the Politics of Canonization Abba A. Abba Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Delta State, Nigeria [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract Christopher Okigbo conveyed in his poetry the sense of patriotism and personal anguish at the monstrosity of a benighted nation. Some critics have argued that Okigbo was not only obsessive in his depictions of metaphors that incarnated the recurring trope of death, but also embodied a death wish culminating in his death in the Nigeria– Biafra war. They further argue that he embodied a suicidal impulse that motivated his general conduct and death in that battle. Unfortunately, only a handful of scholars have sought to contest this view and to illuminate Okigbo’s self-immolation in the name of a higher duty. To be sure, suicide and martyrdom may go beyond the question of dying to the problem of laying one’s death dramatically at someone else’s door. Following Kant’s theory of the ethical act, this paper undertakes a critical intervention that reappraises some of Okigbo’s poetry as well as documented accounts of his life in order to iden- tify him appropriately: is he a genuine martyr or a mere suicide who presides ritually over his own dismemberment, or both? Examining lines of his poetry that have been misread as embodying his ‘haunting’ death-wish, on the one hand, and evidence of his self-giving impulse, on the other, the paper seeks to articulate how Okigbo as a tragic poet transcends his destiny by submitting to it—victor and victim at once.
    [Show full text]