Literary community, Buhari, Atiku, others mourn

… Young authors press Gov. Obiano to immortalize his name

President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and eminent writers have poured in stellar eulogies on the passage of literary icon and culture ambassador, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, who passed on 9 January 2020 after being briefly admitted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.

He was aged 89.

President Buhari said in a tribute that Ike’s “loyalty to the nation would continue to resonate in the way he mobilised his community for civic duties, and sensitized youths on the value of good education.”

As a writer, the President said Chukwuemeka Ike will be remembered for his “exceptional creativity in communicating wisdom in simple ways through books like ‘Toads for Supper,’ ‘The Potter’s Wheel,’ “Sunset at Dawn,’ The Bottled Leopard’ and other publications, which have been used by many institutions as teaching tools, within and outside the country.”

As a culture ambassador, Buhari affirmed that the late Eze Ikelionwu “understood the depth and richness of African cultures and the power of the narratives, exploring every opportunity to showcase Nigeria, and Africa, to the world.”

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on his own, took to twitter to single out two of his novels as classics and to wish peace to his soul.

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, described Ike’s passage as a great loss of one of Anambra’s “greatest assets and totems of excellence.

“I am saddened by the death… He was always a regal presence around us here, bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the deliberations of the Traditional Rulers Council.

“We shall sorely miss him. But we shall also find strength and consolation in his examplary life and the legacies he left for mankind through his literary works and stellar contributions to the traditional institution in Anambra state,” Governor Obiano said

The Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) yesterday stated that Ike passed away at a trying period in the life of the nation when his knowledge and experience are mostly needed.

SYNW President, Wole Adedoyin, described the famous author as a “principled, dogged and unrelenting author, fully committed to the development of book industry in Nigeria” who will be remembered for “his meekness, attentiveness, commitment to excellence and the profound understanding of human affairs exhibited in his writings.”

His views and insights “will live forever through the body of works he has left behind for present and future generations,” the umbrella of young writers said in their statement released in Abeokuta.

They finally pressed Gov. Willie Obiano to immortalize his name.

Author

  • Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe, a veteran journalist and message development specialist, is now a community journalism advocate and publisher of Enugu Metro. Contact him on any of the channels below.

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