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| Osita Ike |
Poet and a former Chairman of the Lagos
State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Chike Ofili
practically screamed, asking, “Is Osita Ike too gone?’ He was likely to
be lamenting against the background of the recent deaths of some other
members of the arts community. Among them were Nike Adesuyi-Ojiekere and
Ken Saro-Wiwa Jnr, a son of the late right activist and
environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. Of course, those who have ample memory
to store tragic occurrences will also recall how the likes of Austyn
Njokun and Ebereonwu, who were members of the Lagos literati, died in
their prime.
Ofili said, “Osita Ike had no airs
whatsoever; in spite of being a prince. Humility better defined him. His
dad, a frontline Nigerian writer, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike of The Bottled
Leopard, Expo 77, The Naked Gods, Our Children are Coming, The Search
and other novels fame, I have known since my university days as a
visiting professor. His mother, a Yoruba woman and an Igbo wife, in and
out of the Nigerian-Biafran war, is a passionate librarian. The three
always worked together; bound by the book cause. Ike was not just an
only son like me, he was, he is, he will always be an only child. What
could have so snatched his young life away?”
Another writer, Onyeka Nwulue, shared a
recent memory of the deceased. According to him, they spent a good part
of last year together.
He recalled how Osita messaged him and
said, “My dear brother greetings. Thank you for putting Kenneth and I in
touch. Bless you.’ That was when I introduced him to the film-maker,
Kenneth Gyang, who had sought for the rights to the book, Sunset at
Dawn, by his father, His Majesty, Eze Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, OFR, NNOM,
Ikelionwu XI, Eze Ndikelionwu.”
Source:Punch Newspapers
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