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Showing posts from March, 2020

ODIA OFEIMUN CLOCKS 70

Special tribute by Owei Lakemfa GLOBAL writer, poet and humanist, Odia Ofeimun is from a lineage with close affinity with leopards. There was an unwritten rule between the humans of Iruekpen-Ekum, Edo State and that feline family that neither will attack the other. If today, there are no leopards left in that part, it is not because they betrayed the humans. So Odia is an original “Amotekun” the symbol of those in the Western Nigeria taking the battle to terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and rogue soldiers from neigbouring countries. Odia, like a leopard, has his own time zone; he moves at any time of the day or night harbouring no fears of our quite dangerous highways. Then, bullets from armed robbers near Okada, missed him by the whiskers, hitting the passenger sitting in front of him. It was past midnight! With that nightmare, he pledged to stop travelling at night. But I know he still does surreptitiously. A few months ago, he admitted arriving at the gates of the Obafemi...

MPHAHLELE'S Afrika My Music

Book: AFRIKA MY MUSIC An autobiography by Es'kia Mphahlele There is no gainsaying the fact that the late Es'kia Mphahlele was one of the most eminent, illustrious writers in African history. This book is a continuation of his autobiography, pursuant to his magnum opus, Down Second Avenue. Here he focuses more on his experiences whilst based overseas (far away from his native South Africa) – his achievements as academic, scholar, author, world traveller, and cultural activist. Excitingly he met and mingled with all the early outstanding African writers from diverse countries all over Africa - personalities like Ama Atta Aidoo, Efua T Sutherland, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi, Senghor, Achebe, Kofi Awoonor (he has very warm words for this wonderful Ghanaian writer); among many many others. Mphahlele also explains how being in exile negatively affected many Africans, and cultural conflicts or dissonances experienced abroad; plus of course the effects on one's children - many ...