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From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
The atmosphere was filled with excitement, celebration and conviviality as people gathered from all walks of life to celebrate a renowned academic and scholar.
February 15 was the birthday of emeritus Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, and the Department of English and Literary Studies, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, rolled out the drums to honour this rare literary gem, at the Theatre Arts Department Auditorium.
The event witnessed presentation of birthday plaque to her by students, poetry recitation of the celebrant’s works by students and cutting of a birthday cake, among others.
Adimora-Ezeigbo is a global scholar, author and winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature. She is a former Head of Department of English, University of Lagos, from where she retired many years ago but now teaches at Alex Ekwueme Federal University on contract terms.
Vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Sunday Elom, who declared the event open, described the celebrant as the pride of the AE-FUNAI and a woman whose stature as a global scholar was in tandem with the vision of the university, which is becoming one of the best in world.
Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Prof. Abel Ezeoha, who stood in for the VC noted that Akachi-Ezeigbo had helped in raising numerous intellectually vibrant students from the University, adding these her products have been making EA-FUNAI proud in their different endeavours of life.
“We are very proud to have her in our midst and we can not thank her enough for her sacrifices toward raising our young ones.
“I am very pleased when the English Department conveyed their decision to celebrate her; she deserves to be celebrated and I am very happy to be here for this purpose,” he said.
Head of Department, of English and Literary Studies, Dr. John Otu, gave insight into the event, saying that the Department took a unanimous decision to celebrate Prof. Adimora’s birthday as a way of appreciating her intellectual contribution to the growth and development of the university.
According to him, the Department of English and Literary Studies and the University in general feel highly honoured to have a scholar of Adimora’s standing teaching in the University.
Otu said: “It is the Bible that says that a prophet is not honoured in his own home, but we have decided to prove that portion of the Bible wrong by honouring Professor Adimora here in AE-FUNAI.
“She has been celebrated all over the world; in the UK, USA and even in Nigeria here. She is a writer of good novels, poems, drama and short stories. And these works are very penetrating and insightful, and most importantly, she is a good teacher in classroom. She has produced many professors, doctors, including the Guest Speaker, Dr. Amanze Obi and my humble self.
“She imparts knowledge to students in a very unique way and that is why every Vice Chancellor had always retained her.”
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of the institution, Professor Dennis Akol, who chaired the occasion said the birthday of the literary icon offered the school and indeed friends and academic sons and daughters of the erudite professor ample opportunity to reminisce on her persona.
Commending the Department of English and Literary Studies for staging the event, Akol noted that celebrating people while they are still alive makes more meaning than when they are already dead.
Speaking, a sometime student of Prof. Akachi and one of the most celebrated newspaper columnists in Nigeria, Dr. Amanze Obi, described her as the Guardian Angel of Africa’s feminist poetics.
Obi who was the Guest Speaker disclosed that he has known the celebrant since 1984 at the University of Lagos.
“Prof. Ezeigbo is, without doubt, a giant of the written word. She has bestridden the literary space like a colossus. Just like The Observer (of London) described Toni Morrison, the 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, as ‘Laureate-poet of America’s Pain,’ I dare to describe Akachi Ezeigbo as the guardian angel of Africa’s feminist poetics. I will elaborate on this in the course of this address.
“Before then, it is important to underline the fact that Prof. Ezeigbo is a humanist. As a humanistic writer, she preaches or advocates or stands for an approach to life that is based on reason and our common humanity. She recognizes that moral values are properly founded on human nature. Her writings are at once deep, critical and eclectic.
“My first encounter with Prof. Ezeigbo was in 1984. That was the year I commenced my undergraduate studies in the Department of English of the University of Lagos. Dr Akachi Ezeigbo, as she was then known, was a Senior Lecturer in the Department. She was one of the earliest people that I connected with. The magic was her motherliness, her humility, her geniality, and her infectious simplicity. She is simply a woman without airs.
“But it was not until my doctoral years that I got really close to her. My research work bordered somewhat on women studies. As a feminist or womanist of sorts, Prof. Ezeigbo was a member of the Panel of Experts that reviewed my thesis. She was also an internal examiner among the panel of examiners that took the final decision on my research work for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in English. Prof. thank you for those days. And thank you today also for bringing us together for this memorable event.
“How do I really begin to situate this multiple award-winning novelist; writer, critic and essayist? Let me make an excuse for myself. I am not here today to delve into the oeuvre of this literary icon. Doing so will be a tall order. Only an academic inquiry can deal with that successfully. But I must take interest, however cursory, in the literary essences of this writer who can variously be described as both a feminist and womanist,” The Sun columnist said.
Responding, the visibly overjoyed celebrant thanked the staff and students of the Department of English and Literary Studies and the management of AE-FUNAI, for honouring her, promising to continue to do her best.
