Stories by Ibrahim Ramalan
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has said the late renowned writer, Captain Elechi Amadi, was a captive of conscience, human solidarity and justice.
In a condolence message to the family of the late Amadi during the burial at the weekend, Soyinka noted that although Amadi was gone, his creativity remained as consolation to the people.
The playwright-activist said he treasured the intimate moments he spent in the home of the deceased after he was released by abductors in 2009.
The letter reads: “Elechi Amadi, soldier and poet; captive of conscience, human solidarity and justice. Elechi is gone, but creativity remains as consolation, honouring its faithful servitors and filling us with gratitude for his passage.
“I recall those enraged, agonising hours when the peace and sanctuary of his home were violated by kidnappers, mulled over the treasured moments I spent with him in the intimacy of his living room.”
Amadi was born in 1934. The eminent writer died on June 29. He was 82. Amadi was buried this weekend at his hometown, Mgbodo in Aluu community of Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State.
The late writer’s compound was filled with prominent guests, especially lovers of arts, traditionalists, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) members, traditional rulers and politicians.
Rivers State Governor Ezenwo Wike described the literary icon as a great man and nationalist, who contributed immensely to human development.
The governor, who hailed him for his contributions to society, said he perceived the late writer not just an Ikwerre or Rivers man but a great Nigerian.
He noted that Amadi’s contributions to humanity made the government to give him not only a state but a national burial.
Wike said his administration would complete the Faculty of Humanity at University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), which was dedicated to the late writer but had not been completed, seven years after.
Wike said: “Captain Amadi was a great man and a nationalist. He has made us proud. I don’t see him as an Ikwerre man, or a Rivers man, but a Nigerian man. If the state had another university, I would have named it after him.
“He is everything; he can be honoured with anything. I wanted to name Ignatius Ajuru University of Education after him. But if I do that, some people would begin to see it as politics. But from today, the Port Harcourt Polytechnics has been named after him.
“Please, I am calling on the family to unite. Captain Amadi was a man we respect so much. He made a good name and anywhere that name is mentioned, people respect it. That is why I’m calling on the family to preserve his good name.”
