The last time I saw renowned poet, writer and administrator, Dr. Gabriel
Imomotimi Okara was on TV about a year ago. He was guest at one of the events organised in Yenagoa by the Bayelsa Government of Seriake Dickson. Okara always attended those events in spite of his age because he enjoyed being in the midst of his people and they loved seeing this icon who had contributed so much to put their State, the Nigerian nation and indeed Africa on the top notch of the ladder in the literary world.
Gabriel Okara passed on last Sunday, 25th March, one month short of his 98th birthday on 24th April.
His life and career influenced many of us because he is one of the few persons who can safely be described as an African literary giant.
Okara was not just a celebrated poet but, indeed, one of the greatest writers ever to come out of Africa. With his death, the continent has lost a literary giant, even though at almost 98, his can be described as a very long, eventful and fruitful life. Not many Nigerians are lucky to die of old age these days and Gabriel Okara was one of those few.
Some of us who studied literature in college in the 60s and 70s had the benefit of reading his earlier books which laid pathways for us in our pursuit of literary life.
As Life Patron of the Association of Nigerian Authors, he played a critical role in molding the present and future generations of Nigerian writers.
Born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Okara was educated at Government College Umuahia, and later at Yaba Higher College, now Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.
He studied journalism at Northwestern University in 1949, and before the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70) worked as Information Officer for the Eastern Nigerian Government Service.
After leaving school, Okara wrote plays and features for radio, and in 1953 his poem “The Call of the River Nun” won an award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts.
In addition to his poetry and fiction, Okara also wrote plays and features for broadcasting and some of us who were in Radio Nigeria those days knew of those beautiful radio drama scripts penned by the great Gabriel Okara.
Some of his works are The Voice (a novel) 1964; The Fisherman’s Invocation (poems 1978); Little Snake and Little Frog (for children, 1981); An Adventure to Juju Island (for children, 1992); The Dreamer, His Vision (poems 2005); As I See It (poems) and Collected Poems (both in 2016).
Gabriel Okara was recipient of several award and honours, including the 1953 Best All-Round Entry In Poetry at the Nigerian Festival of Arts, for “The Call of the River Nun”; the 1979 Commonwealth Poetry Prize, for “The Fisherman’s Invocation”; the 2005 NLNG Prize, for “The Dreamer, His Vision” and in 2009, the Pan African Writers’ Association Honorary Membership Award.
The Gabriel Okara Literary Festival was instituted in his honour in 2017.
He was a contemporary of another legend, late Chinua Achebe with whom he also worked on some projects during the Nigerian civil war in the late 60s.
Encomiums and messages have been pouring in from within and outside the country for this great man who stood astride the African literary space and inspired several poets and writers of our time. But how long will it take for his country and people to forget him, especially now when good literary works seem to take the back stage, while cheap, commercial works are the order of the day?
The literature and poetry books being peddled to our children and grandchildren in primary and secondary schools and recognised by the examination bodies are apologies to what the likes of Gabriel Okara, Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi, James Ngugi, Wole Soyinka and Amos Tutuola gave us in the 60s and 70s.
Call it the wailing of the old school, but those were the days!
Image credit: african-writing.com
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Ogie Eboigbe, veteran journalist, broadcaster and public affairs specialist writes and analyses current and historical issues with a ‘wise pen’
