By
Anote Ajeluorou
Nigerian
writers have joined their colleagues all over the world in mourning the
untimely passing of Ghanaian writer and diplomat, Prof. Kofi Awonoor, who was
killed in a terrorist attack in Kenyan over the weekend. Awonoor and other
writers from across the world, including U.S.-based Nigerian writer, Teju Cole,
author of Everyday for the Thief and Open City, were attending a literary
festival, Storymoja Hay Festival, when Somalia terrorists, Al-Shabab struck at
Westgate shopping centre, killing dozens of people and holding several hostage
inside.
They also condemned Al-Shabab terrorist group
for its senseless attack on innocent civilians and the death of several other
people, saying enough was enough and that it was time the international
community rose to the challenge posed by such terror groups all over the world.
Multiple award-winning writer and publisher,
Dr. Ogochukwu Promise was livid with rage at the killing, and said it was time
to fight the menace of ignorance that terrorism represents, noting, “We need to
find ways to fight ignorance, violence... They've taken so much from us. Now,
they've snatched away Prof. Awoonor!”
Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan
and President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Prof. Remi Raji, while praising Awonoor for his poetic vision,
said his death was the rise of urban barbarism that has gained prominence in
recent years. He noted, “Kofi Awoonor was a great poetic prose stylist. He
belonged to the illustrious generation of Ghanaian writers whose names arrived
at our learning doors as young students of modern African literature. We were
introduced to both his poetry and poetic prose uniquely and forcefully
expressed in his classic, This Earth, My Brother, a novel which had
great impact on our understanding of the postcolonial African condition.
“He would be remembered for contributing to
the deployment of the indigenous Ewe folk stylistics in his poetry; beyond its
cultural aesthetics, his Songs of Sorrow now seems to be too prophetic
to be forgettable.
“The manner of Awoonor's death is
unfortunate, really indicative of the new phase of urban barbarism that has
taken hold of our space in recent time”.
Former President, Association of Nigerian
Authors and former member, House of Representative, Dr. wale Okediran also joined
in mourning Awonoor. He said, “Like many important writers, I had met Kofi Awoonor through his works
several years before I actually met him in person. And when I finally did I in
2008 in Accra, Ghana during one of the activities of the Pan African Writers
Association (PAWA), I was captivated by his literary dexterity and humility.
For more than 30 minutes, he held the audience spellbound with his elegant
poetic rendition.
“That same year, we were to meet again at the
Garden City Literary Festival in Port Harcourt where he again gave good account
of himself. Now that he has left us even though in a very tragic circumstance,
our solace is that his work will continue to live after him. My heartfelt
condolences go to his family, his associates and the literary family at large.
May his gentle soul continue to rest in peace, amen!”
President, PEN Centre, Nigeria and poet, Tade Ipadeola, in his tribute expressed shock at the attack and
condemned all Islamic fundamentalists, noting, “I'm still in shock about Awoonor. This
fundamentalist madness must stop. It is time we faced Islamic fundamentalists
properly. Enough is enough!”
His fellow Ghanaian and
poet, Kwame Dawes said, "I received news that Kofi Awoonor, the Ghanaian
poet, diplomat and academic had been shot to death by terrorists in the
Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. I got the news in my hotel, which is about
five minutes from the mall. The news came through diplomatic channels in Ghana.
'Barring a miracle, we have lost him. Get some sleep, we have a long wake
ahead.' This was the note his protégé and fellow Ghanaian poet, Kofi Anyidoho,
sent to me. Kofi Awoonor's death is a sad moment here in
Nairobi. We have lost one of the greatest African poets and diplomats. I've
lost my uncle.”
Ghana's president, John
Dramani Mahama, said in a statement, "I am shocked to hear the death of
professor Kofi Awoonor in the Nairobi mall terrorist attack. Such a sad twist
of fate."
A
statement from Storymoja Hay Festival, which Awonoor had been attending when he
was killed, said: “We were honoured to be graced by his appearance at Storymoja
Hay Festival, and deeply humbled by his desire to impart knowledge to the young
festival audience. Professor Awoonor was one of Africa's greatest voices and
poets and will forever remain a beacon of knowledge and strength and hope.”
Awoonor was
born in 1935 and became known for his poetry, early collections of which were
heavily inspired by the dirge singing and oral poetry of his native Ewe tribe.
He published his first collection, Rediscovery
and Other Poems, in 1964. Awoonor gained a masters degree in literature at
University College, London in 1970. His second collection, Night of My Blood, was released in 1971 and was a series of poems
that explore Awoonor’s roots and the impact of colonialism and foreign rule in
Africa.
Awoonor was a diplomat as well as a poet. He served as Ghana’s
Ambassador to the United Nations between 1990 and 1994, where he was the head
of the Committee Against Apartheid. In 1975 Awoonor was imprisoned without
trial for several months. He was later brought to court on charges of helping
‘political criminal’, ex-Brigadier Kattah, fled the country. Awoonor denied
aiding Kattah’s escape, but admitted to hosting him. His imprisonment was met
with protest from International PEN, Amnesty International and writers
including beat poet Allen Ginsberg. His third collection, The House By the Sea, was inspired by his incarceration and was
published in 1978.
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