Eyin'juOdu

Just got to read a tear-inducing obituary on page 61 of Punch today that Essien Akpabio, the stylish music and entertainment manager, promoter and patron of the late eighties through the nineties died on February 2, 2008. The announcement was made infact by the governor of Akwa Ibom himself, Godswill Akpabio- who described Essien as "a great son of the Akpabio clan". Essien Akpabio was a large, charascteristic and unmissable image in those very resourceful years of the entertainment scene when the like of Chris Okotie and his soulbrother, Obi, Peter k Falola, Berkely Jones, Emma Ogosi, Evi Edna Ogoli-Ogosi, Tony Okoroji, Funmi Adams, Lijadu sisters, Ras Kimomo, Oris Wiliki, Majek Fashek, Victor Essiet, Peterside Ottong, Onyeka Onwenu, Xty Essien, Uche Ibeto, Tina Afrika Oyibo Onwudiwe, Stela Monye, Bunmi Fajugbu, Mike Okri, Charley Boy, Alex O, Alex Xitto, Mustafa Amego, Chris Hanen, Feladeh, Pat Solo, Excempt E, Godwin Omabuwa, Gbubemi Amas, Frankie Lee, Andy Shurman, Victor...

Five years after, we met again this was 22 years after we left school ,in 1986. We had met about five years ago at the lagos murtala muhammed Airport, when he came home briefly. I once again hooked up with my fav school mate and brother, Olumuyiwa Ojo alias ojays. I had been junketing round the States inthe past two weeks, and came to Chicago-enroute DC. We met at the Chicago-Ohare airport, he came with his second child, Tobi, a tall, gangling beautiful young man, who has the very face of his father. Really what Tobi looks like today was the very face Muyiwa had at the time of our graduation. Now here is the catch, Muyiwa is one of those chaps who will never aged. He still has the youngish 17ish look save for the face hairs, which i suspect he must have deliberately kept to stress on his correct age. When i saw the two men walking towards me, i felt a strong sense of nostalgia. I recalled very much the bonding that was between me and Muyiwa. Aside being his schoolmate, i used to go han...

For three days February 28-March 1,, Kongi of Letters, Wole Soyinka was up in celebration at the Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. It was a symposium convened by Soyinka's ex-student, Segun Ojewuyi, who is currently the Head of Directing at the SIU Department of Theatre Arts. The symposium was titled 'Muse and Mimesis: Wole Soyinka, Africa and the World', and was attended by scholars on Soyinka, African lIterature and African studies from around the United States, Canada and Nigeria. These included Prof Biodun Jeyifo of Harvard University, who gave the keynote -- 'Forget the Muse, Think only of the subject'; Prof. Randal Robbinson (the famous Africanist and civil right leader, author of 'An Unbroken Agony', and 'The Debt: What America Owes To Blacks'; Gary Younge, author of 'No Place Like Home'; 'Stranger in A Strange Land Encounters in the Disunited States' among others); Prof Robert Fox; Dr Michael Brown; Prof dele jegede f...