Greg Nwoko Historic Blog
Friday, 31 October 2014
Cyprian Odiatu Duaka (COD) Ekwensi (September 26 1921 to November 4 2007)
Cyprian Odiatu Duaka (COD) Ekwensi (September 26 1921 to November 4 2007)
Between stints as a teacher, forester, pharmacist, broadcaster and film-maker, the west African novelist Cyprian Ekwensi published more than 40 books as well as radio and television scripts. His first novel, "People of the City" (1954), appearing four years before Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", was the second Nigerian novel to be published in Britain to international acclaim following Amos Tutuola's "Pamwine Drinkard". "Jagua Nana" (1961) won Ekwensi the 1968 Dag Hammarskjöld prize in literature.
"People of the City" tells the story of a young crime reporter who doubles as a bandleader in a large west African city. As one British critic wrote, the novel said more about west Africa than 50 government reports. However, Ireland banned the novel on the grounds of indecency. Controversy was to dog Ekwensi's literary career.
Of Igbo extraction, Ekwensi was born in Minna, in Northern Nigeria. His father, David Anadumaka, a famed storyteller and elephant hunter, inspired him towards creative writing. Ekwensi was a brilliant, gregarious pupil at boarding school - Government college, Ibadan (1936-41) - and became engrossed in Yoruba culture. His school life and multi-ethnic upbringing were to be reflected in his work. After stints at various Nigerian and Ghanaian colleges, he worked as a forestry officer (1945-47).
In that wild and lonely environment, he began writing short adventure stories, some of which were published in 1947 as "Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales". The same year, five of his works were published in England by Lutterworth Press as part of its African new writing series. Another collection of light romance stories came out in 1948 from an Onitsha publisher in Nigeria. In 1949, Ekwensi began to read his stories on the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation while also writing for several Lagos newspapers.
Two years later, he won a scholarship to study pharmacy at London University. He said that it was while he was on the ship to England that he began to assemble "People of the City". Working as a pharmacy assistant at Oldchurch hospital, Romford, Essex, he wrote plays that were broadcast by the BBC. He also recorded a voiceover for "Man of Africa" (1953), which featured at the 1954 Venice film festival. Ekwensi's film scripts included "Nigeria Greets the Queen", marking her first visit to Nigeria in 1956.
On his return to Nigeria that year, he worked for the broadcasting corporation, becoming director of information in 1961. Two children's novellas, "The Drummer Boy" and "The Passport of Mallam Illia", were published in 1960 and the novel "Jagua Nana" and the equally successful collection of vignettes, "Burning Grass", in 1961. From 1961 to 1966, Ekwensi published at least one major work each year. "Jagua Nana", the story of a high-class Lagos prostitute, was vehemently attacked by the Catholic and Anglican churches for its sexually explicit language and was banned in several schools. An application to film the book was rejected by the Nigerian parliament - but then came the Dag Hammarskjöld prize.
When the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1966, Ekwensi became an adviser to secessionist leader Odumegwu Ojukwu, chairing Biafra's external publicity bureau. After the war, he resumed his literary and pharmaceutical career. He helped form the Association of Nigerian Authors in 1981, and in 2001, was made a member of the Order of the Federal Republic. Four years later, he was inducted into the Nigerian Academy of Arts.
"Five decades or more of writing have brought me world fame but not fortune," he said. "If I were an American living in America or Europe, I would be floating in a foam bath in my own private yacht off the coast of Florida." He was working on his (still unpublished) biography in 2007 when he passed at the age of 86. He is survived by Chinwe, his wife, and their nine children.
(Adapted from the Guardian (UK) Tuesday February 5 2008)
Between stints as a teacher, forester, pharmacist, broadcaster and film-maker, the west African novelist Cyprian Ekwensi published more than 40 books as well as radio and television scripts. His first novel, "People of the City" (1954), appearing four years before Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", was the second Nigerian novel to be published in Britain to international acclaim following Amos Tutuola's "Pamwine Drinkard". "Jagua Nana" (1961) won Ekwensi the 1968 Dag Hammarskjöld prize in literature.
"People of the City" tells the story of a young crime reporter who doubles as a bandleader in a large west African city. As one British critic wrote, the novel said more about west Africa than 50 government reports. However, Ireland banned the novel on the grounds of indecency. Controversy was to dog Ekwensi's literary career.
Of Igbo extraction, Ekwensi was born in Minna, in Northern Nigeria. His father, David Anadumaka, a famed storyteller and elephant hunter, inspired him towards creative writing. Ekwensi was a brilliant, gregarious pupil at boarding school - Government college, Ibadan (1936-41) - and became engrossed in Yoruba culture. His school life and multi-ethnic upbringing were to be reflected in his work. After stints at various Nigerian and Ghanaian colleges, he worked as a forestry officer (1945-47).
In that wild and lonely environment, he began writing short adventure stories, some of which were published in 1947 as "Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales". The same year, five of his works were published in England by Lutterworth Press as part of its African new writing series. Another collection of light romance stories came out in 1948 from an Onitsha publisher in Nigeria. In 1949, Ekwensi began to read his stories on the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation while also writing for several Lagos newspapers.
Two years later, he won a scholarship to study pharmacy at London University. He said that it was while he was on the ship to England that he began to assemble "People of the City". Working as a pharmacy assistant at Oldchurch hospital, Romford, Essex, he wrote plays that were broadcast by the BBC. He also recorded a voiceover for "Man of Africa" (1953), which featured at the 1954 Venice film festival. Ekwensi's film scripts included "Nigeria Greets the Queen", marking her first visit to Nigeria in 1956.
On his return to Nigeria that year, he worked for the broadcasting corporation, becoming director of information in 1961. Two children's novellas, "The Drummer Boy" and "The Passport of Mallam Illia", were published in 1960 and the novel "Jagua Nana" and the equally successful collection of vignettes, "Burning Grass", in 1961. From 1961 to 1966, Ekwensi published at least one major work each year. "Jagua Nana", the story of a high-class Lagos prostitute, was vehemently attacked by the Catholic and Anglican churches for its sexually explicit language and was banned in several schools. An application to film the book was rejected by the Nigerian parliament - but then came the Dag Hammarskjöld prize.
When the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1966, Ekwensi became an adviser to secessionist leader Odumegwu Ojukwu, chairing Biafra's external publicity bureau. After the war, he resumed his literary and pharmaceutical career. He helped form the Association of Nigerian Authors in 1981, and in 2001, was made a member of the Order of the Federal Republic. Four years later, he was inducted into the Nigerian Academy of Arts.
"Five decades or more of writing have brought me world fame but not fortune," he said. "If I were an American living in America or Europe, I would be floating in a foam bath in my own private yacht off the coast of Florida." He was working on his (still unpublished) biography in 2007 when he passed at the age of 86. He is survived by Chinwe, his wife, and their nine children.
(Adapted from the Guardian (UK) Tuesday February 5 2008)
'The day I K Dairo saw 'Satan' in London 1971
'The day I K Dairo saw 'Satan' in London.
I K Dairo started his music career at the age of 8. He was at some time a hairdresser and a petty trader.
On a musical tour to London, he fled from a theatre after a 10 minute stay. He had seen 'satan'- scantily dressed people!!! His words' this kind of life will never be practised here in Nigeria'. He believed this would never be acceptable in Nigeria.
He returned from the trip with a new message for Nigerian women- ' the Gods are in the warpath against womanhood for its shameful drift to diminutive and immoral dressing'.
Sunday Times 1971
I K Dairo started his music career at the age of 8. He was at some time a hairdresser and a petty trader.
On a musical tour to London, he fled from a theatre after a 10 minute stay. He had seen 'satan'- scantily dressed people!!! His words' this kind of life will never be practised here in Nigeria'. He believed this would never be acceptable in Nigeria.
He returned from the trip with a new message for Nigerian women- ' the Gods are in the warpath against womanhood for its shameful drift to diminutive and immoral dressing'.
Sunday Times 1971
Olorogun Michael Ibru (1931- )
Olorogun Michael Ibru (1931- )
Businessman and founder of the Ibru Organisation in the '70's.
Ibru is from Agbarha-Otor, near Ughelli in Delta State. His mother was the daughter of the fabulously wealthy Chief Osadjere of Olomu. Ibru attended Igbobi College Yaba where he was Senior Prefect. He worked briefly with UAC before setting up a frozen fish business in 1956.
Today, the Ibru Organisation is a family-run business that is now a multi-billion dollar conglomerate and one of the largest in West Africa.
Its subsidiaries include:- Ibru Sea Foods Limited, Aden River Estate Limited, Aero Contractors Nigeria Limited, Ibache (Ibafon Chemicals) Limited, Ibafon Oil Limited, Ibron Nigeria Ltd; Ibru Merchandise 33 Limited, Ikeja Hotels Plc. (Lagos Sheraton and Federal Palace Hotels), Societe Benninoise De Produits De Mer (SOBEPROM), Zabadne and Company Limited, Osadjere Fishing Co. Limited, Marine Harvest Limited, Spibat Nig. Limited, Rutam Motors Limited, Nitrec Limited, Oceanic Bank Int’l. Plc, Aquamarine Finance and Securities Limited, Queens Petroleum Company of (Nig.) Limited, Guardian Newspaper Limited, Express Processing & Packaging Limited, Waskar Ltd., Mitchel Farms, Nigerian Hardwood Co. (Nig.) Limited, F. Steiner & Company Limited, Blue Water Marine, Delta Freeze Limited, Lillershall (Nig.) Ltd, Superbru Ltd, W.F. Clarke (Nig.) Limited, Boardroom Service Limited, Minet Nigeria Limited (insurance brokers), Atlantic Estates Limited, Societe Camerounaise De Product De Mer-SCPM Douala.
SOURCE: ARCHIVE LIBRARY YABA LAGOS.
Businessman and founder of the Ibru Organisation in the '70's.
Ibru is from Agbarha-Otor, near Ughelli in Delta State. His mother was the daughter of the fabulously wealthy Chief Osadjere of Olomu. Ibru attended Igbobi College Yaba where he was Senior Prefect. He worked briefly with UAC before setting up a frozen fish business in 1956.
Today, the Ibru Organisation is a family-run business that is now a multi-billion dollar conglomerate and one of the largest in West Africa.
Its subsidiaries include:- Ibru Sea Foods Limited, Aden River Estate Limited, Aero Contractors Nigeria Limited, Ibache (Ibafon Chemicals) Limited, Ibafon Oil Limited, Ibron Nigeria Ltd; Ibru Merchandise 33 Limited, Ikeja Hotels Plc. (Lagos Sheraton and Federal Palace Hotels), Societe Benninoise De Produits De Mer (SOBEPROM), Zabadne and Company Limited, Osadjere Fishing Co. Limited, Marine Harvest Limited, Spibat Nig. Limited, Rutam Motors Limited, Nitrec Limited, Oceanic Bank Int’l. Plc, Aquamarine Finance and Securities Limited, Queens Petroleum Company of (Nig.) Limited, Guardian Newspaper Limited, Express Processing & Packaging Limited, Waskar Ltd., Mitchel Farms, Nigerian Hardwood Co. (Nig.) Limited, F. Steiner & Company Limited, Blue Water Marine, Delta Freeze Limited, Lillershall (Nig.) Ltd, Superbru Ltd, W.F. Clarke (Nig.) Limited, Boardroom Service Limited, Minet Nigeria Limited (insurance brokers), Atlantic Estates Limited, Societe Camerounaise De Product De Mer-SCPM Douala.
SOURCE: ARCHIVE LIBRARY YABA LAGOS.
List of people killed in the Aba Women's Riot in 1929.
Name, sex, place/tribe of Origin, Place Killed.
Source: Susan Geiger et al.,
Women in African colonial histories
Name, sex, place/tribe of Origin, Place Killed.
chief Festus Okotie-Eboh and his wife make a grand entrance at a government reception (for Queen Elizabeth II) 1956
The then minister of labour Honourable chief Festus Okotie-Eboh and his
wife make a grand entrance at a government reception (for Queen
Elizabeth II). His outfit starting with the the feather tipped boater
and ending in a 20-foot train that winds up around the neck of a small
boy is a mixture of Nigerian modern and traditional.
1956
Source: Life Magazine archives
1956
SHAGARI AND THE CARSTERS WHITEHOUSE BALCONY 1980
Source: Ebony magazine, December 1980
Margery Michelmore, the girl behind the post card incidence in Nigeria 1961.
During Peace Corps training at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria,
Michelmore wrote a postcard to a friend back home that noted the
country’s “squalor and absolutely primitive living conditions.” Before
the postcard was mailed it was found by a Nigerian student who, offended
by its contents, proceeded to distribute copies of it all over campus.
Crowds gathered; riots ensued. Peace Corps staff, fearing for
Michelmore’s safety, whisked her out of the country. But the Associated
Press had already picked up the story, and it became front-page news
around the world. In twenty-first-century parlance, the postcard had
gone viral.
Margery Michelmore's postcard in Nigeria, 1961. Source: LIFE Magazine, 1961
Dear Bobbo: Don’t be furious at getting a postcard. I promise a letter next time. I wanted you to see the incredible and fascinating city we were in. With all the training we had, we really were not prepared for the squalor and absolutely primitive living conditions rampant both in the city and in the bush. We had no idea what “underdeveloped” meant. It really is a revelation and after we got over the initial horrified shock, a very rewarding experience. Everyone except us lives in the streets, cooks in the streets, sells in the streets, and even goes to the bathroom in the streets. Please write. Marge. P.S. We are excessively cut off from the rest of the world.
Margery Michelmore's postcard in Nigeria, 1961. Source: LIFE Magazine, 1961
Dear Bobbo: Don’t be furious at getting a postcard. I promise a letter next time. I wanted you to see the incredible and fascinating city we were in. With all the training we had, we really were not prepared for the squalor and absolutely primitive living conditions rampant both in the city and in the bush. We had no idea what “underdeveloped” meant. It really is a revelation and after we got over the initial horrified shock, a very rewarding experience. Everyone except us lives in the streets, cooks in the streets, sells in the streets, and even goes to the bathroom in the streets. Please write. Marge. P.S. We are excessively cut off from the rest of the world.
REASON HEBERT MACAULAY WEARS A BLACK BOW TIE.
Herbert Macaulay is Nigeria’s father of nationalism and his exploits are undeniable.
However, there are some other things about him that are not widely
known. For example, it is believed that the late Macaulay used to wear a
black bow tie at all times in memory of his first wife, Caroline Pratt
who died in 1899 during childbirth.
In this picture, he is seen carrying the staff of office of Eshugbayi Eleko, the Oba of Lagos (Macaulay was a stout defender of the Lagos royal family) and with him is Chief Tijani Amodu of the Oluwa chieftaincy family in 1920, they were arriving for the wedding of Mr. Barbour James and Miss Rita Goring in London. He was also the Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Ruling House of Docemo (also known as Dosunmu). In addition, he was the Secretary and Interpreter for Chief Tijani Amodu during the renowned Apapa Land Case in London in 1920.
In this picture, he is seen carrying the staff of office of Eshugbayi Eleko, the Oba of Lagos (Macaulay was a stout defender of the Lagos royal family) and with him is Chief Tijani Amodu of the Oluwa chieftaincy family in 1920, they were arriving for the wedding of Mr. Barbour James and Miss Rita Goring in London. He was also the Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Ruling House of Docemo (also known as Dosunmu). In addition, he was the Secretary and Interpreter for Chief Tijani Amodu during the renowned Apapa Land Case in London in 1920.
TOS BENSON AND WIFE 1950's
TOS Benson and Charlotte Clotworthy- Benson in front of their first home
on King George Avenue -- Herbert Macaulay , now Otunba Benson Avenue
Yaba
Just 31 and already a Nigerian leader, Gowon here is shown in a LIFE magazine edition (19th August 1966) stroking his chin and looking on. Others are: from left, Col RA Adebayo, Military Governor of Western Nigeria, Commodore JEA Wey, head of the Navy
Just 31 and
already a Nigerian leader, Gowon here is shown in a LIFE magazine
edition (19th August 1966) stroking his chin and looking on. Others are:
from left, Col RA Adebayo, Military Governor of Western Nigeria,
Commodore JEA Wey, head of the Navy
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa welcoming ace jazz trumpeter Louis "Satchimo" Armstrong to Nigeria
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa welcoming ace jazz trumpeter Louis "Satchimo" Armstrong to Nigeria 1962
The Ransome-Kuti family children (L-R) Olikoye, Beko, Dolupo and Fela. Photo taken in 1941
The Ransome-Kuti family children (L-R) Olikoye, Beko, Dolupo and Fela. Photo taken in 1941
Singer pianist Nina Simone and folk singer Brock Peters relax between shows by frolicking in the sand at Takwa Bay Beach during a visit to Lagos, Nigeria.1962
Singer pianist Nina Simone and folk singer Brock Peters relax between shows by frolicking in the sand at Takwa Bay Beach during a visit to Lagos, Nigeria. 1962.
A sixteenth century ivory comb from Benin, Nigeria on display at the Afro Comb Exhibition at the University of Cambridge
A sixteenth century ivory comb from Benin, Nigeria on display at the Afro Comb Exhibition at the University of Cambridge
JULIUS BERGER AND EKO BRIDGE 1965
In 1965, Julius Berger was awarded a contract to engineer, build and
construct a major infrastructure project in Nigeria - the Eko Bridge in
Lagos. This was the foundation of Julius Berger’s commitment to Nigeria.
Roy Pentelow Fenton (CBN GOVERNOR 1958)
Roy Pentelow Fenton. He was the 1st Central Bank Governor of Nigerias CBN from 1958 to 1963 when Aliyu Mai Bornu took over as Governor.
Thursday, 30 October 2014
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