8 things you didn’t know about the late great poet and novelist Gabriel Imomotimi Okara

The death of one of Nigeria’s first generation poets and novelists Gabriel Imomotimi Okara, has been confirmed.

Reports say the literary icon who was immortalised recently when the cultural centre in the Bayelsa State capital of Yenagoa was named after him, gave up the ghost on Monday, March 25, 2019, in Port Harcourt.

The literary giant would have turned 98 this year.

His demise was confirmed by Mr Uzoh Nwamara, the Chairman, Association of Nigerian Author (ANA), Rivers State, who said his presence will be sorely missed.

He said, “It is with great shock that the ANA Rivers family received the news of the passage of our literary icon, Pa Gabriel Imomotimi Okara, today. He was with us at our last Literary Excellence Day held on October 14, 2017, in Port Harcourt as a recipient of our highest literary award that day.

“He was his usual calm and dignified self. I still remember when Chinua Achebe died in 2013, and I interviewed him jointly with our dear father and patron, Dr Elechi Amadi, on Garden City Radio, 89.9 FM. He lived a larger than life image through his works. Meeting him in person was like meeting Elechi Amadi in person. Their unassuming humility and palpable dignity will shock and humble you.

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Selected below are seven things you may not know about the poet who unfortunately had many of his unpublished manuscripts destroyed during the Nigerian Civil War.

1.) He was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and was educated at Government College Umuahia, and later at Yaba Higher College.

2.) At first, he translated poetry from Ijaw into English and wrote scripts for government radio.

3.) He studied journalism at Northwestern University in 1949.

4.) Together with late Chinua Achebe, Okara was roving ambassador for Biafra’s cause in 1969.

5.) From 1972 to 1980, he was director of the Rivers State Publishing House in Port Harcourt.

6.) His literary talent was spotted in 1953 when his poem, “The Call of the River Nun”, won an award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts.

7.) His first novel, The Voice, was published in 1964.

8.) In 2005, his poetry volume, The Redeemer, His Vision, was joint winner of the highest literary prize in Nigeria.

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