By Osa Amadi, Arts Editor

Great novelist, Professor Chukwuemeka Ike is dead. He died yesterday, January 9, 2020 in Nnewi at the age of 89.

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Confirming his death, Denja Abdullahi, immediate past president of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), told Vanguard that “The death of Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike can be tagged as signifying the end of an era as he was a contemporary of the likes of Chinua Achebe, John Munonye, Cyprian Ekwensi, Nkem Nwankwo, Flora Nwapa, etc. who wrote works of fiction that defined an era of our literary existence.

“He was a socially committed writer of a satiric streak. His works satirise the foibles of the society and they are delightful to read with striking titles. He was by nature also a very humble and genial person who stood out in his contributions, far beyond just being a writer, to the development of the Nigerian book industry.

“In his lifetime he attended several ANA conventions and had always been a source of encouragement to younger writers. Losing Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike to all living Nigerian writers is like losing a genial father, uncle and grandfather,” Denja said.

Born on April 28, 1931, Prof. Ike was a Nigerian writer popular for his humor and satire. Like Achebe, his style of writing was influenced by his Igbo cultural upbringing.

He studied history, English and Religious Studies at the University of Ibadan and later earned a Master’s degree at Stanford University. He was former registrar of the West African Examinations as well as the author of Expo ’77 – a critical look at academic examination abuses in West Africa.

Ike was one of those few Africans who jettisoned the foreign names given to them in preference to their traditional names.  He was given the name, Vincent. His father was a traditional ruler and civic leader.

As a lad, Chukwuemeka started his education in his native town and later went to Ife-Mbaise to continue. Between 1945 and 1950, he attended the famous Government College Umuahia where he started his writing career with the school magazine, “The Umuahian”.

While he lived, Prof. Ike was the traditional ruler of his people. He was Eze Ndikelionwu of the great Aro town Ndikelionwu in Eastern Nigeria, with the title, “Ikelionwu XI” in his hometown of Ndikelionwu in Anambra State.

Among his works are “Toads for Supper” (London: Harvill Press, 1965); “The Naked Gods” (London: Harvill Press); “The Potter’s Wheel” (London: Harvill Press, 1973);  “Sunset at Dawn” (Collins & Harvill Press, 1976); “Expo ’77” (Fontana, 1980); “The Chicken Chasers”(Fontana, 1980); “The Bottled Leopard (1985); “Our Children Are Coming” (Ibadan: Spectrum Books 1990); and “Conspiracy of silence (Longman, 2001)”.

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It would be recalled that his son, Osita Ike, died in December 2016 at 54.

Vanguard