LONDON
MOURNS THE MINSTREL, ESIABA IROBI By
Lookman Sanusi Since
death came calling Dr Esiaba Irobi for his higher role above
on the 3rd of May 2010, the deluge of tributes have not
ceased from his friends, colleagues, to former students,
family and the arts communities both in Nigeria and
overseas. Esiaba was born in the
Republic of Biafra on the 1st of October, 1960
but lived in three continents: Africa, Europe and America.
Although the Theatre Professor died in Berlin, Germany, a
committee of friends and family mourned him in London,
United Kingdom on
the 11th of June 2010. His kinsmen, the Ngwa clan
in London, all clad in their traditional attires, friends –
white, black and Africans in the Diaspora, including those
on self- exile, colleagues and their children thronged
Jasmin Club Hall in the Southwest of London to pay homage to
the one fondly known to friends and admirers as The
Minstrel. There was
a quick church service and the Nche Abali (Night vigil),
commenced in earnest with Chief P C Nwogbe as the anchor
man. Esiaba’s niece, Chioma Nwatuobi read “A Tribute to My
Uncle”, to kick-start the night. Shortly, Nnorom Azuonye,
The Publisher/Editor of Sentinel Literary Quarterly, London
paid a glorious tribute to his former teacher who had become
his friend and brother. Nnorom read “A ceramic Life” from
Esiaba’s controversial poetry collection Why I Don’t Like
Philip Larkin and Other Poems, published in 2004. There was a screening of
Esiaba’s interview on a TV show; Chat Room,
originally broadcast in Barbados where he talked about his
directorial approach in a recent effort; For Coloured
Girls – a play by Ntozake Shange, with which he
attempted to further propagate his theory on African
Metalanguage in African-American Performance Aesthetics
which was staged between March 28th and 30th,
2008. Esiaba’s only son,
15-year-old Nnamdi read a modified version of his father’s
poem “Frankfurt”. This was a sad and very touching moment
for everyone, especially when he read the lines: Father, father, father, I have tried to reach you
by phone. You said I could always
call you in Berlin, to share and to ease the pain of your
experiences. But your line is dead. I now resort to writing
this, for your ears are not
deaf to poetry. Dr Osita Okagbue of Goldsmiths College (University of London) said, “I find
it difficult to talk about Dr Esiaba Irobi, because he
should be talking about me.” Before he read three poems by
Esiaba: “St. Louis”,” Jazz” and “London”, he described
Esiaba as a lover of life and people who affected everyone
around him. Tributes were delivered
on behalf of Prof. Dapo Adelugba and Prof. Femi Osofisan of
the University of Ibadan by Dr Sola Adeyemi who read two
poems: “Shower Inside” and “I Will Miss Your Voice”, by
Prof. Osofisan. Dr Adeyemi then went on to read “First
Draft” and “Second Draft” – the first two parts of ‘The Best
Old People’s Home in Britain’ from Esiaba’s Why I Don’t
Like Philip Larkin and Other Poems. In his own short tribute,
Chimaobi Ogbonna (alias Nwadenjo) quoted Esiaba; “The Pen is
mightier than the Sword. Kill me with a bullet, you would
not have accomplished anything, but take away my pen and you
would have killed me”. A statement he believed was a
reflection of Irobi’s total commitment to literature.
Writing was Iribi’s life. Dr Joseph Ichongiri substantiated
this when he took to the floor next. He showered encomiums
on his former schoolmate whom he described as “a
controversial academic and a very brave man.” Before his death, Esiaba
took up a position as a Distinguished Research Fellow in
Freie University, Berlin, Germany in the “Interweaving
Performance Cultures” programme at the University’s
International Research Centre. Professor Esiaba Irobi
was a prolific writer whose works include: Nwokedi, The
Colour of Rusting Gold, Hangmen Also Die, Hand Grenades,
Cotyledons, What Song do Mosquitoes Sing? Why the Vulture’s
Head is Naked, Inflorescence: Selected Poems, 1977-1988, The
Fronded Circle, Put out the House Lights and Cemetery Road (Winner of the World Drama Trust Award, 1992). Cemetery Road has also been shortlisted for the NLNG
Prize for Literature 2010. His works yet to be
published are: “How to Make Love to A Negro All Night and
Survive It”, “A White Man’s Guide to Black Woman”,
“Theorizing African Cinema: Ontology, Teleology, Semiology
and Narratology (Routledge, London), “Before They Danced in
Chains: African Metalanguage in African –American
Performance Aesthetics’ and his novel, “The Intellectual
Terrorist.”
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