THOUGH he died on Sunday in the crashed Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 8 Flight 302, the consensus among people who attended the ‘Evening of Reminiscences’ in his honour on Thursday, March 14 is that writer, teacher, mentor, public intellectual and humanist, Pius Adesanmi, lives.
The venue, Ouida House, Ikeja GRA, Lagos couldn’t contain the friends, associates, old school mates and fans who all came to celebrate the life of the inimitable Adesanmi. In fact, several people didn’t mind that they stood in the aisles, on the staircase or watched proceedings through the window for the over two hours the evening lasted, as long as they were able to celebrate the stellar Professor of Literature and African Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Writer and CEO of Book Buzz Foundation, Lola Shoneyin, got the event underway by explaining that it was celebratory rather than mournful. The evening, she further noted, was to reflect on what Adesanmi meant to people and what he gave them.
Shoneyin said: “I believe in the randomness of things; we have no control over the things that happen to us. I am completely moved by the outpouring of love and appreciation for what Pius stood for. He was a gift to us; that’s how I remember Pius. This is a collective loss; it’s not something we are going to get over. I will remember Pius’ laughter. It’s in my head right now. Almost all our conversations started with some faux passive aggression. If he hadn’t been in touch for a few weeks, he would initiate an exchange by accusing me of being a bad person. But the laughter that followed! Even when it was a WhatsApp audio call, I could imagine the torso-quaking, head jerking and body swinging that accompanied his signature contagious, high-pitched cackle. I can only imagine how dull the last 25 years of my life would have been without Pius. I feel so blessed to have known him.”
Executive Editor of The News/PM News, Kunle Ajibade, in his tribute titled ‘I’m deeply saddened by his passing’, recalled: “On 23 November, 2013, Pius Adesanmi autographed his wide-ranging collection of essays, You’re Not a Country, Africa, published by Penguin for me in the following words: ‘For my dear brother Kunle Ajibade. That together we may scribble this country out of stagnant trajectories.’ He took Nigeria seriously and spent his prodigious talent working tirelessly to scribble it out of its stagnant trajectories. He was always willing to do this with others, which was a special gift, for most talented writers basically prefer to work alone.
“He succeeded in affirming the role of the writer as an agent of social change. He belonged to the amazing group of clear-eyed, courageous, broad-minded, brilliant essayists in the world. With his tragic death, this group is now sorrowfully depleted. He understood the nexus between human agency and historical materialism and determinism. To him, the role of the public intellectual is to encourage new ideas, deep thinking, challenge norms and forms of debate to enrich our discourse. With impressive command of his subject, Pius Adesanmi analysed brilliantly with a moral voice and beautiful prose. He was an educator who was truly and profoundly educated.”
One of Adesanmi’s classmates at Titcombe College, Egbe, Kogi State, Ms Juliet Ajamofua, drew laughter from the audience while recalling how troublesome he was back then. She disclosed how he always disturbed her in school and in church. “We were both Catholics, and he was an altar boy. In church when he’s carrying the Holy Water and was following the priest, he would still find a way to pinch me,” she said to laughter from the audience. Adesanmi, she further disclosed, was the darling of all the girls with his playfulness. Despite this, he was a brilliant and compassionate soul. “He was great in life and greater in death,” she concluded.
Ogaga Ifowodo had trouble controlling his emotions but managed to do so before reading For Christopher Okigbo by Professor Wole Soyinka. “I can’t bring myself to say ‘rest in peace’, and yet I must wish your restless, fecund, passionate and patriotic soul eternal rest. Well, then, rest. You did more in your short life than many can living the fullness of their days. Rest in peace, my friend, my brother,” he added.
Kayode Olubode, a politician and activist who met Adesanmi through social media, told the gathering how he impacted his life, while Ambassador Ayo Olukanni mourned his passage and that of Ambassador Abiodun Bashua who died in the same crash. Olukanni added that Adesanmi had proved with his life that art can’t be for art sake.
