By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Five years after his passage, the legacy of Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike continues to echo resoundingly through Nigeria’s literary landscape, as writers, students, traditional rulers, public officials, and literary enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the man many described as a sentinel of Nigeria’s moral and intellectual conscience.
Held at the Prof. Kenneth Dike State Central E-Library in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the well-attended commemorative event, themed “Five Years After: Remembering His Majesty, Eze Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike,” was organized by the Nigerian Book Foundation (NBF) in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State Council, the State Ministry of Education, and the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Anambra Chapter.
The occasion, which was as much a literary pilgrimage, marked the fifth remembrance of the prolific author, literary icon, educationist, administrator, and traditional ruler, who until his death in 2020, was the Eze Ndikelionwu, President of the NBF, and a sentinel voice in Nigerian literature which continues to speak to the conscience of the nation through fiction, memoir, and moral example.
Welcoming the guests, the President of the Nigerian Book Foundation and first female professor of Mass Communication in sub-Saharan Africa, Prof. Chinyere Stella Okunna, described Prof. Ike as a literary giant whose towering contributions to scholarship, leadership, and creativity remain evergreen.
She noted that the annual event, which celebrates the birthday, life and time of the late professor, also celebrates his towering intellect that was only matched by his humility and staunch dedication to mentoring others and impacting the society at large.
“We are not just remembering a man who wrote books. We are celebrating a man whose life itself was a library of inspiration,” she said.
Delivering the keynote lecture titled “Chukwuemeka Ike: The Last of the Old Order Sentinels”, Prof. Chike Okoye of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who gave a deeply intellectual and stirring review of Prof. Ike’s literary legacy, situated the late monarch and author among the pantheon of Nigerian literary giants.
While tracing Ike’s trajectory from academia to literary greatness and onto royalty, Prof. Okoye, went further to chronicle how Ike’s works — such as Toads for Supper, The Naked Gods, The Potter’s Wheel, Expo ’77, Sunset at Dawn, and Our Children Are Coming — were not only prophetic but mirrored Nigeria’s social decay and challenged its moral conscience.
He said Ike’s titles and themes weren’t just books but national diagnoses, likening the late him to Chinua Achebe’s ‘Eagle on the Iroko’ and referring to him as “a sentinel” whose literary voice guarded the soul of a generation.
Earlier speaking, the Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council (ASTUC) and monarch of Obosi, H.R.H. Igwe Chidubem Iweka (Eze Iweka III), who also chairs the NBF Board of Trustees, emphasized the power of storytelling in sustaining society and charged Nigerian youths to aspire beyond mediocrity and embrace excellence.
He said Prof. Ike left an indelible mark not only on literature but also on royal leadership and intellectual advocacy, stressing that his (Eze Ike’s) reign in Ndikelionwu was characterized by wisdom, peace, and vision.
Echoing similar sentiment, the Chairman of the Occasion, Dr. Ebuka Onunkwo, who is the MD/CEO of Seahorse Lubricants and a senatorial aspirant for Anambra South, described Prof. Ike as a rare blend of intellectual and traditional royalty whose life should be a textbook for leadership. Describing the late literary icon as an embodiment of discipline and brilliance, who used the power of the pen to shape minds and policy; Dr. Onunkwo challenged Nigerian youths and students to read more and emulate the discipline and patriotism of icons like Ike.
Also speaking at the event, former Governor of Anambra State and 2023 Labour Party Presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, reaffirmed his continued reverence for Prof. Ike as a national treasure whose works remain evergreen.
Represented by his media aide, Dr. Valentine Obienyem; Mr. Obi, under whose administration the current building of the Nigerian Book Foundation (NBF) Awka was built and donated to the Foundation, further paid glowing tribute to the literary patriarch, emphasizing that “Prof. Ike was not just an author, but a builder of minds, a cultivator of values, and a man whose works continue to fertilize our national conscience.”
In her own remarks, the Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, described the late literary icon as a totem of excellence, whose name evokes reverence and whose life encourages service, further hailing him as one of the greatest intellectuals the state — and indeed Nigeria — has ever produced.
Addressing the school children in attendance, she reminded them that “writers never die” because their thoughts continue to educate, inspire and challenge long after they’re gone. “Chukwuemeka Ike is still speaking, teaching, and guiding through his books,” she said.
On his own part, the Royal Father of the Day, H.R.M. Igwe Ben Emeka (Oke Ebo II) of Umueri, also paid tribute to the deceased, urging young people to read his works and emulate his life of value-driven leadership and contented royalty.
While describing Ike as a literary philosopher-king whose mind was as rich as his heart was kind; he also praised him for upholding cultural values and intellectualism in equal measure, further emphasizing the need for leaders at all levels to immortalize individuals like Ike who lived lives of substance and integrity.
In an interview with this reporter, the Chairman of NUJ, Anambra State Council, Dr. Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, highlighted Ike’s commitment to truth and nation-building through storytelling. He lauded the collaboration among stakeholders for keeping the memory of the literary sage alive and also reiterated the call for the immortalization of Prof. Ike in schools and libraries across the state.
The event also featured poetry and dance performances, which added cultural texture to the event, with recitations that reflected themes from Prof. Ike’s novels and messages of societal reawakening.
Born on April 28, 1931, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, was a prolific novelist, university administrator, public servant, and traditional ruler. Until his death on March 9, 2020, he served as the President of the Nigerian Book Foundation and Eze Ikelionwu XI of Ndikelionwu in Orumba South LGA, Anambra State. His literary works, including Sunset at Dawn, Expo ’77, The Bottled Leopard, Toads for Supper, and Our Children Are Coming, remain potent mirrors of Nigerian society.
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