It was a luncheon organized by an Ibadan-based business mogul, Dr. Lekan Are, and his family in honour of Osundare, world-acclaimed poet, for winning the 2014 Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) award. The Ekiti-born scholar was the sole winner of the award in December 2014. The NNOM is the officially recognized award for excellence in the academics and it is always appreciated publicly for its non-partisan consideration.
The luncheon held at the Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre on a Sunday afternoon. The invitation was also extended to celebrate the Nigerian literary brand, who has won virtually all the prizes and awards of global recognition in poetry.
The luncheon, chaired by former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Emeritus Prof Ayo Banjo, attracted dignitaries such as Emeritus Prof Ayo Bamgbose; the Ekerin Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Eddy Oyewole; Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Adebayo Akande; Emeritus Prof. Biola Odejide; and Prof. Olutayo Adesina of the Department of History, U.I.
Also in attendance were former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Olusola Saanu; Director, Centre for Sustainable Development, U.I, Prof Labode Popoola; Prof Dan Izebaye; Prof Festus Adesanoye, Prof Wale Adebanwi and so on. Those who had opportunity to speak on the occasion paid glowing tributes to Osundare.
In his welcome address, Are, who is the chairman of Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre, said he decided to honour Osundare because he was the sole winner of the 2014 NNOM, which was conferred on him in December 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“In 2014, Prof Osundare was the only person that was given the honour out of 170 million population of the country. The award started about 40 years ago and up till date, we are yet to have up to 70 people that have been conferred with this honour.
“It is won simply on merit. There is no geographical spread for it to be won and you don’t have to be a politician to get it. It is equivalent of our Nobel prize. Only Osundare won it last year. The assessors are eminent people and it is the work you have done that would speak for you. I was happy when I heard the announcement that the award would be conferred on him.
Are stated that he got to know Osundare through his reputation, adding that he did not know his house and Osundare did not also know his house. According to him, he appreciates success, especially in the academics, where he belonged before moving into business.
Osundare, who was born in Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State on March 12, 1947, is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan, where he taught after his postgraduate studies in Canada and the United States. He was once the Head of English Department at the University of Ibadan from 1993 to 1997. He is also an old student of Amoye Grammar School in Ikere-Ekiti and Christ’s School in Ado-Ekiti, the current state capital.
Emeritus Prof Banjo commended Are and his wife, Olabisi, for organizing the luncheon. He was one of the teachers that taught Osundare in the English Department of U.I when he was an undergraduate and he had also won the Nigeria National Order of Merit Award.
The former vice chancellor of the premier university appreciated God that he knew Osundare as a budding writer at the university and “in our eyes, Osundare became a flowering writer.” He described him as a unique and talented writer, adding that he had written some enchanting love poems, written a lot of “things about Nigeria generally and a lot of satires outside poetry. He is a very distinguished personality. He does not copy others. He is creative and accessible to Nigerians.”
Emeritus Prof Ayo Bamgbose is another teacher, who taught the guest of honour. Bamgbose, who had also won the award, said he was proud to be one of the teachers of Osundare, who “has won many awards in many parts of the world, apart from Nigeria. Niyi is a pride to UI, Ibadan and I am very happy that Lekan brought him to this function. This signifies the way Lekan holds Ibadan in his heart. Niyi is just 68. The sky is still the limit. He has not let his success enter his head. He comes home regularly and renews his contacts. He is likeable and respectful. His poems are straightforward and not difficult to understand.” Paying tribute to Osundare’s courage and forthrightness, Prof Bamgbose remarked that: “The day he was given the award, he spoke and in his speech, he criticised the government that gave him the N10million”.
Colours were added to the programme when a poet and dramatist, Mr. Ropo Ewenla, took the stage and proposed the toast of Osundare. A prominent Ibadan native and former diplomat, Ambassador Olusola Saanu, averred that Osundare’s poems were easy to read as he described him as a pride to the Black people of the world. He congratulated him and prayed that he would continue to be a hero and represent Nigeria creditably.
Osundare, in his response, described the honour as a celebration of excellence, which was greater than he. The foundation of his achievement, according to him, was based on the quality education he received from his university teachers, such as Professors Ayo Banjo, Ayo Bamgbose and Dan Izebaye in U.I. He decried the rot in the country’s university system, saying, the critical stakeholders must go back to the drawing board to proffer lasting solution to the menace.
Osundare noted that many of contemporary students are more intelligent but the standards have collapsed in many tertiary institutions. He decried the dearth of academic mentors in Nigeria’s universities. This, he reasoned, had caused Nigeria’s inability to produce quality graduates for the employment market in recent years.
Osundare was in 2005 caught in Hurricane Katrina and he was stuck with his wife in the attic of the home in New Orleans, United States, for 26 hours. But they were rescued by one of their neighbours, who at the time drove by in his boat. He heard the shouts of the Osundares for help and he rescued them. He lost a lot of assets, including manuscripts of some poems.
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