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Cyprian Ekwensi

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Chief

Cyprian Ekwensi

MFR
Born
Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi

(1921-09-26)26 September 1921
Minna, Niger State
Died4 November 2007(2007-11-04) (aged 86)
Enugu, Enugu State
OccupationPharmacist, broadcaster, author
GenreShort stories and children's fiction
SpouseEunice Anyiwo, Maria Chime
ChildrenFive

Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi Listenⓘ MFR[1] (26 September 1921 – 4 November 2007) was a Nigerian author of novels, short stories, and children's books.[2]

Biography

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Early life, education and family

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Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in Minna, the capital city of Niger State, north-central Nigeria.[3] He was a native of Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi local government area, Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. His father was David Anadumaka, a storyteller and elephant hunter.[4]

Ekwensi attended Government College in Umuahia, Abia State in southeast Nigeria, Achimota College in Ghana, and the School of Forestry, Ibadan, after which he worked for two years as a forestry officer.[1] He also studied pharmacy at Yaba Technical Institute, Lagos School of Pharmacy, and the Chelsea School of Pharmacy of the University of London. He taught at Igbobi College.[1]

Ekwensi married Eunice Anyiwo, and they had five children.[1] He has many grandchildren, including his son Cyprian Ikechi Ekwensi, who is named after his grandfather, and his oldest grandchild Adrianne Tobechi Ekwensi.

Governmental career

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Ekwensi was employed as Head of Features at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and by the Ministry of Information during the First Republic;[5] he eventually became Director of the latter.[4] He resigned his position in 1966, before the Civil War, and defected to Enugu with his family. He later served as chair of the Bureau for External Publicity of Biafra,[6] prior to its reabsorption by Nigeria.

Literary career

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Ekwensi wrote hundreds of short stories (his story "Law of the Grazing Field" was included in An African Treasury, a 1960 anthology edited by Langston Hughes),[7] radio and television scripts, and several dozen novels, including children's books.[1] His 1954 People of the City was his first book to garner international attention.[4] His novel Drummer Boy (1960), based on the life of Benjamin "Kokoro"' Aderounmu, was a perceptive and powerful description of the wandering, homeless and poverty-stricken life of a street artist.[8] Ekwensi's most successful novel was Jagua Nana (1961),[9] about a Pidgin-speaking Nigerian woman who leaves her husband to work as a prostitute in a city and falls in love with a teacher.[10] Ekwensi also wrote a sequel to this, Jagua Nana's Daughter.[11]

In 1968, he received the Dag Hammarskjöld International Prize in Literature.[12] In 2001, he was appointed an MFR and in 2006, he became a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.[1]

Death

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Ekwensi died on 4 November 2007, aged 86, at the Niger Foundation in Enugu, where he had undergone an operation for an undisclosed ailment.[1] The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), having intended to present him with an award on 16 November 2007, converted the honour to a posthumous award.[13]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Cyprian Ekwensi dies at 86". Daily Trust. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Cyprian Ekwensi | Nigerian Author | Novels, Children's Books, & Other Short Stories". cyprainekwensi.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Nigeria Today Is Like A Yarn By Cyprian Ekwensi -". The NEWS. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Adenekan, Shola (11 November 2007). "Prolific Writer Who Chronicled Modern Life in West Africa". The New Black Magazine online. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  5. ^ Gérard, Albert S. (1986). European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 654. ISBN 963-05-3834-2.
  6. ^ "Cyprian Ekwensi". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Thomson Gale.
  7. ^ Bracker, Milton (18 September 1960). "Literary Lights From the Dark Continent". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  8. ^ CHUKA NNABUIFE (29 October 2009). "Authors convention begins in Minna". Nigerian Compass. Retrieved 9 November 2009.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Ekwensi, Cyprian". Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Running Press. 2003. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0-7624-1642-4.
  10. ^ Gérard, p. 656.
  11. ^ "Jagua Nana's Daughter". Michigan State University Press. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  12. ^ Nigeria, Guardian (24 September 2018). "Remebering Cyprian Ekwensi And His Phenomenal Works". The Guardian. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  13. ^ "ANA plans post humous award for Ekwensi". The Tide. Port Harcourt, Nigeria. 11 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  14. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1959). When Love Whispers. Tabansi Press.
  15. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1966). The Boa Suitor. Heinemann. ISBN 978-9966-46-699-0.
  16. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1950). The Leopard's Claw. Longmans, Green.
  17. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (3 January 1960). The Drummer Boy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-04882-8. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  18. ^ "Memory Lane Monday: The Passport of Mallam Ilia by Cyprian Ekwensi". Biyai Garricks. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  19. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (4 July 2023). The Passport of Mallam Ilia. Toys & Gifts Delivery, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-960611-00-0.
  20. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1963). Beautiful Feathers. Hutchinson.
  21. ^ "Beautiful Feathers. by EKWENSI, Cyprian. | Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  22. ^ Rakuten Kobo. "The Rainmaker and Other Stories". kobo.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Iska. by EKWENSI, Cyprian. | Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Iska". www.peterharrington.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  25. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1975). Restless city and Christmas gold, with other stories. Internet Archive. London : Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-435-90172-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  26. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1980). Divided We Stand: A Novel of the Nigerian Civil War. Fourth Dimension. ISBN 978-978-156-112-2.
  27. ^ Burnside Rare Books. "Motherless Baby". burnsiderarebooks.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  28. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1980). Motherless Baby. Fourth Dimension Publishers. ISBN 978-978-156-116-0.
  29. ^ "For a Roll of Parchment by Ekwensi, Cyprian: (1986) First edition., Signed by Author(s) | Burnside Rare Books, ABAA". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  30. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1986). For a roll of parchment. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books. ISBN 978-978-129-835-6.
  31. ^ a b "Jagua Nana's Daughter". African books collective. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  32. ^ BookBrief. "Jagua Nana's Daughter Summary". BookBrief. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  33. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1965). The Great Elephant-bird. Nelson. ISBN 978-0-17-555033-3.
  34. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1991). Gone to Mecca: a story. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria) Ltd. ISBN 978-978-129-360-3.
  35. ^ "Jagua Nana's Daughter - BookBrief". bookbrief.io. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  36. ^ Ekwensi, Cyprian (1991). Masquerade Time. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-435-89165-7.

Further reading

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