PriyeIyalla-Amadi,WifeoftheNigerianliteraryicon
LiteraryiconElechiAmadi’swifetalksaboutthemanandhiswriting
BySudeshnaSarkar
Thepartyheldonlysixmonthsagocouldn’thavebeenmoredifferent.Bothofthemwerethere,readytogreettheguests,helookingfrailbutsmilingwhilesheaddedtheglamorquotientwithherfestiveblue-greypartydressandarrestingnecklace.
“Wecelebrated25yearsofourmarriageonFebruary8,”PriyeIyalla-AmadisaidfromherresidenceinPortHarcourt,Nigeria.“Today,Iaminmourning.”WhenElechiAmadijoinedhisancestorsonJune29,thepassingawayofthe82-year-oldwasmournedbyallNigeria,Africa,andasanadmirersaid,“Loversofbookseverywhere.”
Seminalwork
InthecourseofavariedcareerthatincludedastintinthearmyatavolatileperiodinNigeria’shistory,teaching,andpositionsasagovernmentofficial,Amadidiscoveredhimselfin1966whenhisfirstnovel,TheConcubine,waspublished.Evenfivedecadeslater,thestoryofalucklesswidowthatcombinesruraltraditions,religiousbeliefsandapenetratinglookintothehumanheartfullofenvy,greedanddarkthoughtscontinuestobehailed.
NigerianauthorObinneUdenwe,whowonthe2012AfricanInternationalAchieversAward,paidatributetothebookanditsauthor,recallinghowhereaditinsecondaryschoolwhenafriendlentittohim.
“Thenovelleftmewiththerealizationthatonecouldwritestoriesaboutone’sculturesandtraditionssopassionatelywithoutholdingback-inothertoeducateandtoentertain,”UdenwewroteinhisobituaryforAmadi.
Africamournedthelossofitsvoiceoffatherlywisdom,unitedacrosspoliticalpartiesandboundaries.NigerianPresidentMuhammaduBuharisaid,“ThepassingawayofAmadiisasmuchalosstoNigeriaandAfricaasitistotheworld”andhisrival,formerPresidentGoodluckJonathan,echoedhimwithoutdissent.
“ElechiAmadicomforteduswithhisliteraryworks,”JonathanwroteonhisFacebookpage.“[HeandformerForeignMinisterOjoMaduekwe]diedatperhapsatimewhentheirwisecounselandfatherlydispositionwasdirelyneededbytheirnation.”
ClementExcel,acorporalwiththeNigerianPoliceinLagos,toldChinAfricahefirstreadAmadiin1994.ItwasTheConcubinepublishedintheAfricanWriters’Series.“Iadmireitbecauseithelpedreadersunder-standthehistoricalandculturalbackground.TheConcubineisarecommendedtextinschoolsacrossAfrica,”Excelsaid.
InNairobi,abloggerwiththeusernameThunderingHoovesrecalledbeingmovedbyTheConcubineasastudent.“IrememberasahighschoolstudentinNairobidiligentlystudyingTheConcubineformyOlevels,”thebloggerwrote.“Idistinctlyremembertryingtogetourlocaltonguesaroundsomeofthenamesinthenovel.Wealsomarveledatthesimilaritiesinculturalpracticesdescribedinthebookbetweenthoseofhiscommunityandsomeofours.Feelsjustlikeyesterday.”
LennoxOketch,AssistantChiefAccountantatGlitzInternational,ajewelryenterpriseinNairobi,saidhecelebratedAmadi’s“immensecontributiontosocial,economicandpre-andpost-colonialpoliticsofAfricaandAfricans.”
ComingfromthefirstgenerationofAfricanwriters,suchasChinuaAchebe,CyprianEkwensi,WoleSoyinkaandChristopherOkigbo,Amadi’sliterarylegacyincludeslaternovelslikeSunsetinBiafra,TheSlaveandEstrangement.
Religionofkindness
Howwasitlikelivingwithanicon?
PriyeIyalla-Amadidescribedthemanbehindtheaccolades.
“Hisreligionwaskindness,”shetoldChinAfrica.“Hewouldsay,peopleshouldbekinder.Thentheplanetwouldbeamorehabitableplace.Atruegentleman,anythinghehad,healwaysgavetheweak.Hewantedtobeatpeaceandpromoteddialogueasthebestweapontofightwarandpromotepeace.”
Duringthethree-yearNigeriancivilwarthatstartedin1967afterBiafrainthesouthbrokeawayanddeclaredindependence,AmadiservedintheNigerianArmythatsuppressedthesecession.SunsetinBiafradrawsonthatexperience.
ElechiAmadiandPriyeIyalla-Amadicelebratetheir25thweddinganniversaryonFebruary8COURTESYOFPRIYEIyalla-Amadi“Thatiswhyheleftthearmy,”Iyalla-Amadisaid.“Hefoundhewasamanofpeace.AssoonasthewarwasfinishedandNigeriawon,heleft.”
Inspiteofhisfame,Amadiremainedaccessible.“Evenafteraweekofhispassingon,Ihavebeenreceivingguestswhoarecomingtooffertheircondolences,”shesaid.
Whentheritualsareconcluded,abookcontainingtributestoAmadiwouldbebroughtout.Shealsoplanstolaunchafoundationinhisname.
“Thefoundation’sworkwouldbetopromoteliterature,especiallytoencouragenewwriters,”IyallaAmadisaid.“Hehadacreativewritingschool.Thatwouldbepartofthefoundation.”
SheisalsoplanningtotranslateTheConcubineintoFrench.AseniorlecturerattheIgnatiusAjuruUniversityofEducation,sheisaprofessionaltranslatoraswellwhofocusesonFrenchandtheYorubalanguage.“Idiscusseditwithhimbutnevergotaroundtostartingthetranslation,”shesaid.
TheConcubinewasmadeintoafilmbydirectorAndyAmenechiandreleasedin2007.Amadi’sexecutorsareopentofilmoffersfortheothernovels,providedtheproposersarecredibleandresponsible.
AmadihadlovedtravelingandtouredEuropeandNorthAmerica.WhileanothercelebratedAfricanwriter-AndreBrinkfromSouthAfrica-hadvisitedShanghaitoattendthecity’sannualliteraryfestival,AmadididnotsetfootinChina.“HedidnotcometoAsia,”Iyalla-Amadisaid.
Championingwomen
ShecallshimAfrica’sfirstfeminist.Therearegeneralreasonsaswellasaspecificoneforthat.
“Healwayssupportedthecauseofwomen,”shesaid,adding:“Hegavemefullsupportformyfight.”
Shewasreferringtoanincidentin2009thatbecameacausecelebre.ShehadappliedforaninternationalpassportandwastoldbyNigeriaImmigrationService(NIS)thatbeingamarriedwoman,shewouldneedtosubmitaletterofconsentfromherhusband.
OutragedthatNISregardedmarriedwomenasminorsrequiringconsentfromthefamilyhead,shesuedthemandinJune2009,thepresidingjudgecalledtheNISrequirementdiscriminatoryandunconstitutional.
PriyeIyalla-AmadithenutteredtheepitaphforElechiAmadi:“Myhusbandhasachievedimmortalitythroughhisworksandgooddeeds.Hisspiritstillliveson.”CA