Tina, wife of the late Art Editor of The Vanguard, Macphillips Nwachukwu, inspires a memorial lecture and book project in his honour, AKEEM LASISI writes
Family, colleagues and friends of deceased Arts Editor of The Vanguard newspapers, Mr. Macphillips Nwachukwu, are set to honour him, a year after his departure.
A writer and poet, Nwachukwu died at Golden Cross Hospital, Festac Town, Lagos, after suffering a choking cough in the early hours of Sunday, September 29, 2013, at the age of 47.
While his passing had evoked widespread grief, planning has reached an advanced stage for the maiden edition of the Mcphilips Nwachukwu’s Memorial Lecture, billed to hold on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
A statement signed by Mr. Ben Njoku of The Vanguard indicates that the lecture will be delivered by culture activist, Mr. Toyin Akinoso, under the theme, “Influence of arts and Culture reporting towards Nation Building: The Mcphilips’ example”.
It will also witness the presentation of Nwachukwu’s collection of poems, ‘So Long a Night (Revised Edition).’
The event will be chaired by the publisher of The Vanguard, Uncle Sam Amuka, while the book will be reviewed by Lagos-based writer, Toni Kan.
According to Njoku, the brain behind the programme is the widow of the deceased, Mrs. Tina Nwachukwu.
“She says she intends to use the event to immortalise the name of her late husband, adding that all the proceeds from the book launch will be channelled towards setting up a foundation in his memory,” he adds.
The event is being packaged by a group called ‘Friends of Late Mcphillip Nwachukwu in the Arts’, in collaboration with Arts Writers Organisation of Nigeria.
In a review, one of Macphillips friends and colleagues, Sunny Ayewanu, notes that the deceased was a good friend of his, saying the friendship started sometime in 1998 and blossomed till his death in 2013.
Ayewanu says, “I still recall the first encounter. I had gone to The Vanguard newspaper head office in Kirikiri, Apapa, Lagos to submit an article for publication. After I had finished discussing with Obi Nwakanma who was the Arts editor then, Nwachukwu was introduced to me.
“As I wanted to speak he said curtly, ‘I know you.’ He then went on to narrate how he had followed my literary activities then as the President of the Association of West African Writers, while he was at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
“He also recalled how he had sent a couple of poems to the association for an anthology we wanted to publish some years back, but his poems were not selected then.
“He told me with a tinge of nostalgia and regret, but he quickly added that I sent a ‘nice’ letter to him (like I did to others) explaining why we couldn’t include his poems I had laughed holding, his hand. That encounter actually started our friendship, and as fate would have it, I was going to be the first publisher to publish his works in book form.
“Publishing Nwachukwu happened in a rare circumstance and it came with an emotional spin. He had taken very ill in 2005. After he returned from the hospital, he asked me to see him at home. He pulled out a couple of loose sheets and handed them over to me. They were poems. His poems. He wanted me to study, select and collect them under a title. ‘Sunny, please make sure you publish them for me’, Nwachukwu said soberly, his eyes misty.”
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