President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of Nigerian novelist and publisher, Dillibe Onyeama, the first black person to complete his study at Eton College, London, who died recently at the age of 71.
Buhari joins them, the literary community in Nigeria, as well as the government and people of Enugu State in mourning Onyeama’s legacy of courage expressed robustly in his published memoirs and novels, including Nigger at Eton, which mirrors the ills of racial injustice in the society.
This was disclosed in a statement by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The President salutes the lifelong commitment of the journalist and creative writer in inspiring a new generation of writers eager to throw a positive light on the rich cultures and heritage of people of African descent and the many invaluable contributions they make around the world.
Noting that the world is making progress in addressing racism due to the writings of literary icons like Onyeama, the President is pleased that Dillibe continued in the family tradition of exemplary service to the nation, walking in the footsteps of his father and eminent jurist, Charles Dadi Onyeama, the first-ever Nigerian judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague and younger brother, Geoffrey, who has equally maintained an unwavering sense of duty as Nigeria’s foreign minister for the past seven years.
Buhari, however, prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the departed and comfort for those who mourn.