Henry Akubuiro
The body of Ikeogu Oke, the winner of the 2017 NLNG-sponsored The Nigeria Prize for Literature, who died on the 24 November, 2019, will be laid to rest on March 30, 2019, at Akanu Ohafia, Abia State, according to a statement released by the family, signed by Kalu Oke Ikeogu.
A vigil will be held at Chief Imo Ikeogu’s Pavilion, Ugwuaffia Layout, Akanu Ohafia, on Friday May 29, 2019.the next day, Saturday, March 30, 2019, according to the release, the body will lay in state for songs, prayers and tributes by 11am, while interment will be at his country home, Ugwuaffia Layout, Akanu Ohafia, at 1pm.
The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) will have a Festival of Life on the eve of the burial on the 29th March, 2019, during the vigil, where the poetic book of tributes, For Ikeogu, For Poetry, published by the Association and edited by Denja Abdullahi and Ofonime Inyang, will be unveiled.
The collection of 51 poems on the poet, written by both old and young Nigerian poets, was published in February 2019 after a call for submission in December, 2018, for poems in honour of the departed poet.