A CELEBRATION OF HIS WITS: Niyi Osundare's Story.

A renowned and prolific poet ,dramatist,social and literary critic,Niyi Osundare, has been honored as a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans, United States of America.



According the Professor and Chair of the Department of English at the university,Peter Shock, who made the announcement,it “is the highest of the professorships awarded by the university, and is reserved for those who have established a truly distinguished national or international record in scholarship or creative.”

Shock disclosed that the post was last held in 1993 and that Niyi Osundare’s appointment is in recognition of his feats. “Niyi’s appointment as distinguished professor is a fitting tribute to his achievements and stature as a poet, scholar-critic, and teacher,” he said.

The award is the latest for the poet, dramatist and essayist who used to teach at the University of Ibadan.He is a recipient of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize,the Noma Award and the Fonlon/Nichols Award for excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to human rights in Africa amongst several others.He is the author of over 10 volumes of poetry, four plays and numerous articles on literature, language, culture and society.

Niyi Osundare was born in 1947 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.He graduated from the University of Ibadan with a B.A degrees, the University of Leeds (MA) and York University, Canada (PhD, 1979). Previously professor (from 1989) and Head of English (1993–1997) at the University of Ibadan, he became professor of English at the University of New Orleans in 1997. Niyi has a lovely wife Kimi and 3 children, two girls,and a bon .

He has always been a vehement champion of the right to free speech and is a strong believer in the power of words, saying, "to utter is to alter". Osundare is renowned for his commitment to socially relevant art and artistic activism .

Niyi Osundare believes that there is no choice for the African poet but to be political:

"You cannot keep quiet about the situation in the kind of countries we find ourselves in, in Africa. When you wake up and there is no running water, when you have a massive power outage for days and nights, no food on the table, no hospital for the sick, no peace of mind; when the image of the ruler you see everywhere is that of a dictator with a gun in his hand; and, on the international level, when you live in a world in which your continent is consigned to the margin, a world in which the colour of your skin is a constant disadvantage, everywhere you go – then there is no other way than to write about this, in an attempt to change the situation for the better."

To author of the popular poem- "Not My Business" ,I say congratulation for standing out to do your country and the entire Black race very proud.It is not my business to praise you and give you a national honour,so all I could say once and again is-CONGRATS