The 50th Birthday of Professor Sunday Enessie Ododo of the University of Maiduguri will be celebrated with a public presentation of a festschrift in his honour, titled: A Gazelle of the Savannah: Sunday Ododo and the Framing of Techno-Cultural Performance in Nigeria, and three of his latest creative works.
Making this known to the public in a press release, the National Celebration Committee stated that the volume was edited by three outstanding scholars, Osakue Omoera, Sola Adeyemi and Benedict Binebai.
The release, signed by Chief Tunde Olusunle, and made available to Nico News in Abuja, stated that there will be an evening of Creative Entertainment at the Gamji Hotels and Suites, Nagazi-Okene, along Lokoja Road, on the 19th October, 2012, by 5-7pm, followed by a public presentation of a festschrift in his honour, titled: A Gazelle of the Savannah: Sunday Ododo and the Framing of Techno-Cultural Performance in Nigeria, at the College Auditorium of the Federal College of Education, Okene, along Lokoja Road, Kogi State, on Saturday, 20th October, 2012, by 10.30am.
Three of Ododo’s latest creative works shall also be presented to the public; and it will be followed by a reception and cultural entertainment for guests, all under the distinguished anchorage of Alhaji Sanusi Abubakar, of Gamji Limited, Abuja.
The statement added that on Sunday, 21st October, 2012, a thanksgiving service will hold to commemorate the birthday at the ECWA Church, Idare Street, Okene, by 10.30am.
Emphasizing that Professor Ododo, fondly called, Sunnie, deserves the big celebration, the release described him as a cultural icon and an intellectual giant, who is industrious and has unquestionable creative talent, with prolific landmarks in theatre and literary scholarship.
Urging all the friends, associates and colleagues of Professor Ododo, which include university teachers, Nigerian writers, playwrights, poets, novelists, directors, actors, filmmakers, civil servants, culture administrators, and cultural attaches, to grace these events, the release asserted: “When stars gather around a megastar, illumination becomes the phenomenon. We shall gather and tell the story of the luminary and erudite scholar. Sunnie is a scholar-artiste who has contributed notably to the growth of scholarship and creativity in Africa, particularly in the Nigerian theatre and literary landscapes. His commitment to scholarship has enhanced the academic life of his generation and has positively impacted on his students and younger academic colleagues. He stands out as an exemplary intellectual who occupies the prestigious gulf between the old and the younger generation of scholars. This marks him as a golden viaduct between these categories of people. A situation in which scholars and creative writers naturally declare their support to give immense academic honour to one of their own is a clear signal of intellectual solidarity, national literary and academic honour. Sunday Ododo is a professor of distinction and a true Nigerian academic patriot, a polyglot and a multi-talented artiste. As a playwright he has made an impact, as a poet he is celebrated and as a master of technical theatre and theatre technology his footprints are engraved. He has travelled across the creeks and crannies of the academe to the deepest dominion of rare scholarship.”
Nwagbo Nnenyelike
Corporate Affairs