Poet and polemicist, Odia Ofeimun, has paid glowing tributes to the late renowned poet and Emeritus Professor of Literature, Prof John Pepper Clark, saying he contributed greatly to giving poets in the country sense of importance in the practice of their vocation.
Ofeimun stated this in his tribute to Clark, who died on Tuesday morning.
He said the late poet and retired varsity don would forever be remembered for making poetry a serious vocation and giving it “a mark of distinction” for all those involved to be proud of being part of it.
According to the poet, “JP Clark will always be remembered for taking poetry very seriously and making it a mark of distinction for anyone to be addressed as a poet.”
Ofeimun said that Clark, along with his friends – Christopher Okigbo, late Prof Chinua Achebe and Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka- made Nigeria the envy of other Africans and the world through their literary creativity.
He further stated that Clark as a writer never abandoned his post as he was always “producing, in good and bad times,” adding that his loyalty to literature as a vocation was phenomenal.
Ofeimun wrote, “JP Clark has been one of the big four, the quartet that gave Nigeria to the world as a land of literature. With his friends, Christopher Okigbo, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, he stood as a pathfinder for literary creativity, making Nigeria the envy of other Africans and the world.
“He never abandoned his post as a writer. He was always producing, in good and bad times. No season passed without a new play or collection of poems coming from him.
“His loyalty to literature as a vocation has been quite phenomenal.
“Although quite self-effacing, he was also quite a prime mover and activist. He was the other friend who went with Christopher Okigbo to bring Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna back home from Ghana to face the music after the failure of the January 15, 1966 coup.
“He organised his other colleagues, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka to meet General Babangida to plead mercy for Major General Mamman Vatsa, after the aborted coup for which the latter was executed.
“JP Clark was a Poet and dramatist who never allowed himself to be distracted from his chosen vocation. He let his poetry and plays speak for him. He was quite an exemplar in this regard, deserving every accolade from a worshipful younger generation.
“He treated critics and admirers with magisterial distancing. As one of his well-known critics, I am obliged to report that he was generally a very civil elder who did not over-demonstrate his likes and dislikes.
“He was a balanced Homer who did justice to his Ijaw roots and Niger Delta provenance.
“A very unapologetic Nigerian, he wished, in his own way, for true justice for every citizen.
“All his life, he enjoyed a special halo as a writer. He received the National Merit Award as proof of the respect of his colleagues. It makes it simply insignificant that he was not given a National honour.
“JP Clark will always be remembered for taking poetry very seriously and making it a mark of distinction for anyone to be addressed as a poet.
“Even in these times of the pandemic, he deserves a truly festive send-off. May his soul rest in perfect peace.”