Elechi Amadi, the veteran writer and author has been described with different names by various people. The Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has described him as “a soldier and poet, captive of conscience, human solidarity and justice.”

He furthered that although the writer has passed on, but his creative works would serve as a consolation to many “honouring its faithful servitors and filling us with gratitude for their passage.”

“I recall those enraged, agonizing hours when the peace and sanctuary of his home were violated by kidnappers, mulled over the treasured moments I spent with him in the intimacy of his living room,” said Mr. Soyinka, a Professor of Comparative Literature.

“It seemed unconscionable that, having survived a Civil War, he should now be subjected to the sadism, disrespect and greed of a handful – and of course, of the failure of overall society that he took to arms to rectify.

“Far from his home, I quietly celebrated his triumphal return. Now there are only memories of those sparse but quietly congenial interactions to celebrate.

“I remain appreciative for the instinctive rapport that marked our encounters, public or private.”

Mr. Amadi died at the age of 82 in Port Harcourt of an undisclosed illness.