SYNW mourns the passing of Prof. Pius Adesanmi

SYNW MOURNS THE PASSING OF PROF. PIUS ADESANMI

The Society of Young Nigerian Writers (SYNW) on Monday joined other Nigerians to mourn the death Prof. Pius Adesanmi. Prof. Pius Adesanmi, was among the 157 passengers and crew members that died in a plane crash on Sunday. The Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on Sunday morning shortly after leaving Addis Ababa for Nairobi in Kenya. 

A press release signed by Mr. Wole Adedoyin and Mr. Izunna Okafor, SYNW National President and National Secretary on Monday, said they received the news of the death of the literary giant with shock and pray that his soul should rest in eternal peace.

SYNW National President, Mr. Wole Adedoyin described the death of Prof. Pius Adesanmi as shocking and monumental loss to Nigerian Literary Circle and the academics.

It would be recalled that the Late Prof. Pius Adesanmi was our Keynote speaker during the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) 30^th International Convention which took place in Uyo, the state capital of Akwa-Ibom in 2012 during the presidency era of Prof. Remi Raji. Prof. Pius Adesanmi delivered paper on the theme “What Does Nigerian Literature Secure”.

The release further described the deceased, who was a widely cited commentator on African politics, literature, and culture. Adesanmi taught African literature and African cultural studies in the English and French Departments at the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.  Before he joined Carleton University in 2006, he was an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, from 2002-2005.

The literary body also expressed their condolences to the family, Carleton University and to the people of the pen community for the loss of the literary icon.