Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo (1932–1967) was not just a poet but a revolutionary spirit, a man whose words carried as much weight as his actions. Renowned as one of the most distinguished postcolonial African poets writing in English, Okigbo remains a major modernist figure of the 20th century. His life was tragically cut short in battle, but his poetry endures, embodying his artistic vision and unwavering commitment to the independence of Biafra.
Early Life and Education
Born on August 16, 1932, in Ojoto, near Onitsha, Okigbo grew up in a Catholic missionary household, where his father worked as a teacher under British colonial rule. Despite this Christian upbringing, he nurtured a deep spiritual connection to his ancestral Igbo traditions, believing himself to be the reincarnation of his maternal grandfather, a priest of Idoto, the river deity of his village. This mystical belief profoundly influenced his poetry, with the river goddess Idoto becoming a central motif in his work.
Another major influence in his life was his elder brother, Pius Okigbo, who later became one of Nigeria’s most respected economists and the country’s first ambassador to the European Economic Commission (now the European Union).
Okigbo attended Government College, Umuahia, a prestigious institution that also produced literary giants like Chinua Achebe and Elechi Amadi. He stood out as an avid reader, an exceptional athlete, and a multi-talented artist. In 1951, he enrolled at University College, Ibadan, initially to study Medicine before switching to Classics, a discipline that exposed him to Greek and Latin literature, shaping his modernist poetic style.
He was also a skilled pianist, performing alongside Wole Soyinka during the latter’s first public musical performance. While he is believed to have composed original music during this time, none of his compositions have survived.
Career and Literary Development
After graduating in 1956, Okigbo took up various jobs across Nigeria, including positions at the Nigerian Tobacco Company, United Africa Company, and Fiditi Grammar School, where he taught Latin. However, his most significant literary phase began when he became Assistant Librarian at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
At Nsukka, he helped establish the African Authors Association and started publishing poetry in prominent journals such as Black Orpheus, a platform dedicated to showcasing African and African-American literary works.
While his poetry often reflected postcolonial African nationalism, Okigbo was a vocal critic of Négritude, dismissing it as a romanticized, reductive vision of African identity. His rejection of the idea of a shared literary consciousness between Africans and African Americans put him at odds with many of his contemporaries.
In 1966, at the World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, he famously refused to accept the first prize in African poetry, stating:
“There is no such thing as a Negro or black poet. Poetry is poetry.”
In 1963, he left Nsukka to become West African Representative for Cambridge University Press in Ibadan, a position that facilitated his travels to the United Kingdom, where he gained further international recognition.
During this period, he became deeply involved with the Mbari literary club in Ibadan and completed some of his most celebrated works, including:
- Limits (1964)
- Silences (1962–65)
- Lament of the Masks (1964) – A Yoruba-style praise poem honoring the centenary of W. B. Yeats’ birth.
- Dance of the Painted Maidens (1964) – Written to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Obiageli, whom he believed to be the reincarnation of his mother.
- Path of Thunder (1965–67) – His final, highly prophetic work, published posthumously in 1971.
- Labyrinths (1971) – His magnum opus, incorporating poems from earlier collections.
Biafra and Death in Battle
By 1966, as political tensions escalated in Nigeria, Okigbo left Ibadan and relocated to eastern Nigeria, where he awaited the outcome of the crises that eventually led to the secession of Biafra on May 30, 1967.
In Enugu, he partnered with Chinua Achebe to establish Citadel Press, a publishing house aimed at nurturing new African literary voices.
However, when Biafra declared independence, Okigbo abandoned his literary career and enlisted in the Biafran Army as a field-commissioned major. He fought with remarkable bravery, determined to defend his homeland.
In September 1967, he was killed in action while defending Nsukka, the university town where he had first discovered his poetic voice and which he had vowed to protect. He was only 35 years old.
Just weeks before his death, a Nigerian air raid destroyed his hilltop home in Enugu, reducing several unpublished manuscripts to ashes. Among these was Pointed Arches, an autobiographical work he had described to his biographer, Sunday Anozie, as a personal reflection on the experiences that had shaped his poetic imagination.
Despite this tragic loss, some of his unpublished works survived, including drafts of Anthem for Biafra and several poems written in Igbo.
These were inherited by his daughter, Obiageli, who, in 2005, established the Christopher Okigbo Foundation to preserve and promote his literary legacy.
Legacy and Influence
Though his life was cut short, Christopher Okigbo’s poetry remains immortal. His works continue to influence generations of African poets and scholars, standing as a testament to his unrelenting quest for artistic excellence and national liberation.
His fusion of modernist techniques with Igbo mythology, his bold rejection of racial literary categorizations, and his uncompromising stance on cultural identity make him one of Africa’s most compelling literary figures.
In death, Okigbo transcended the role of poet to become a symbol of artistic sacrifice and patriotism, a man who not only wrote about freedom but died fighting for it.
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