Nigerian born Pius Adesanmi, a Writer and Professor of English and African Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada was amongst the 157 passengers who lost their lives in tragic Ethiopian Airline crash on March 10, outside Addis Ababa.
Minutes before the plain took off, The 47-year-old director of its Institute of African Studies in Canada left a powerful message on his Facebook page that read.
“I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me – Psalm 139:9-10”
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me – Psalm 139:9-10
Posted by Pius Adesanmi on Saturday, March 9, 2019
Since the tragic plane crash, loved ones, colleagues and fans he has accumulated over the years went on his Facebook page to mourn and express their shock, they all said goodbye and left a prayer for the well-loved professor who worked consistently for humanity and for the better of Nigerians.
Adesanmi was described as a sparkplug, a charismatic and gregarious man with “an irrepressible sense of fun and a razor-sharp wit.” He was an engaging storyteller, a sought-after international speaker and a good husband and father to his wife, Muyiwa, and daughters, Damilare, 12, and Tise, 7. He was, in the words of Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada Adeyinka Asekun, “a man with a large heart who always wanted things to be better.”
Pius was known an internationally-acclaimed winner of the inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing in the non-fiction category in 2010. He has also won the poetry prize of the Association of Nigerian Authors
His Books Includes;
- The Wayfarer and Other Poems (Oracle Books, Lagos; 2001)
- You’re Not a Country, Africa (Penguin Books; 2011)
- Naija No Dey Carry Last (Parrésia Publishers; 2015)
May his soul rest in peace.
