Writers mourn originator of Stiwanism, Molara Ogundipe

Tributes have started pouring in for leading poet, editor, feminist and activist, Professor Molara Ogundipe, who passed away on Tuesday in her home in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State

Some members of the Nigerian writing community were already in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for the burial of eminent poet, Dr Gabriel Okara, which began last Sunday and ended yesterday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when news of her demise broke on Wednesday.

Aged 78, Ogundipe was one of the leading writers on African feminism, gender studies and literary theory. She was also a social critic celebrated for coining the term STIWA or Social Transformation in Africa Including Women Life.

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Reacting to Ogundipe’s passing, writer and editor, Molara Wood said: “Professor Molara Ogundipe was iconic. Her concept of Stiwanism was a model of feminism for black women, and it remains influential. She made that first name, Molara, resoundingly hers, such that many mistook my byline for hers when I started writing. They thought it had to be her daughter or a pseudonym she was using. Some emails intended for her strayed into my inbox back then, partly because we knew many scholars and writers in common. I always considered it a blessing that I had this illustrious scholar and writer as a namesake.  When I later met her, I found her to be kind and generous.”

The author of Indigo, a collection of short stories, added that “She loved conversation, she could talk on the phone for hours. She encouraged younger writers and thinkers. When we featured an interview with her in NEXT Art & Culture, her energy literally leapt off the page. She was 70 and had not mellowed. I think I titled the piece, Unbowed because to me, that word perfectly encapsulates her. I hope more people will discover her work and engage with her ideas, and that she will take her rightful place among those greats that we perennially celebrate.”

Poet and founder of the Book Buzz Foundation, organiser of the Ake Arts and Book Festival, Lola Shoneyin, also relived her memories of Ogundipe, who had settled in Ijebu Igbo after leaving the University of Port Harcourt where she last taught. She said, “I last saw Prof Molara Ogundipe-Leslie in Port-Harcourt about five years ago. She was every bit as lively as I had imagined she’d be. Who could have imagined that I would meet this woman and that she would take me up on some of the views I’d expressed in interviews. She just rattled on, not knowing that my belly was gurgling with excitement. I don’t remember how many times I said, ‘Yes, ma’.

“A teacher and scholar till the end, Prof Molara Ogundipe-Leslie was always willing to share her ideas and enrich others. Her mind was alive; her words helped open my eyes to a different world of feminism, they taught me to challenge myself. Prof Ogundipe-Leslie wrote with courage, and she lived on her own terms.”

A former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) and founder of the Ebedi Writers Residency, Iseyin, Oyo State, Dr Wale Okediran, described Ogundipe as “feisty pioneer Nigerian feminist, anti-imperialist scholar and activist. She will be remembered for her brilliance and wit and many battles she fought for women’s rights. Prof Ogundipe was among other things, a Fellow of the Ebedi Writers Residency which she attended in 2016. May her soul rest in perfect peace.”

The incumbent ANA President, Denja Abdullahi, said Ogundipe, “will be forever remembered for her feisty critical engagements in bringing out the voices and perspectives of women in African literature. She was also a great African feminist theoretician with her Stiwanism theory. She will remain one of the figures to look up to in her corpus or works as long as the focus remains on the place of women in African and world cultural discourse.”

Born in Lagos to a family of educators and clergy, Ogundipe graduated (BA English Honours) as the first Nigerian with a first-class degree from the University of London. She later earned a doctorate in Narratology (the theory of narrative) from Leiden University, one of the oldest universities in Europe. She taught English Studies, Writing, Comparative Literature and Gender from the perspectives of cultural studies and development at universities in several continents. Her last position was as a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Some of her publications include Sew the Old Days and Other Poems; Re-Creating Ourselves: African Women & Critical Transformations (ed.); Women as Oral Artists (ed. with Carole Boyce-Davies) and ‘Moving Beyond Boundaries.