Dillibe Onyeama, Dies At 71

Famous Nigeria writer, Dillibe Onyeama, is dead.

The death of the 71-year-old was announced by his son, Dillibe Jnr. on his Facebook page on Friday.

Sharing pictures of the deceased, the grieving son stated that he had learnt a lot from his father’s life.

He wrote, “Even though we were far apart, I have never stopped loving you; never stopped thinking about you.

“I’ve learned a lot from your life, your love, and your motivational words. Until we meet in the resurrection morning sweet daddy.

“Go with God. This isn’t goodbye.”

Dillibe Jnr had fondly written about his love for his father and their shared moments. He  wrote, “Even though we were far apart, I have never stopped loving you, never stopped thinking about you.

“I have learned a lot from your life, your love and motivational words. Until we meet in the resurrection morning, sweet daddy, Go with God.”

Regarded as blunt and unsparing in his writings, Onyeama’s factional account of his school days at Eton College, Nigger at Eton, published in 1972 revealed the racial prejudice he underwent in that college, which was  regarded as the world’s most famous public school in the United Kingdom.

The  book not only shook the college , the graphic details of his experience also sent shockwave across the UK.

Dilibe Charles Onyeama was born in 1951 in Enugu and hailed from Eke in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. His father was Justice Dadi Onyeama, Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the 2nd Judge from sub-Saharan Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (1967-76).

His younger brother is Nigeria’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

In January 19, 1965, Onyeama enrolled at Eton and in 1969, he became the first black and person of colour to finish their studies at the British school.

After the publication of ‘Nigger at Eton’ in 1972 by Leslie Frewin, Eton College reacted by banning him from ever visiting the school.

In 2020, Eton College officially apologised to him.

Reacting to the apology, the late Onyeama believed that it occurred as a result of the unprecedented “Black Lives Matter “ protests in the summer of 2020, when 270 towns and cities held anti-racist demonstrations.

The book was republished earlier this year (50 years later!) by Penguin UK Books in its “Black Britain: Writing Back series”, selected by Bernardine Evaristo.

Other books he published include ‘Juju, Secret Society’, ‘Revenge of the Medicine Man’, and ‘Godfathers of Voodoo’.