By Amos Odeh
All is now set for the public presentation and launch of a book in honour of Chief Seiyifa Koroye in commemoration of his retirement from the academia as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Studies, University of Port Harcourt.
The event scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, 2019, holds at the King Kpadia Mein Memorial Pavilion in Toru-Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The over 400-paged festchrift titled: “Ripples of Genius: Essays in Honour of Seiyifa Koroye” is to be reviewed by Professor of Literature now in the University of Africa, Toru Orua, Godini Darah.
His Royal Majesty, the Pere of Tarakiri, Richardford Koroye, shall be the Royal Father of the day.
Organized under the auspices of the Seiyifa and Grace Koroye Foundation, the occasion is to be chaired by former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Joseph Ajeinka, while Emeritus Professor Ebiegberi Alagoa is the Guest of Honour and Governor Seriake Dickson shall be the Special Guest.
The book, made up of over 50 articles written by seasoned academics from various disciplines – spanning varied topics in Language, Literature, and the Liberal Arts – is a collector’s item – rich in form and content.
In a pre-event interaction with our correspondent, the celebrant, Chief Koroye, recalled how in 1969, fifty years ago, a similar celebration was held in his Honour in Toru Orua, his country home, when at the age of eighteen, he won the John F. Kennedy Memorial Essay Competition for Secondary Schools – all the way from the United States – to the delight of his kinsmen who joined him to drink from the Silver Ware Trophy.
Chief Koroye called on all well wishers to attend this epoch event as it promises to be a refreshing time for all invitees including his ormer colleagues from the University of Port Harcourt who are billed to grace the occasion and give goodwill presentations.