This is to my family
Do not take me to a mortuary,
Do not take me to a church,
Whether I die in or out of town,
But take me home to my own, and
To lines and tunes, tested on the waves
Of time, let me lie in my place
On the Kiagbodo River.
If Moslems do it in a day,
You certainly can do it in three,
Avoiding blood and waste,
And whatever you do after,
My three daughters and my son
By the only wife I have,
Do not fight over anything
I may be pleased to leave behind.
That was vintage JP Clark in one of his collection of poems titled “Full Tide”. Simple, humble, modest, frank and straightforward, yet iconic in his poetry, didactic in his drama and legendary in his contribution to scholarship, literature and the independence struggle in Nigeria. After dominating the literary landscape for over five decades and being a source of pride to the famous Clark brothers of Delta state, the very thoughtful JP knew his death alone would be a massive loss to the literary world and family, so he didn’t want his people to incur the extra loss of spending a fortune to bury him with all that ceremonies that go into the burial rites of African big men. That was why he mandated them to just take his remains to his ancestral abode, so he can enjoy eternal rest with his forebears in the aquatic splendour of the equally iconic Kiagbodo river.
With the passing of the celebrated poet and dramatist, the rank of the so-called three musketeers of early Nigerian literature has again reduced by one, leaving Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, as the last man standing. Their personal relationship, joint activism in the independence struggle and choice of each of the three genres of literature really made the trio iconic. While Clark found solace in poetry with occasional forays into drama and stage plays, Africa’s greatest storyteller, Chinua Achebe, who joined his ancestors in 2013, chose prose and the ageless Soyinka remains the dramatist extraordinaire. The trio were also among the most famous products of the Mbari-club, domiciled at the University of Ibadan for grooming socially committed writers. The club which was founded by Prof. Ulli Beier was the convergent point for several other Nigeria’s literati such as Christopher Okigbo, Francis Ademola, Demas Nwoko, Mabel Segun, Uche Okeke among others.
JP Clark’s love for poetry stood him out remarkably as he poured his hearts into those memorable lines and stanzas and all and sundry felt the weight of his genius. Be it on white colonialism, Biafra war, nature, social, political or economic injustice, Clark in his poems poured his hearts and sentiments out and brilliantly captured the essence of our being and the sacredness of our humanity. In the classroom, the professor of African Literature taught with clarity and efficiency, passing down the greatness and uniqueness of African cultures, myths and mythology to thousands of his fortunate students and down to many generations.
By refusing to join the bandwagon into politics or governance or other vocations and sticking to his literary lane, Clark showed the world how not to be complicated. In a reference to his friend, Okigbo, a renowned young poet who died fighting on the side of the Biafra during the civil war, Clark famously said in a 1970 interview that:
“This is where I find it personally disturbing that some of my friends — some of my own kind — do not seem to be satisfied with their own role of writing and would rather become soldiers and politicians, preferring to play roles other than the one that they are good at and recognised for.”
Born in Kiagbodo, Burutu local government area of Delta state on April 6, 1935, John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo came from a family of legends and national icons. His younger brother, Major-General Henry Udumebrayen Clark was the Military Secretary and had a glorious career in the Army before retirement. He died in October 2019, two days to his 71st birthday. Their elder brother, Ambassador Blessing Akporode Clark, was a hugely successful career diplomat who once served as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He celebrated his 90th birthday in April and he’s still going strong. Their eldest brother is Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, former Federal Commissioner for Information and frontline Ijaw leader who is 93 and is still very sharp in intellect and physique.
JP Clark began his education at the Native Primary School in Okrika. He proceeded to the Government College, Ughelli and later University of Ibadan where he studied English. While at the University, Clark started as a writer and journalist. He edited a couple of publications including ‘The Beacon’ and ‘The Horn’.
Upon graduation in 1960, he was hired as an officer at the ministry of information. Between 1961 and 1962, he was head of features and editorial writer for the Daily Express, in Lagos. He was a research fellow at the University of Lagos from 1964 to 1966, and was professor of African literature and instructor in English from 1966 to 1985.
“I lived in Ibadan for years. I went to the University College Ibadan from 55 to 60. I worked with the late Chief AYK at the ministry of information for a year or more before Chief Olubanjo invited me to come to Daily Express as features editor and editorial writer. Ibadan has a special place for me, and in my life. After Ibadan, I came to Lagos and spent all my life. Ibadan was part of me,” he had said in an interview.
A lot has been said and written about JP’s intellectual prowess, creativity, gift of imagination and patriotism but not much about his pragmatism and that Ijaw sense of radicalism. In a typical Machiavellian fashion, JP had to elope with Ebun Odutola, a colleague and neighbour who had just returned to the country from the UK to teach at the Premier University. The young lady is from the aristocratic Odutola family in Ijebu and the couple thought her strict, Muslim parents won’t let her marry a relatively unknown Ijaw colleague from an unknown, distant Niger Delta village. The adventurous lovebirds simply ran to Cotonou in Benin Republic, got married and returned to Ibadan to continue their normal lives as if nothing happened. They didn’t announce their union until three months later. They stuck together and their made-in-heaven love survived all the trials and consequences of their bizarre marriage. They lived together happily until JP died recently leaving her with their three daughters and a son.
Clark wrote a lot of poems, plays and novels for which his readers and students will never forget. He penned “America, their America”, a personal recollection of his time at Princeton University in the United States. Among his most memorable poems were “Abiku” “The Casualties” etc. The former, a tribute to one major cultural belief which many still see as a myth – the phenomenon of a child who keeps ‘coming and going’ and causing untold pains to the parents. The latter, a sad recollection of the events of the Nigerian civil war. In the poem, Clark believes all Nigerians and the whole of mankind are casualties including the present generation of youths who are now suffering from police and army brutality and other forms of state-backed oppression.
From “Mbari”, “A Reed in the Tide”, “State of the Union”, to “Mandela” and other poems, the recurring themes across Clark’s works include colonialism, institutional corruption, inhumanity and of course, the beauty of nature.
One of his most famous plays was ‘The Raft’. His readers have wondered What the four characters represent, maybe according to veteran columnist, Sam Omatseye, the four big tribes of Nigeria, including his own Ijaw? “He had said it was just about life. Who were the two who seemed to survive? Did they survive having ploughed into the fog? Was it a prediction of the Nigeria to come? He wrote it in the heady days of the young nation? Was it about our civil war, the throes of ethnic division, the fragility of our union, the journey of a nation adrift?,” Omatseye asked in a recent tribute to the late literary legend.
In another celebrated play, “The song of the Goat”, Clark wove a tragic story of impotence and failure of virility, a projection of a nation where ritual and bloodhounds of ego fail.
His 1991 play, “The Wives’ Revolt” tells the story of a Niger Delta community that received a payout from an oil firm drilling in its land. It turns out that the money eventually stokes the flame of revolution in the town. The money is to be shared in three places — elders, men and women.
Unlike Achebe, Soyinka and more recently, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, many believe Clark is not celebrated enough by the global audience. Some analysts put this down to his obsession with poetry which has a special audience. But considering the fact that he also did a lot of wonderful plays, other observers believe this may be due to Clark’s unassuming nature. Clark was a writer and scholar who did a lot and did not brother to seek credit for his excellence from mortals.
In what may have been his last major outing, Clark presented the ThisDay ‘Woman of the Decade’ award to Chimamanda in February. While receiving the award, the delighted writer had this to say: “JP Clark’s poetry means a lot to me – and to my character Obinze in AMERICANAH! Thank you to Thisday Newspapers for naming me ‘woman of the decade’. I am delighted to have the award presented by JP Clark.”
Having spent the last few years of his eventful and successful life reminiscing about life and death and the challenges of old age, Clark eventually passed on, on October 13 2020. In strict adherence to his wishes, his body was never taken to any church or mortuary and he was buried in Kiagbodo three days later without any fanfare.
The celebrated poet and dramatist may have finally dropped his pen and joined his ancestors near his beloved Kiagbodo river, his works, his dreams for better Nigeria and his admonition for a less docile citizenry that holds the government accountable, will abide with us forever.
Adios JP.