Evelyn Osagie: Colleagues, friends pay celebratory tribute at NIJ, Lagos September 19
* ‘The singer has left now, alas, but long live the song,’ says Niyi Osundare
By Anote Ajeluorou
HER colleagues in journalism, performance art, friends and admirers alike will pay last respect to Evelyn Eseoghene Osagie (1975 – 2025) who sad passing has cast a pall of mourning in the culture community since the news broke on August 17, 2025. They will gather tomorrow at 4.00pm, September 19, 2025 at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos and celebrate the passing of a star who shone brightly, though briefly, both in her journalism career and artistic vocation to the admiration of all who encountered her. Osagie’s sad and untimely passing after a brief illness threw Nigeria’s culture community into mourning, leaving many to fondly remember her unique performance artistry and ubiquitous culture journalism.
A graduate of English and Literature from the University of Benin, Benin City, Osagie’s career in journalism at The Nation newspaper and performance aesthetics have left enduring imprint in Nigeria’s culture space. Beyond journalism and performance, Osagie is also fondly remembered for her love for photography and adire textile art that she’d fallen in love with and had begun to make serious inroad. Fondly self-styled ‘Evelyn D’Poet’ as stage title, Osagie’s restless spirit compressed time and activity into one fistful of immersive artistic adventure that defined her 47 years of existence on mother earth.
As her colleagues gather to celebrate her life that has been one long ride of artistic voyage, tributes have started pouring in from her admirers and those who encountered her brand of journalism and performance art. Shortly after her passing became public knowledge, her culture journalist colleagues across board, known as Arts and Culture Writers Association of Nigeria (ACWAN) quickly set up a WhatsApp platform to coordinate activities in fond memory of her and support the family she left behind. A memorial site www.forevermissed.com/evelynosagie/about was also set up for those who knew Osagie to also pay tribute.
HoCaretaker Committee Chairman of ACWAN and coordinator of the group, Mr. Tony Okuyeme of New Telegraph newspaper, said, “This group has been created to honour the life and legacy of our dear colleague, Evelyn Osagie, who recently passed on. It will serve as a space to share memories, offer tributes, and coordinate support for the family and memorial arrangements. Let us come together to celebrate a life well lived and extend love to those left behind. We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved friend and journalist, Osagie. Let us use this space to honour Evelyn Osagie’s legacy and stand together in solidarity.”
Evelyn Eseoghene Osagie (1975 – 2025)
In ACWAN’s tribute tagged ‘In Loving Memory of Our Beloved Member, Evelyn Osagie’ and signed by Mr. Okuyeme, the group said, “It is with deep sadness and sense of loss that the Art and Culture Writers Association of Nigeria (ACWAN) announces the passing of our esteemed colleague and member of this noble association, Evelyn Osagie. A cherished voice and inspiring figure within our community, Osagie dedicated her life to celebrating and nurturing the arts, enriching our cultural landscape with her insightful writings, passionate advocacy, spoken word performances, and unwavering commitment.
“Throughout her remarkable career, she touched the hearts of many, inspiring countless artists, writers, arts and culture enthusiasts, fostering a deep appreciation for the arts in various forms. Her legacy is one of creativity, kindness, and an enduring love for cultural expression. As we mourn this tremendous loss, we also honour Evelyn Osagie’s enduring contributions both as arts and culture writers and spoken word artiste. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched. We invite all members and supporters to join us in paying tributes as we remember a truly exceptional individual whose spirit will forever remain in our hearts.”
Distinguished Professor of Global Letters at the University of New Orleans, US, Prof. Niyi Osundare, also paid glowing tribute, enthusing to ‘her irrepressible spirit’ and fondly using her less known middle ‘Esohe’, saying, “The singer has left now, alas, but long live the song.”
“It is not often that we see the multiple capabilities of a journalist, literary critic, poet, poetry curator, poetry’s media promoter, culture advocate, and photographer all rolled together and embodied in one and the same person,” the revered bard, Osundare, said. “But we found that phenomenon in Evelyn Esohe Osagie whose covenant with the word was total and all-embracing. The art community was her home and her haven. The diverse, boundless denizens of that community were her favourite family and faithful friends, her ceaseless inspiration and efficacious antidote against the dry, dreary pathology of the outside world and its philistine propensities.
“Of all her many preoccupations, the one where her path and mine occasionally crossed is poetry, a literary genre she practiced and clamorously promoted; her house of ceaseless dreams and borderless freedom. Evelyn loved the word. She was the kind of poet who played the word by playing with it, one of the ‘pioneers’ of performance poetry before its rise to prominence on the Nigerian stage and digital ubiquity of the screen. Sometimes in her workday attire, occasionally in costume, Esohe performed the word in ways that gladdened the god of poetry, with a personality and presence that sometimes mesmerized her audience. And hers were, unfailingly, poems with relevance and reason; the kind that made virtue beautiful and vice repugnant. The song that reminded rulers in their glittering castle about the unaffordable price of yam in the marketplace. There was/is something ineluctably indigenous in her poetry; some sound and sense that reminded us of the universe in her song. Esohe was at her happiest when she was sharing her poetry; at the top of her bliss whenever she was in the singing mode.
“The singer has left now, alas, but long live the song. For there is something so unforgettable about Esohe, something so remarkable about her irrepressible spirit, her wit and wisdom, her ebullient passion, her boundless energy, her humane and compassionate disposition, her effortless grace, and grudgeless collegiality. Good night, Evelyn!”
In a tribute she titled ‘Evelyn Osagie: Not your everyday journalist’, Betty Abah of CEE-Hope lent credence to Osagie’s unique journalistic craft, saying, “Ms Evelyn Osagie was not a regular journalist. She was a vibrant, creative and selfless soul. A woman passionate about the downtrodden, so passionate she shone like a luminous star and captured our appreciative gaze till the end.
“But she wasn’t about the game, the glitz or the money. With her journalistic craft, she helped amplify our programmes at CEE-HOPE for several years. A unique trait of ‘Evelyn D’Poet’ was to attend our events and without prior arrangement, take over the podium and start an impromptu poetry performance after which she would counsel the excited children. It was a great privilege knowing you, my dear sister Evelyn, and you will be sorely missed by everyone of us blessed to have encountered you. Adieu, my beautiful friend with the sweetest smiles!”
Former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Mallam Denja Abdullahi, who worked closely with her in that office, was no less effusive with his tribute to the sterling journalism career of Osagie.
“She was always travel-ready, rugged, adventurous, resourceful, unfazed by the challenges of the inadequacy of anything and blurted out her words with a ring of smiles and laughter,” he recalled. “After a literary event, when other journalists get back to do just a story, Evelyn would report that same event with multiple, full-bodied features from different angles running for weeks after the event in The Nation newspaper. You would begin to wonder at her insights and eye for details when reading with pleasure her reports of the same event you had attended. She lived the saying of not staying in a single space while watching a dancing masquerade. It was therefore not a surprise when later she won ANA’s Literary Journalist of the year Prize a couple of times, just like other dedicated arts and culture journalists who won the prize before it went defunct later.”
Her colleague and Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists, The Nation Chapel, Mr. Gboyega Alaka, said, “Hard to bid you farewell dear Evelyn. You were a darling to all – a woman of strength and lots of love and compassion. Your dedication to your journalism, poetry and art, and women activism as a whole will remain indelible. Do journey well. The Nation family will always remember you walked this path.”
Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr. John Asein, said of Oasagie, “Evelyn sure touched many lives just as many agencies (including the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) benefitted from her professional work. She was such a selfless workaholic who gave so much of herself to the creative sector and never minding the paltry returns. We owe her memory and her family so much and we must show that her labour is not in vain.”
In her tribute, the CEO of GreenHouse Art Gallery Nigeria and Research Centre, Benin City, Dr. Princess Oghogho Iyase-Odozi, said, “The recent passing of Ms. Evelyn Osagie came to us as a shock and we are pained by her departure in the prime of life. This tribute therefore evokes in us mixed feelings of sadness and gratitude. Sadness, because she has left the stage in her prime and at such a relatively young age, but gratitude also for a life full of stellar accomplishments and deep experiencing.
“We recall with deep appreciation that Evelyn was a key member of our Benin Iconography Exhibition Project Team and participated actively at the opening event on October 26, 2019 in Benin City. She was in her elements and enhanced the brilliance to that occasion: dressed in a full Benin regalia, Evelyn thrilled the audience with her unique poems and intriguing dramatic dance steps. It was such a colourful and memorable occasion to behold.
“Despite having a life-threatening condition for years, Evelyn was zestful and vivacious, always bursting with mirth. Indeed, her playful, cheerful visage belied the torment that she bore within. Evelyn was a truly accomplished lady: a talented performance poet, award-winning journalist, cultural icon and someone of uncommon fortitude. We therefore join her numerous friends and fans in celebrating her at this time of her passing. We wish Evelyn’ family all the help they need to bear her loss with fortitude and grace. Above all, may her soul be granted mercy and repose.”
In a heartfelt ‘Tribute to my Unforgettable Friend’, broadcast journalist, Chioma Opara, said, “This wasn’t our plan. I hold on to what has become your last voice message to me as if my life depends on it. I’ve gone from disbelief and denial to grief and anger — it can’t be true. Evelyn die ke?
“Anytime we talked, it would be for hours, catching up on our triumphs, challenges, and growth in God. Evelyn, you loved God. He was the very air you breathed. You gave sacrificially for the expansion of His kingdom. You were passionate, cerebral, and creative. I kept pushing you to go into Nollywood — you acted and danced so well. Your poetry rendition was heavenly. You were a daring and selfless journalist. Your tie-and-dye creations were novel.
“My lovely friend, your death is difficult to come to terms with. But as you now reside with Jesus — the One you were totally sold out to — may your legacies live on.”
Professor of Fine Art and textile export, Peju Layiwola, at whose feet Osagie learnt textile and wife of legendary poet of the riverine lore, Prof. Ebun Clark, also paid tribute to Osagie. Also, Kindred spirits Akeem Lasisi and Anote Ajeluorou lent poetic tributes, singing their younger colleague home among the star. Lasisi’s ‘A Poet Has Turned into an Eternal Poem’ and Ajeluorou’s ‘Daughter of Edo!’ both ‘…bear testimony to the proficiency of her tireless pen’, as Lasisi sings, with Ajeluorou mournfully ululating, ‘…And the cock is silenced/ Before crowing dawn into being!’
