Nigeria’s foremost intellectual hub , the Uyo Book Club will, on Sunday, August 6, 2023, hold a Special Reading Session to celebrate the 75th birthday of ace journalist, Ray Ekpu.
The Ukanafun born world renowned journalist is one of the respected members and drivers of the Book Club initiative focused on re – awakening and promoting the culture of reading in th xze Akwa Ibom State.
The event, to hold at Watbridge Hotel, Uyo, according to the founder of the Club, Dr Udeme Nana, in a statement in Uyo, “will have as theme, Timeless Essays of a Quintessential Public Intellectual” with members of the club reading and reviewing the essays of the renowned columnist, prolific writer and wordsmith.”
The statement further notes that ” Ray Ekpu embodies the resilient and courageous spirit of creative writing and journalism, two vocations which are at the forefront of seeking answers to the myriads of developmental questions facing the nation, and who has, fearlessly, used his Essays, through his columns in national newspapers to fight for justice, equity, freedom and good leadership.”
“Celebrating Ray Ekpu is also celebrating the braveness and gutsiness of a man who was jailed six times by four different governments and who was equally tried for murder and mutiny for the only ‘crime’ of deploying his pen in defense of the truth,” part of the statement also read.
“It’s high time Akwa Ibom people start celebrating their heroes in their lifetime,” Dr Nana concluded in the statement.
Expected at the event are Patron of the Club, Senator Ekong Sampson, Member representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam in the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Unyime Idem, Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ini Ememobong, former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Aniekan Umanah, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Anietie Usen and former Editor of National Concord, Mr Nsikak Essien among other friends and well wishers.
Born on August 6, 1948, Ekpu, the former Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Communications Ltd, is a recipient of several honours and awards, including that of International Editor of the Year ( 1987), Outstanding Young Person of the World (1988), Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) Lifetime Achievement Award ( 2018) and Vanguard TV Man of the Year Award (2022).
A former President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, Ekpu served as Editor, Nigerian Chronicle, Editor, Sunday Times and Chairman, Editorial Board, Concord Newspapers before partnering with the late Dele Giwa, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed to establish Newswatch in 1985.