In Memory of Dr. Pius Adesanmi

I’m thinking of changing my course from Economics to African literature just to feel I will keep remembering the tragic seconds of your plane crash and how you were so spirited to predict your death makes me believe that writers are prophets. Rest on!

Faith Nteogwuija

Prof Pius untimely demise is a great loss to the literary world. He felt passionately about how the geriatric generation of Nigerians facilitated deflowering of the creative genius in young people, especially the African humanity. Prof Pius RIP, yes Return If Possible.

Having graduated from the Master of Arts, English program in 2012 (7-years ago), it’s rare that I look back and reflect on this time. Professor Adesanmi believed in me and my ability to complete this program.

Nothing but encouraging, enlightening and kind; he was one of my references when applying to MA programs. I’ve always appreciated his letter of recommendation and the opportunity to conduct Research for him (as his Research Assistant) during my studies at Carleton. He even reached out to me via LinkedIn a few years ago, just to check in.

No words can describe how saddened I was to hear this tragic news. Always full of laughter and insights, he was extremely passionate about the literature he taught. Pius really encouraged my unique theories (even if my grammar wasn’t always up to snub) and privileged ideas above all else. He will be missed among the Carleton community, I know that for sure.

Sincerely,
Daniela Holmes

May God repose your soul in perfect peace

Anonymous

Your smile and positive energy will be missed. I a so heartbroken by this sad news. I pray that God have mercy on your soul. I hope you have an eternal peace.

Anonymous

In the days since Pius’s death, I’ve been reading. I’ve been reading all the wonderful, heartfelt testimonies that are pouring in here and to the Institute of African Studies. I’ve been reading You’re Not a Country, Africa. None of these words can stand in for the person, who went too soon, but they are certainly evidence of a life lived with conviction, commitment, and love. And a sense of humour! Years ago, I was so tired with babies I couldn’t even find my own office and walked into Pius’s. I sat down before I realized I was in the wrong place. What a great laugh he shared with me. I’ll always be grateful for it.

Jody Mason, Department of English

Your genuine passion, kindness, and dedication will continue to live on in your memory. Words cannot describe the impact of your loss in this world, but your legacy will continue forever. You will be remembered for your brilliant mind, kind soul, and contagious laugh. May you rest in peace, and may those who mourn your loss be comforted in the gift of having been blessed to know you.

Anonymous

Dr. Adesanmi opened my eyes to post-colonial literature as a means to understand the complexities of long-term and far-reaching injustice and how its consequences inform the challenges we continue to face today as we endeavor to right past wrongs, address systemic oppression, decolonize institutions, and envision a more equitable future.

This is important work, and Dr. Adesanmi invited students to engage with it through art, while recognizing the genre’s intimate connection to history and to the world today. I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn from him.

Jasmine Ball

Professor Adesanmi was a great teacher who inspired passion for literature in his students. He will be greatly missed, my sincerest condolences to his family.

A former student

Hmmmm…. Prof Pius Adesanmi, a man with a good and kind heart, even though we never met physically, it was so obvious to see with the way you impacted positively in so many lives in Africa and the world.

I was so speechless for days after your death because we are never ready to say goodbye forever even though we know it is a part of life. This day our hearts are heavy for losing someone so special.

“Death can never take a good man away, for, in the hearts of the people he inspired, the legacy remains and continuous throughout generations. As we mourn your death, we also celebrate your life and we thank God for a life well spent.

May God give the family he left behind the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss and May his soul find eternal rest.

Doyinsola Adeleke

I only got to know about Prof Pius Adesanmi last year though not physically but through the African Doctoral lounge group on Facebook, his kind words and messages he has passed across Africa. After your demise, I got to know you were a colleague of my brother while studying at British Columbia University. You were an incredible professor and of a great personality. I regret not meeting him before his death because I have always hope we will surely meet one day.

Your memory will live on forever Prof Pius Adesanmi.

My thoughts, love and prayers to his family and friends.

Ademola Adeleke
University of South Africa

Sorry, it was a collosal loss, may his gentle soul rest in peace and God grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Mrs Elusogbon NAN

Good night prof. until we meet at the feet of the master.

Anonymous

Your life was short, but impactful!

I still have not been able to come to terms with the fact that you are gone. The impact you made in the little time you spent on this planet will forever be felt. You were such a great inspiration to many of us. Your passion for Nigeria and the rest of Africa was overwhelming. You really left your footprint on the sand of time and your absence will be greatly felt. My thoughts are with your family and loved ones. Continue to rest in peace dear big brother!

Joel Akinwumi

May his soul rest in peace. To the family, so sorry for your loss.

Grace

Very charismatic and knowledgeable. He was a memorable professor. Rest in peace.

Anonymous

It is a great lost to Nigeria and even the world. Rest in peace Prof, May God comfort everyone.

Temitope

Your memory will stay with us forever. Indeed you have left an indelible mark in the lives of young scholars in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Your labour of love shall not be in vain.

Oluwasanmi Oluwaseun

Though I was never privileged to have met this great and vibrant international scholar, I knew him through his friend John Shola while I was the later’s PhD supervisor at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Of course I also knew him through his works that speak resounding volumes. The home going, no doubt is excruciating. I am glad that his legacies remain vocal even after he was “silenced” by the frozen hands of death. I am consoled and comforted that Professor Pius Adesanmi bade humanity a sudden bye bye, gliding gently into eternal divinity with our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Rest on great and brutal academic. Rest on scholar of note. Rest on researcher of immeasurable potentials. Rest on Prof. Rest on my brother that I never met but when we eventually meet we shall part no more. Rest on thou worthy child of the Most High God. When our time is ripe, we shall be where thou art. Hallelujah to Jesus Christ of Nazareth our soon coming King.

Rev’d. Prof. Emmy Unuja Idegu (Head),
Department of Theatre, Film and Carnival Studies,
University of Calabar,
NIGERIA

The air you left behind is thick with mourning
The soil, soaked in tears
If you could listen closely from the stars
You would hear the earth; it wails.

Rest on, Professor Pius.

Dotun Ayobade

A broken and heavy heart has no words, Prof.
You will forever be in our hearts. I pray the Lord comforts your family and everyone else.
Rest on dear Prof.

Anonymous

Talk about a life that is dedicated to service, mentorship, advocacy and decolonisation of knowledge production in Africa, Prof. Pius Adesanmi, certainly would come to mind. His creative pattern of scholarship and interventions in connecting the “gown” with the “town” speaks volume at this time when civic education suffers great setback among Africans, and Nigeria in particular.

He would be missed by many! A great loss to motherland and the world!

Rest, Prof Pius!

Waliu Alao Ismaila

As these comments testify, Pius belonged not only to the English and French Departments and the Institute of African Studies, but to the whole world. He dreamed big and he worked hard to make these dreams come true. His all-too-early death is a huge loss to his students, his colleagues and the world at large. May his dreams for a pan-African community with special ties to Carleton become a reality. He was granted a short life but how radiantly he lived it!

Dana Dragunoiu, Associate Professor, Department of English

Wishing you a peaceful rest! May God watch over those you left behind. AMEN!

Anonymous

Though I have not met the Professor. However, the grieves, accolades, reference to his writings and talks gave me an insight to the great loss of a scholar and man of great virtues. May his soul rest in peace Amen.

Anonymous

Earth loss, heaven gain,may your good works speak for you,God keep and uphold family you left behind, goodnight Pius,God rest your soul.Amen.

Anonymous

Thanks for being generous with your wealth of knowledge, thanks for investing in us, thanks for inspiring us… You remain evergreen in our hears Prof. Adesanmi. You are missed!

Zainab Shallangwa
University of Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Professor Pius Adesanmi was beyond exemplary. Rare, genuine, priceless. We were blessed to have had him. I will miss his mentoring and never say never spirit. I was looking forward to his keynote address in Nigeria later this year but it is not to be. We lost a rare gem!

Abiola Adewuya, Doctoral Student, Nigeria

Dear Prof, thanks for leaving your foot print and thanks for your opinion that comes in handy on topical issues. We love you but God loves you most.
Our prayers are with your beloved especially Tise, mummy Tise and Mama Adesanmi. May God give us the fortitude to bear the loss.

Sun re oo

We have just lost an inspirant scholar and a witty intellectual. I can’t but think of the senegalese poet :

Ceux qui sont morts ne sont jamais partis
Ils sont dans l’ombre qui s’éclaire
Et dans l’ombre qui s’épaissit,
Les morts ne sont pas sous la terre
Ils sont dans l’arbre qui frémit,
Ils sont dans le bois qui gémit,
Ils sont dans l’eau qui coule,
Ils sont dans la case, ils sont dans la foule
Les morts ne sont pas morts.

Rest un peace Puis.

Anonymous

You have run your race. His hand led you on in the wings of that morning. Rest in Him

Anonymous

You have run your race. His hand led you on in the wings of that morning. Rest in Him

Anonymous

Rest in peace prof. Your place in history is assured. You lived your life to impact positively .you will beorely missed by all of us who have been blessed with your life.
Rest on professor pius Adesanmi

Olawale clement
Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Ile ife

proudly Nigerian and greatly trolled as I join millions to mourn a positive story of kogi origin,May God rest his soul

Anonymous

What a real good example you are. A true Nigerian icon you are good teacher to us all, A reminder of how fragile and how brief the passage of life could be. Rest in peace.

Anonymous

You were an inspiration from the day we met. You’ve been such a great role model. I will remember your selflessness and devotion I helping others. Your smile and your great person.
Thank you!
I’ll miss you.

Anonymous

I only met Prof on Facebook but the pain is so real so rude it has left me heartbroken and speechless.

Pius Adesanmi… Let’s see on the Resurrection morning. Till then, you will live in our heart forever.

Anonymous

Professor Pius Adesanmi: Eulogy .

I never met Professor Pius Adesanmi in person, however, he was very much a part of my academic life. I looked forward to his daily commentaries on social media especially the African Doctoral Lounge, a facebook forum for upcoming academics he formed. Since yesterday when it was confirmed that he was on the ill-fated Ethiopian airline crash, I’ve been somewhat devastated. He was a role model I looked up to. Professor Pius Adesanmi was a brilliant academic, a distinguished scholar and world class public intellectual .
He left footprints in the sands of time. I am consoled with the numerous archaeological artefacts he left behind in the form of publications, some of them as late as a day before his passing. Whence cometh another Pius Adesanmi ?

Nwabukwu Azani.

May your brilliant soul rest in peace Prof. Pius. May God’s comfort be with your wife, Tishe, mum and the family. You live on in our hearts and writings. Thanks for giving selflessly to our world. You are an angel sent to make our world a better place. Sleep well Pius Adesanmi.

Anonymous

Rest on peace Pius…none of this makes sense..but trust you are with God watch over your Mum, Wife and Daughter…

Anonymous

[Tribute on www.pada.ug.edu.gh]

The Pan-African Doctoral Academy is devasted to learn of the passing of Pius Adesanmi, professor of English and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University in Canada.

A Carnegie African Diasporan Fellow and PADA faculty, Professor Adesanmi had an intellectual brilliance, an energetic personality, a warmth and wit that made him a wonderful colleague and an outstanding teacher. Such was his commitment to PhD training in Africa that, twice a year, this much sought-after and extremely busy academic travelled to the University of Ghana for the PADA Doctoral Schools to teach ‘Career Development for the Emerging African Scholar’ as well as to run writing clinics for faculty. Indeed, Professor Adesanmi taught at the last Doctoral Schools in January despite having suffered a potentially fatal accident in Nigeria a few months earlier. When we expressed surprise at having him join us in Accra so soon into his recovery, he replied, with his signature laugh, ‘My sister, you know nothing competes with PADA in my calendar!’

In evaluations, PADA participants praised his knowledge, enthusiasm, friendliness and generosity. Clearly, his students loved him and, in turn, Prof. Adesanmi revelled in their accomplishments. Just a week ago, he forwarded to us an email from a delighted PADA alumna who, with his encouragement, had applied for and won an international grant. ‘Thanks so much Prof! I now have the confidence and boldness to try more,’ she wrote.

Professor Adesanmi was a brilliant academic, an engaging public intellectual, a passionate defender of freedom, and a builder of community. There will be many tributes to his life in the coming days but it is doubtful that any can fully capture Professor Adesanmi’s impact on African and global scholarship, and on public discourse about the state of our continent, nor can they adequately describe the place he held in the hearts of so many of us here at PADA and around the world.

We extend our condolences to his family, his colleagues at Carleton University, his friends, students, mentees, and all PADA faculty and alumni.

He will be dearly missed.

Prof. Pius,
May Almighty God grant you eternal rest.

OLA DAYO STEPHEN

Our sincere condolences to you Profesor. Continue to Rest In Peace.

Anonymous

The only time I came across him was on the platform program on October 2015 which was aired by channels television Nigeria. He was one of the invitees who spoke to the audience and I was moved by his words.

May his soul rest in peace! Amen

Anonymous

RIP Prof. Pius, God grant you rest and may He be with the family you left behind Amen.

Dr. Adekola

The untimely demise of Prof Pius Adesanmi in the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight, Sunday March 10, is singularly grievous for me.
Pius Adesanmi didn’t meet me at the University of Ilorin.Indeed, he was like me, also of the primordial Department of Modern European Languages, before the English and French segments of the department were each granted autonomous status, several years after I had left.
He earned a First Class degree in French, seven years after I left Unilorin and rapidly built a formidable globally acclaimed reputation as as a gifted creative writer, a perspicacious literary scholar, a fearless and prolific public commentator and an authentic Nigerian patriot, over the years.
I got to take more than a passing interest in his endeavours with the realisation that we were coincidentally linked by the fact that he was a highly regarded Okunman who came from the same place, Isanlu, Yagba East, Kogi State, with me.
He found reason to highlight and celebrate the traditional essence of our people in his regular public commentaries. He extolled the pristine serenity of Isanlu, where his own father made a name as a frontline educationist, rising to the position of school principal in the foremost secondary school in our place, St. Kizito’s College, among others.
He was an avid connoisseur of fresh natural palmwine who loved the communion of the calabash.
He typically alluded to the inextricable bonds of amity between our people, which harboured no place for religious animosity in any form.
Yagbaland, Okunland, Kogi State and indeed the literary community at home and in diaspora have lost a great mind in his prime.
Nduka Otiono, a writer friend of mine based in Canada visited me in Abuja a few years back. He knew Pius quite well being in the same Nigerian literary cum intellectual community in Canada.
I hosted Nduka to drinks and good music in my place and a few friends came over.
We were in Maitama and Pius, coincidentally was also in Abuja and Nduka wanted us to meet being from the same place.
I remember we spoke on phone (Pius and I) and he sounded like a regular guy, away from the bookworm we had come to associate with him.
He was quite delighted to hear my voice as that Egbon who didn’t grow up in our place but has been altruistic enough to find employment for some of our younger fellas at home and impacted in his own little way on the community.
He couldn’t join us though because he had an appointment in Gwarimpa, another district in Abuja…
That was the closest we came to meeting each.
It is bad enough to lose a compatriot, it is more stinging if the victim is so near home…
Painful, but we can’t question God.
Rest in peace, Pius.

Tunde Olusunle,
Abuja, Nigeria,
(Poet, Journalist and Public Affairs Analyst)

He was one of Africa’s best. May God grant his wife and young daughter the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Anonymous

This is the first time I actually felt very sad and shed a few tears for someone I’ve never met physically, I met you through your articles/writings, I still read an old one today, I was laughing and shedding tears at the same time. You made the whole world happy with your writings, may the angels make you happy in the presence of our maker. Rest in Perfect Peace Prof Pius Adesanmi , a distinguished alumnus of my school, University of Ilorin.

Anonymous

Rest in peace Prof. You have touched many lives in so many ways. Sincere condolences to the family and everyone touched by his departure.

Anonymous

I am so thankful to have met and have had Professor Adesanmi this past year. He was always carrying a smile and an exuberance about him. You could tell just by looking at him that he loved life and lived everyday with immense purpose and joy. I learned so much from him — his work in African Literature and for post-colonial studies is remarkable. He will be sorely missed from the English Department at Carleton and from the many circles in which he was a major part. God Bless and Rest in Peace.

Anonymous

Dear Prof. Pius, it is unfortunate we lost you. You will always be remembered for your knowledge development efforts in Africa especially at PADA Ghana and other institutions. You were a blessing to African studies. I will not stop writing about your views on the abuse of militarism in Nigeria and the need for people-centred development in Africa. May God be with you. Rest dear mentor.

OKOLIE-OSEMENE, James, Lecturer in Nigeria

One did not need to have personally known you to be impressed by your towering personality for your writings were enough testimonials. Your memory will live on forever and a day, Prof Pius Adesanmi.

Anonymous

Rest in peace Prof.

Anonymous

I only got to know Dr. Adesanmi last semester and he was an incredible professor and person on every level. His smile, humour, and contagious laughter was a joy brought to our African Literature class. My thoughts, love and prayers to his family and friends.

Anonymous

Pius was an inspiring scholar and a charismatic colleague. I will miss Pius’s laughter and hugs of greeting. I will miss his insightful analysis and keen intellectual acumen. I learned more about multilingualism, Africa, and postcolonialism over dinner with Pius than I did in any other venue. He was an important scholar in his field and his intellectual work had a global impact. He cared passionately about Africa and African Studies and communicated that in many ways. Carleton and our department are poorer for his tragic death too young. My heartfelt condolences to his family. Rest in peace Pius. I can’t believe I won’t bump into you coming out of the Dunton elevators again.

Siobhain Bly Calkin, Dept. of English, Carleton University

I saw your last post and kept wondering why you were traveling so soon after the accident you had in Nigeria. Now you have actually traveled to return no more. Your smile lingers. You rest, yes you rest. Peace that surpasses all understanding to your daughter, your wife, your mother ( oh your mother) your siblings and to me who replaced your writings for my late brother. Rest on.

Anonymous

Having people like Prof. Pius in the academia to look up to has been a respite over the years. Memories linger of his dutifulness, courage and simplicity. If from a distance I feel this way, I wonder how his immediate family members would be feeling right now! May his soul find repose in the bossom of our creator. Adieu Prof.

Dr. Olabanji A Surakat
Department of Zoology,
Osun State University, Nigeria

Eminent scholar. Prolific and polemical writer. Public intellectual. Media community in Nigeria and beyond miss you. Rest on prof!

Anonymous

RIP Beautiful Mind

Anonymous

Rest in peace brother

Anonymous

Prof, you are one of the few intellectuals with very wide followers in Nigeria. Your followers are as diverse as your writings. Attended one of your lectures and since then never miss any of your interventions on Nigerian quagmire.

Your death is a fatal blow which create a huge vacuum on Nigerian discourse. Adieu

Adekunle Yusuf
Lagos, Nigeria

Although I did not personally know Prof. Adesanmi, the work he did for the Institute of African Studies as well as his personal literature far exceeded him. Professor, may the work you have done continue to be part of your legacy. I pray for utmost strength for his family, close friends and all those who knew him and were affected by his passing. We were blessed to have someone who fiercely hoped for Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

God rest your soul.

Anonymous

This is a very painful loss to us all. Pius was passionate about fairness and justice for all. His fight for good governance in Africa and well being of the common people is inspiring. We will sorely miss this great man.

Bankole Adams
Ottawa

I remember Pius Adesanmi—Payo, as I called him—for his big-heartedness, his big laughter, his awe-inspiring kaleidoscopic intelligence, and his inexhaustible bag of jokes. He was an accomplished scholar, and even more accomplished at friendship and humanity. With his passing the world, for me, has become dimmer.

Anonymous

don’t know him in person neither do I read his literatures before this time. Until his death I come to know him while watching one of his clip, I regret not knowing him before his death. He is a prof by merit not by mediocrity. Rest on prof Pius Adesanmi.

Anonymous

Like meteorite, you were here will all your brilliant illumination but gone before we could truly savour the delight

Anonymous

We are not in position to question Almighty God. But one always feels bad when someone died. May God forgive all your shortcomings and grant your soul eternal rest. I pray your family will have the grace to bear the loss.

Ola.From halifax

An erudite writer and intellectual giant is lost. Omo gha likalika. Okun Odabo. May God take care of his wife and kids

Aiyelabola Simon Ariyo

Gone too soon, he had enough life to light up a village. He told us how his grandmother believed he was an Abiku, the spirit of a child who kept wanting to return to the other world. Maybe she was right, and he is now where his spirit always wanted to be. I take comfort that he died close to his homeland.

Anonymous

Pius, you left so soon but we cannot question God. Your departure has been a challenge beyond our control but God loves you best. Be rest assured that the Most High God will take care of your wife, daughter and your aged mum.

Sun ree oo

Dr Pius was such an engaging scholar of African literature and was also good at poking fun at the corrupt and misguided Nigerian ruling forces whose penchant for accumulation is legendary.Pius had a way of putting these concerns across in a language and manner that appeared simple but very penetrating and impactful. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Dr Chijioke Uwasomba,Department of English, Pandemic Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Pius loved Humanity. And he exemplified this through his interactions with all men and women around the world.

Pius was a Colossus who feared no man, but lived by his conscience. With humility and simplicity he touched and inspired the people he knew, and others he never met.

Pius will surely be missed. His memory will live on in our hearts and minds, now and forever more.

Adieu Pius, may your Soul find rest!

Peter NKANGA

May God Rest His Soul and Strength his family and friends. Amen

Kabiru Abass, Nigeria

May you find your very well deserved Rest, Payo, the Balogun of many Wars.

Jahman

Pius no doubt was a great advocate of good governance in his native country,Nigeria,he brought this to bear through his various writings and public lectures. I have never met him personally but his numerous publication spoke so much about his person.
His demise left a very big vacuum in academic fora.
Good night Pius Adesanmi.

Anonymous

May his gentle soul rest in peace. Amen

Anonymous

I wish i hadn’t passed up the chance to meet you in person when you visited Halifax in 2017. Rest on Prof. Adesanmi. You lived a very impactful life and touched many more lives than you will ever know.

Anonymous

May his soul rest in peace. My condolences goes out to all. He will be greatly missed.

Bamidele Jemirin
Nigeria

I never knew him until now. So much has been said about him. And it only confirms that he was truly a great man who led an inspiring lifestyle. We can only pray for the peaceful rest of his soul and God to also console the people he left behind.

Anonymous

Prof Pius Adesanmi, an intelligent young man, rest in peace.

Anonymous

I listened to Prof. during an event in Ake, Nigeria. Besides, I admire his profound thoughts on the state of Africa and Nigeria as a nation. My heartfelt condolences goes to his wife, daughter and other members of his family.

Anonymous

Professor Pius Adesanmi, I did not know you but I heard about your good deeds, may your kind soul rest in perfect peace, God will console your lovely wife, children, family, friends, Carleton university and Nigeria your home country.

BY AYORONKE OLUBUNMI MARY

Professor Pius Adesanmi, I did not know you but I heard about your good deeds, may your kind soul rest in perfect peace, God will console your lovely wife, children, family, friends, Carleton university and Nigeria your home country.

Anonymous

Rest In Peace brother. May you find a good resting place with the Lord. Amen

Anonymous

Rest in peace sir

Anonymous

I’ve got no personal relationship with him whatsoever. I’ve not met him before. I stumbled on a WhatsApp status of a friend where she wrote, “Prof! This isn’t true.”

I opened my Facebook and just right there I saw a post about him by a Facebook friend, I read though and just wanted to know who is being talked about.

I searched for him via a comment on the post where his name was mentioned. I read about him and some of his intellectual posts and I realised I’ve been missing something for a long time.

He was a great humorous and intellectual writer. He was a great scholar as well. A professor per excellence. I heard he is working towards uniting African countries and also working out scholarships for African students. A son, a brother, an uncle, a husband, a father, a colleague (to his mates), a friend to many, a confidant to so many, a mentor to thousands of people, a lecturer to numerous students.

Your indelible marks will not be forgotten. You are a rare gem.

Your last words are so powerful!

Africa will miss you!
Nigeria will miss you!
Kogi State will miss you!
Ondo State will miss you!
The World will miss you!
We will all miss you!

Rest on the beloved of God!

Akintola Florence

Sounded incredible! It was only a few months back that a Ghanaian friend and former colleague of Pius introduced me to him via email. I was looking forward to engaging with Pius in subsequent direct communication. Alas, this was never to be. May God grant him eternal rest and give his family, colleagues, friends and students the strength to bear this great loss.

Oshita

I really don’t know him but my deepest and heartfelt condolences to those that were close to him….

Anonymous

The Academia will sorely miss him. May his soul rest in peace. May He grant his lovely daughter and other family members the fortitude to bear the death of our treasured colleague.

MAI

This world has no foundation. It is not dependable. What a lose!
May the Lord help us enter His eternal home by Jesus Christ.
RIP, Prof

Anonymous

R.I.P Pius Adesanmi many have said very good things about you since you passed on, may God comfort your wife, children and family, rest on epitome of knowledge.

Anonymous

Words fail me to describe how amazed I was the first time I heard him speak. We have lost a passion of a man. I pray for strength for the families. His mark will not be fade on our hearts any time soon. Rest on Pius.

Anonymous

The Nigerian social media space will never remain the same after your exit. There will either be thousands of your kind or we will be lured back to sleep on the matter of civic education. Your great mind encapsulated in humility and simplicity has benefitted many people including myself. You went out of your way to help people. I remember when we met in Lagos 3 years ago. While waiting for you to finish the radio interview, I opined that it is not easy to be a public figure yet you managed your life well. Thank you for all you were. We shall meet to part no more on the resurrection morning.

Olusola John.

The academia has lost an icon. Nigeria has lost a true son. May GOD ALMIGHTY grant family and friends the fortitude to bear this great loss.

Professor Omolade A. Oladele
Department of Veterinary Medicine
University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Prof. Pius Adesanmi.
I always looked up to you as my role model and looking up to a day that we shall all meet, but it never happened. The way you see issues is so amazing coupled with the fact that we are from the same state in Nigeria.
Okun Adieu uncle MI.
Continue to rest in the bosom of your Lord until we meet to part no more.

Anonymous

Though you your life was interrupted by the devil but you came your achieved many grate things. Thank God for using you to bring the name of Okun sons and daughter to the map of the entire world we missed you prof may God comfort and stay by your family and every family in the that air bus IJN

Anonymous

The Nigerian social media space will never remain the same after your exit. There will either be thousands of your kind or we will be lured back to sleep on the matter of civic education. Your great mind encapsilated in ability and simpilicity

Anonymous

You were an icon of excellence and an enigma of determination while you walked this earth. You remained an source of illumination till you light was snuffed out in the dark. You inspired many like me to pursue the path of greatness and forthrightness. Your living clearly demonstrated to the world that serving God and humanity remains the most essential otherwise all else is vanity. Rest on in the bosom of the Lord till the bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise. We sorrow not like the rest of men in that we know that we shall meet again on the glorious morning on the other side of eternity. Till then, you’ll always be remembered and your legacies lives on…..

Anonymous

Though we never met, the shock among academic scholars in a forum I belong shows Prof Adesanmi’s influence among Nigerian scholars who see him as academic success to emulate. The global outrage bears testimony that truly success has many parents. A lesson in this is that life is a passing phase and while we live we should endeavour to impact positively on the life of fellow human beings. It is obvious the Prof has done this. May heavens guide his path hereafter and may all glory be to God for his creation.

Anonymous

Whao ! A great ICON has gone. May the lord comfort and console his families. Rest in peace prof. Pius Adesanmi. Adieu!!!

Anonymous

Even though we’ve not met physically. Your beaming rays of accomplishments precedes you. You’re a great loss to your family, loved ones and Africa continent at large. May your soul rest in peace.

Anonymous

Really don’t know you at all as our paths never crossed but there is something divine about you and your action from a third person’s perspective! May your soul rest in perfect peace my brother and may God console your loved ones! ❤️❤️

Anonymous

May his soul rest in peace.

Anonymous

Professor Pius is one of those people you always hear about even though you’ve never met him. Students and professors said many wonderful things about his mind and his methods. I wish I met him, I wish I had the privilege of calling him my professor and mentor. He must have positively impacted a lot of people because of the amount of people shaken by his tragic death, that means he was special, it means he was rare. In all his pictures I have stared out in disbelief he had a vibrant smile on his face, you could tell he was a joyful man full of life, you could almost hear him laugh through his photos.
Rest in Peace professor Pius Adesanmi, you will be missed, your name will never be forgotten.

Anonymous

I once read a piece that details your growing up in Africa and it made a huge impression on me even though we never met and since then I became an avid reader of your articles. Your loss is a huge loss to the world and most especially to us Nigerians. Rest in peace Professor Pius Adeyemi

Anonymous

I never knew this man, but I know he was remarkable

Anonymous

I never met you
But you still stood as an Iroko tree to all and to your indigenous community. Your life represented a motivational conduit that it matters not where you live: it matters what you achieve. You proved to be a monumental success and a Rock ! You served well on earth. Our God will give you the deserved eternal rest. Rest in perfect peace, Prof

Mbong Akinyemi

I am proud of you in life. In your death my grief was immense. Thank you trail-blazer.

Dr. Soji Cole
Department of Theatre Arts,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Though I never met you one-on-one, your articles have always been a treasure to read. May your soul rest in perfect peace.

Anonymous

Prof. We can not query God, why it happened. Our belief is that you are resting with your creator. Adieu. Goodnight

Anonymous

I had the great fortune of taking a literature course with Dr. Adesanmi in my undergrad. I had grown up a small town girl with very little experience of the world outside of of Ontario. Professor Pius blew open my mind and ignited a fierce passion for Nigerian literature.
He was a mentor to me and I know that I wouldn’t be where I am in my life today without his love and support. He was a beacon of hope in a very dark time in my life. He always supported his students. He went out of his way to help me get into graduate school – an opportunity that changed the course of my life. I could call him up after four years and ask for a favor and he was always ready to help.

I respected him immensely and looked up to him. He changed me, and my outlook on the world.

I am devastated to hear of his passing. Deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.

Jill Thayer

We will miss you deeply, but your legacy lives on through your students. May you rest in power, Professor.

Anonymous

My brother, my friend, you’ve flown off on the wings of an eagle; unexpected . It hurts to speak of you in the past. It hurts, Payo! Thanks for enriching my world. Cxoxoxoxo

Anonymous

Rest In Peace Prof. You were a great man.

Anonymous

A star stops shining its guiding light,
A world turns blind.
A mighty baobab falls.
A bit of Africa that crossed oceans,
Merges back into the African soil.

RIP, Pius.

Mayurika Chakravorty

Professor Adesanmi was an impactful and memorable aspect of my Carleton experience and will continue to be associated with warmth, brilliance, groundbreaking literature and mentor ship. I took only a few of his classes and unfortunately had to withdraw from his course due to a scheduling conflict, but my friends and family all remember my enthusiastic and inspired account of my first African literature professor. He had a presence until anybody I’ve ever met, with a laugh and personality that cannot he matched. I remember him wearing an elaborate blue suit for our first class, and I was so enchanted by his teaching and personality. I am heartbroken by this tragic loss and can only imagine what his close friends, family and colleagues are experiencing. My heart goes out to everyone. We will miss you, Professor.

Anonymous

It is quite hard to believe that Prof Pius is really gone. I have constantly prayed that this is just a terrible dream that would come to an end soon. Prof Pius was more than a Professor, he was a friend. Filled with so much happiness and knowledge. A pleasant person to always be around. We would greatly miss you. It hurts.

Anonymous

إِنَّا اللهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Anonymous

My most sincere condolences to his family.

“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.” – by Robert Frost

Onita Basu

What a rude shock. Short lived but so impactful. I looked forward to one day meeting you as i have only read your works and heard your speeches. Your outlook on life reflects that you were such a down to earth man. We only interacted via e-mail and you were so patient to read and reply each time. What a loss! My prayers are with your family at this time and little ‘Tise of course! Sleep well brother

Anonymous

Dr. Puis était une personne qui m’a marqué par sa simplicité et sa grandeur d’esprit car il savait communiquer. Je garde de bons souvenirs et plus précisément de notre collaboration pour la réalisation de l’album et la vidéo : 3e conférence de l’Institut des études africaines avec les chefs de missions à Ottawa.

Que ton âme repose en paix!

Eric Kalambay

R.I.P Sir
Heartfelt condolences to His loved ones, students and colleagues

Anonymous

Pius and I hit it off as colleagues from his earliest days in the department, but hardly on academic grounds. Our work was antipodes apart, but not our social spirits in reciprocal banter. So it was our practice to meet in the halls or at departmental events to josh and kid, with my principal goal to wind up the clock of his laughter till I could make it strike, simply because it was such a positive joy to hear. What he meant to me I wouldn’t dream of reducing to so small a measure, but it was the measure I’ll most remember him for. Salvation is yours, my friend, by dint of your name; ora pro nobis.

Don Beecher

A fine person, whose talent and breadth of achievement will not soon be forgotten. I join you all in mourning his loss.

Sandra Campbell (Pauline Jewett Institute, retired)

Pius dared greatly and leaves behind a powerful legacy. May each one of us that was inspired by Pius carry his work and spirit a long way forward.

Anonymous

Rest in peace, Professor Pius. Your loss is so deeply felt. This message is coming from a former Carleton student who took one of your English Literature classes in fall 2015. I cannot even imagine what your far-reaching and global, yet immediate inner-circle is feeling. Thank you for always making class fun; thank you for your passion and loud personality; for always giving it your 100%; thank you for the loads of laughter every class; thank you for sharing with us your beloved Nigeria; and thank you for your fresh, new, and opinionated perspectives. After each of your classes, I would always have so much to say to my roommate, whether it was a funny story that you shared with your students or a book recommendation. In fact, one of my favourite books (and authors) to this day is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I discovered in your Diaspora Literature course. It was obvious that you were a leading researcher in African Studies and Literature, and thus, I took it upon myself to follow your studies (via Facebook), after completing your class. Your untimely passing is a HUGE loss to all the communities you were a part of, whether it was the Nigerian-Canadian circle, African Studies, or Carleton University. It feels so unfair that you were ripped away in the burgeoning of both your fatherhood and career. You radiated invincibility and energy in the best way possible, and your death is a reminder of the finite quality of life. However, there is no doubt that you lived each day to the fullest. I can only hope your family, friends, and students all around the world find comfort in your fulfilling life.

Sherry

Dr. Adesanmi was the first person I reached out to via social media before arriving Carleton University. A really heart breaking time for us Nigerians, he made us super proud to be Africans with all the challenges that surrounds us in and out of our continent. A true Canadian dream to emulate. I pray for comfort for his loved ones, and may his soul rest in peace, Amen.

Anonymous

Pius was generous, brilliant, and courageous. Long live his influence and may his critical concepts reverberate for many years. Only recently, via Twitter, he drew attention to “conceptual armed robbery” in political discourse. A true public intellectual. Rest in peace.

Anonymous

À toute la famille. à la famille culturelle et aussi à la famille intellectuelle de Pius,
mes plus sincères condoléances.
Une collègue qui l’estime,

Anne Trépanier (French and Indigenous and Canadian Studies).

Someone once said; The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live. And most people are concerned about growing old rather than being effective. The people who have impacted the world didn’t live long. Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy. These people who impact the world were not old people, but they lived so effectively that we cannot erase them from history.
Professor Pius Adesanmi is an irreplaceable gem. He was a conscience of a generation. His impact will transcend generations. He moulded minds. He was a scholar and teacher of the highest calibre. Pius loved his family, he cherished his relationships.
So even though it still feels so surreal and I’m struggling to wrap my mind around the fact that you are no more with us, I would like to thank you for who you were. I want to thank you for your friendship, your laughter, your generosity of spirit.
Professor Pius Adesanmi was a good man. He was genuinely good. In a time & season where people are enamoured with narcissistic tendencies, people refusing to make time for each other; he made sure he was able to separate the “noise” and busyness of life and make out time to cultivate genuine connections with people. If you were to listen deeply enough, you would see that at his core he simply cared for people.
On his last post on social media just as he begun the ill-fated journey, he wrote: “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me – Psalm 139:9-10” Pius, may those of us you have touched and impacted and left behind never forget your legacy.
You will be forever missed.

Ken Akhiwu

To Dr. Adesanmi’s family: I never met Dr A., but knew of him and his scholarship. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing to you.

Alexandra Basekic, McMaster University

Thank you for supporting the Carleton community and for speaking on behalf of the Africa I have recently discovered to love. You will be missed.

Anonymous

We never met but he leaves an imprint in my heart. Such a beaming light of hope and positivity. Now I’m convinced that I can succeed as a Nigerian in a foreign country. Rest with the Lord sir.

Anonymous

Pius was a guiding star for me in my own inquiries regarding Africa, the advancement of its peoples, and the continent’s relationship with Canada. He will be missed by many, including me, for his passionate advocacy for Africa, and his gentle spirit. Rest in peace, friend.

Greg Goldhawk, NPSIA ’79

I have never taken any class with Professor Pius Adesanmi, but I feel saddened by the news of his passing. As a Black African student, I am so empowered by successful fellow Africans like Dr. Pius Adensami, who had a deep love for the continent. My condolences goes out to all of his family, friends, colleagues, close students, and anyone else who knew him. I am so sorry for your loss and I wish you all a lot of peace. May Professor Pius Adesanmi rest in utmost peace!

Anonymous

He wasn’t just my prof, he was a friend. I’ve known him for 10 years now and he has always gone out of his way for his students and for everyone he cared about. He was kind, funny, and gave great advice. After I graduated in 2011, I left Ottawa and he was always there when I found myself struggling to cope with the workplace environment. His advice really helped my excel at my job and grow as an individual. Anytime I came back to visit, we’d meet up and catch up if he was in town. I really looked up to him. RIP Pius Adesaanmi. May he be among those in heaven. الله يرحمه

Anonymous

I never had a chance to meet Dr. Adesanmi, but I will miss him along with the rest of the Carleton community.

Anonymous

This is such such sad news! Dr. Adesanmi’s death is a great loss to the academia community, Canadian community, African continent, and the Nigerian-Canadian community both home and abroad. His work gave young academics like myself great hope and confidence that we could break barriers. Rest in peace prof! My deepest condolences goes out to your wife, young Tise too, and all family and friends.

Anonymous

What a terrible loss of a huge force for the good. Deepest condolences to all who were close to him.

Peter Gose

Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) joins the Carleton community in mourning the devastating loss of Pius Adesanmi. CUAG has had the great honour of working with Pius on several occasions. In 2011, for example, Pius delivered a marvelous lecture at CUAG (titled “Aso Ebi, Crowds, Carnivalesque: On Yoruba Cultural Transnationalism”) and generously agreed to the publication of this lecture in an exhibition catalogue called “Conversation Pieces.” The lecture and essay are signature Pius: witty, intellectually rigorous, full of laughter and joie de vivre, and ranging so freely and beautifully across time, space, culture and language. Pius was, simply put, an extraordinary human being. We at CUAG count ourselves extremely fortunate to have known him, and extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues around the world.

CUAG

I didn’t know Pius, but I kept hearing wonderful things about him from his students about how important he was to them and how much they admired his strength and vision. The one time I met him was on the CUPE 2424 picket line, when he had come to walk the picket line to show his support. What a sad loss for all the souls he touched, and for all those he had yet to touch.

Anonymous

Professor Adesanmi was an amazing teacher and helped me learn more about my African roots and culture. We’ve lost a truly great scholar and advocate, but I hope all of us who had an opportunity to be taught by him will keep his memory alive and well. RIP Pius.

Anonymous

Professor Adesanmi permanently changed the way I view literature and the larger literary canons. This was one of the best profs at this school, my heart goes out to his family and friends.

Anonymous

Professor Adesanmi was a fantastic lecturer. I will always remember reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. I hold it dearly to this day. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Rest In Peace, Professor.

Anonymous

Rest in peace Sir.

Anonymous

I continue to be shocked and saddened By Dr. Adesanmi’s passing. He was a wonderful professor who introduced me to the incomparable world of African Literature.

I could sit in his lecture for three hours and get lost in his stories and storytelling. A huge loss for the Carleton community, and for African and Post-Colonial Literature as a whole. My time at Carleton would not have been as fulfilling—he opened my eyes and my world.

May his family find solace in his memory.

Meagan Sylvester

It seems unreal that this department has lost another young colleague in such a short time, and in such a tragic fashion. I’ve had private messages from former students who took classes with Pius, and they all are struggling to come to terms with such a loss. While I didn’t know him well, his warmth and collegiality whenever we chanced to meet made a deep impression. He leaves a legacy of passion and caring as an intellectual, a mentor, an author, an activist, and a scholar. I’m so sorry that there is no more time to get to know him better.

Janne Cleveland

الله يرحمه و يجعل مثواه الجنة

Anonomous

I am floored to hear the news. While I was at Carleton Pius had the office next to me, and although we were both often on the go, we always found time to chat when we bumped into each other. The thing I remember most about him was his intellectual curiosity and general enthusiasm — not to mention his huge smile. He will be sadly missed by everyone he touched.

Armand