Governor Idris Wada of Kogi

State now has the notorious

reputation of having the most

reckless convoys in and around

Nigeria, as drivers working with

him are well known for

dangerous driving on the

highway.

The same Governor almost died

some months back when the car

he drove in somersaulted on

high speed on the Abuja-Lokoja

express way. Today (Tuesday),

Governor Wada's convoy

rammed into the car of former

ASUU President, Dr. Festus Iyayi

on the same express and,

unfortunately, he died instantly .

According to eyewitness report,

Dr Festus Iyayi, a well-known

Nigerian novelist and activist,

was on his way to Kano to

attend a meeting of the

Academic Staff Union of

Universities (ASUU) whose

members have been on strike

since July. The union’s meeting

in Kano was called to decide on

a possible calling off of the

strike and a return to the

classroom.

Nigerians and the academic

community will miss Dr Iyayi

greatly. He was born in 1947, in

Ugbegun, Ishan, Edo State. In

1968, he left the shores of

Nigeria to pursue higher

education, obtaining a M.Sc in

Industrial Economics from the

Kiev Institute of Economics, in

the former U.S.S.R., and his

Ph.D from the University of

Bradford, England.

In 1980, he went back to Benin

and became a lecturer in the

Department of Business

Administration at the University

of Benin.

A well known author, with four

books to his credit (Violence,

The Contract, Heroes, and

Awaiting Court Martial), Prof.

Iyayi won the Commonwealth

Prize for Literature for his book

Heroes in 1988.