Nigeria, Aug. 1 -- My good friend and senior colleague, Okello Oculi died on 26 July, aged 83, after a brief illness. Originally from Uganda, Okello has lived in Nigeria for the past 48 years and raised a Nigerian family. We both taught Political Science at Ahmadu Bello University in the post-1978 era. Friends, colleagues and students remember him as a deep thinker, an inspirational intellectual and above all as someone who remained fully committed to promoting the Pan African ideal throughout his life.

Okello graduated in political science from Makerere University in 1967. The following year while still in his mid-twenties, he launched his career with the publication of two books, Orphan, a long poem and Prostitute, a novel. Orphan addr...