Dillibe Onyeama
Dillibe Onyeama (born January 1951)[1][2] is a Nigerian author and publisher.[3] In 1969, he became the first black person to finish their studies at Eton College.[4] He wrote a book about his experiences of racism at Eton, Nigger at Eton, which resulted in him being banned from visiting the school by then-headmaster Michael McCrum.[5]
He is the son of Charles Onyeama, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and Judge at the International Court of Justice.[5]
Biography
Dillibe Onyeama was born in Enugu in 1951,[6] the second son of influential judge Charles Dadi Umeha Onyeama. On the day of his birth, he became the first black boy to be registered to attend Eton College.[1] He attended preparatory school at Grove Park in Sussex,[7] before becoming a pupil at Eton in 1965, and leaving in 1969. Onyeama wrote a book while still a teenager about his experiences of racist discrimination and bullying at the elite British boarding school:[8] Nigger at Eton, published in 1972 by Leslie Frewin Limited,[9] which was republished by Penguin in 2022 with the title A Black Boy at Eton.[10]
In 2020 the school's present headmaster, Simon Henderson, offered Onyeama an apology for the treatment he had received.[11] Onyeama said he would return to Eton to accept the apology as long as the costs of his trip were covered.[12]
Onyeama obtained a diploma from the Premier School of Journalism, before returning to Nigeria In 1981, and establishing the publishing company Delta Publications, based in Enugu.[1][3]
Selected bibliography
- Nigger at Eton, 1972
- John Bull's nigger, 1974
- Sex is a Nigger's Game, 1976
- Juju, 1977
- Secret Society, 1978
- The Return: Homecoming of a Negro from Eton, 1978
- Chief Onyeama: The Story of an African God, 1982
- African Legend: The Incredible Story of Francis Arthur Nzeribe, 1984
- The New Man: A Perspective in Evil, 2002
- Dadi: The Man, the Legend : an Intimate Portrait of His Excellency Judge Charles Dadi Onyeama of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, 2021
References
- ^ a b c Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia (23 June 2020). "Eton College: Nigerian author recalls racist abuse". BBC News. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Akaraiwe, Ikeazor A. (2001). Onyeama : eagle on the bench : an authorised biography of Nigeria's first Judge at the World Court, His Excellency, Judge Charles Dadi Onyeama, CFR, LL. D. (2nd ed.). Lagos: Touchstone Books. p. 171. ISBN 978-35019-5-X. OCLC 52449965.
- ^ a b Ajeluorou, Anote (22 February 2017). "Dillibe Onyeama revives occult novels of the '80s". The Guardian (Nigeria). Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Eton apologises to Nigerian ex-student for racism". BBC News. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b "The racist questions I was asked at Eton". BBC News. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Dillibe Onyeama, whose memoir of racist abuse at Eton shook the establishment". the Guardian. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Nigerian ex-Eton pupil says he will return to accept racism apology". the Guardian. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Renton, Alex (2017). Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class. Hachette. ISBN 9781474600552.
- ^ Nigger at Eton. Leslie Frewin Limited. 1972.
- ^ A Black Boy at Eton. Penguin. 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Dillibe Onyeama: Eton college apologise to Nigerian ex-student for racism". BBC News – Pidgin. 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Nigerian ex-Eton pupil says he will return to accept racism apology". The Guardian. 23 June 2020.