By Kolawole Ojebisi
After an illustrious career spanning decades, renowned literary icon, Mabel Segun (nee Aig-Imoukhuede) has transitioned to the great beyond at the ripe of 95.
Her demise was announced by her family in a statement issued on Thursday night.
According to the statement, Segun, a retired administrator, died in the early hours of Thursday.
The statement added that her funeral arrangements will be announced later by the family.
“It is with gratitude to God for a life well spent in the pursuit of excellence in Literature, Broadcasting and Sports that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Mabel Dorothy Okanima Segun (nee Aig-Imoukhuede),” the statement read.
Segun was a woman of many parts who excelled as a writer and held her own in a generation when writing was considered an exclusive preserve of men.
Her inimitable talents shone in the field of sports where she rose to become a tennis champion; she was an ace broadcaster and an erudite academic and accomplished diplomat.
The literary icon was also a multifaceted artiste who blazed the trail in children literature with the publication of her autobiographical classic, “My Father’s Daughter”
Born on February 18, 1930, in Ondo State to Edo parents, Segun attended the University College Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) and graduated in 1953 with a degree in English Literature, Latin, and History.
This achievement marked the beginning of a distinguished academic and professional career that would take her to various parts of the country and beyond.
The novelist left behind a legacy of remarkable achievements and contributions to Nigerian society.
