Lindsay Barrett at 85: A Life of Words, War and Wonder

By Thomas Peretu

         Some lives are measured by the years they have lived. Others are measured by the worlds they have helped to create. Lindsay Barrett belongs to the latter. At eighty-five, the Jamaican-born writer who made Nigeria his permanent home remains one of the last living bridges to a remarkable generation of African intellectuals whose words shaped the conscience of a continent. His fervour for Pan-Africanism is not a surprise, having been from his schooldays an admirer of the work of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois the great African-American scholar and advocate of Pan Africanism. Poet, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, teacher, cultural ambassador and jazz connoisseur, Barrett has spent more than six decades proving that literature is not merely an art form but a way of life. To celebrate him is to celebrate a generation that believed words could change societies, music could unite cultures, and journalism could become a moral force in public life.

         My own journey with Lindsay Barrett began in the newsroom of the Daily Times. It was in the early years of my career when the newspaper still attracted some of the finest literary minds in the country. Around him moved distinguished figures such as Chief Olu Akaraogun, Ken Saro-Wiwa and Tam Fiofori, accomplished writers whose essays and commentaries enriched the pages of the Sunday Times. To a young journalist, they appeared almost mythical—men who demonstrated that newspapers could be homes for literature as much as they were vehicles for news. Lindsay Barrett stood comfortably among them. He possessed that rare combination of scholarship and simplicity that immediately commanded respect. Even then, one sensed that here was a man whose life had been shaped not merely by books but by experience. Little did I know that our professional paths would intersect again and eventually blossom into one of the most rewarding friendships of my life.

         His own journey to Nigeria had already become the stuff of history. Born in Jamaica, Barrett arrived in Nigeria in July 1966, one of the most turbulent moments in the country’s history. While uncertainty engulfed the nation, he chose commitment over comfort. As an independent contributor to West Africa magazine he covered the Nigerian political scene and chronicled events that would define the international understanding of what was occurring in the country for a generation. When the civil war broke out two of his Nigerian friends Ajie Ukpabi Asika and the legendary police officer Alhaji M. D. Yusufu requested that he continue reporting and arranged for him to have discretionary residency and serve as a Federal Director of Information in the war zone. Reporting from the frontlines demanded more than professional competence; it required uncommon courage and profound humanity. Barrett possessed both. The experience deepened his understanding of Nigeria and, perhaps more importantly, strengthened his emotional attachment to the country. Though Jamaica gave him birth, Nigeria gradually became the country he chose with his heart. Eventually marriage has rooted him even more firmly in Bayelsa State, whose people have embraced him as one of their own. Today, few remember him as a Jamaican writer. He has become, in every meaningful sense, a Nigerian and an African.

         Journalism, however, is only one chapter of an extraordinarily rich life. He has emerged as one of Africa’s respected poets and men of letters, producing works that explored history, identity, politics and the human condition with equal sensitivity. His brief informal service as a part-time guest lecturer at the University of Ibadan, School of Drama, where he first met Ukpabi Asika in 1967, enabled him to inspire younger generations of writers, while his essays and commentaries have enriched public discourse. It was also in Ibadan that Barrett became one of the rallying spirits of the legendary Mbari literary circle, that extraordinary gathering of creative minds that included Wole Soyinka, J. P. Clark and many others whose writings transformed African literature. Mbari was far more than a meeting place; it was the intellectual heartbeat of a newly independent Africa searching for its voice. Barrett was not just a participant. He helped sustain the conversations that gave that remarkable movement its vitality.

         Fate reunited us in 2013 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The Bayelsa State Tourism Development Agency was preparing to host what promised to become a memorable international jazz festival. The celebrated American Guitarist Earl Klugh was among the artistes expected for the event. We renewed an acquaintance that had begun decades earlier in the newsroom of the Daily Times. This time, however, journalism was no longer the strongest bond between us. Poetry was.

         It was through poetry that admiration matured into friendship. We discovered in each other a shared fascination with language, memory and the enduring power of the written word. Since then, our conversations have ranged effortlessly across literature, politics, philosophy, journalism and music. Every meeting became an informal seminar. Every discussion revealed another layer of his astonishing intellectual range. Our friendship later found another expression in Yenagoa.

         Together we co-presented a weekly radio programme devoted to jazz music. It was one of the happiest collaborations of my professional life. Barrett’s knowledge of jazz was simply breathtaking. He did not merely know the music; he knew the lives behind the music, the social movements that inspired it, the struggles that shaped it and the friendships that sustained it. He had cultivated relationships with several of the world’s leading avant-garde jazz musicians and spoke about them not as distant celebrities but as fellow travellers in the universal language of art. Among our many broadcasts, one remains unforgettable. We devoted an entire programme to the incomparable Aretha Franklin. It became one of our finest productions, blending music, history and thoughtful conversation in a way that left us both deeply satisfied. Then tragedy struck. A devastating fire consumed the radio studio, destroying that treasured recording along with many others. Barrett was genuinely heartbroken. It was more than the loss of an audio archive. It was the disappearance of a creative moment that could never be recreated. Whenever the incident came up in conversation, one could still detect the quiet pain of that loss.

         To understand Lindsay Barrett fully is to understand his relationship with jazz. To him jazz is not entertainment. It is philosophy. It is memory. It is freedom expressed through improvisation. Listening to him discuss Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis or the evolution of African-American music is to attend a masterclass in cultural history. Few people have devoted themselves so completely to preserving the intellectual traditions surrounding jazz. His intellectual influence extends well beyond literature and music. Over the decades he cultivated friendships with military leaders, statesmen, diplomats, academics and artists across Africa. His relationships reached into Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia, where presidents and public figures valued his insights and friendship. He travelled widely, reporting, lecturing and participating in literary and cultural engagements that strengthened his reputation as one of Africa’s genuine public intellectuals.

         Recognition eventually caught up with his extraordinary contributions. Only a few years ago, the Association of Nigerian Authors deservedly inducted him into its prestigious Inner Circle, one of the highest honours the organisation bestowed on writers whose work has profoundly enriched Nigerian literature. It was a fitting acknowledgement of decades spent nurturing African letters with uncommon dedication. And then recently the ECOWAS Commission recognised his reporting about, and constructive advocacy of, its peacekeeping initiatives during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone and awarded him a special plaque depicting regional gratitude for his efforts. His influence has also found expression within his own family. One of his sons has earned international recognition as a BBC literary award winner, a reminder that in the Barrett household literature is not merely admired; it is lived and passed from one generation to another. Life, however, has also tested him.

         The amputation of his left leg that he underwent some six years ago would have discouraged many. Yet Barrett confronted the challenge with the quiet dignity that has always defined him. His physical strength may have been altered, but neither his intellect nor his generosity has diminished. Visitors still encounter the same warm smile, the same restless curiosity and the same inexhaustible appetite for conversation. Earlier this year, providence gave us another memorable moment. We stood side by side once again in Yenagoa to receive awards recognising our contributions as veteran journalists, honours sponsored by Tantita Security Services. As I watched my mentor receive his recognition, I reflected on the extraordinary journey that had brought us from the bustling newsroom of the Daily Times to that distinguished gathering in Bayelsa. Few friendships survive the passage of decades. Ours has been strengthened by them.

                  Looking back today, I realise that Lindsay Barrett has been far more than a celebrated writer in my life. He has been a mentor whose wisdom was never imposed but generously shared. He has been a friend whose conversations always leave one intellectually richer. He has shown, by the example of his own life, that true citizenship is defined not by birthplace but by belonging; not by passports but by commitment; not by acclaim but by service.

At eighty-five, Lindsay Barrett remains one of Africa’s enduring treasures—a poet whose verses continue to resonate, a journalist whose courage illuminated history, a teacher whose influence lives on in countless minds, a broadcaster whose love for jazz preserved a priceless cultural heritage, and above all, a human being whose generosity has touched everyone privileged to know him. Years from now, readers will remember his books. Journalists will remember his reporting. Students will remember his lectures. Lovers of jazz will remember his voice on the airwaves. I shall remember the man. The mentor. The friend. Happy 85th birthday, Lindsay Barrett. May the years ahead continue to reward a life so magnificently lived in the service of words, war, wonder—and humanity.