Onwuchekwa Jemie is a Nigerian scholar, poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, journalist, and professor. He was born in Abia State

Abia State

Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. The capital is Umuahia, although the major commercial city is Aba, formerly a British colonial government outpost. The state was created in 1991 from part of Imo State and its citizens are predominantly Igbo people...

, Nigeria and was educated at the Hope Waddell Training Institution at Calabar

Calabar

Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....

. Onwuchekwa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 and a Master's degree from Harvard University, before returning to Columbia University for a PHD in English and Comparative Literature

Comparative literature

Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...

. Alongside colleagues Stanley Macebuh, Femi Osofisan, and Chinweizu Ibekwe, Onwuchekwa spearheaded the founding of The Guardian newspaper, considered by many as the Flagship of the Nigerian print media, serving as the newspaper's first Editorial Page Editor and Chairman of the Editorial Board. Onwuchekwa has also published a few books, notably, Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...

: An Introduction to the Poetry (1976) and Biafra Requiem (1970), as well as Toward the Decolonization of African Literature (1983) which he co-authored with Chinweizu and Ihechukwu Madubuike, and Yo' Mama!: New Raps, Toasts, Dozens, Jokes and Children's Rhymes from Urban Black America (2003). After serving as a professor of English literature, African literature, and African American literature at a number of American universities, Onwuchekwa Jemie became Editor-in-Chief of Nigeria's BUSINESSDAY.