Elechi Amadi, One of Nigeria’s literary giants and author of the renowned novel, The Concubine, is dead.

It was gathered the novelist died at the Good Heart Hospital, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday of an undisclosed ailment.

Amadi, who was 82 years old, will be best remembered for his 1966 novel, The Concubine, which has been called “an outstanding work of pure fiction”.

Some of his other works included The Great Ponds, Isiburu, Sunset in Biafra, Dance of Johannesburg, Pepper-soup, The Road to Ibadan, The Slave, Estrangement, Les Grand Etangs, and The Woman of Calabar.

Born in 1934 in Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Amadi attended Government College, Umuahia (1948–52), Survey School, Oyo (1953–54), and the University of Ibadan (1955–59), where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics.

He worked for a time as a land surveyor and later was a teacher at several schools, including the Nigerian Military School, Zaria (1963–66). Amadi served in the Nigerian Army, remained there during the Nigerian Civil War, and retired at the rank of captain.

He also served in the Rivers State Civil Service as a Permanent Secretary from 1973 to 1983 and was appointed Commissioner for Education in 1987, as well as Commissioner for Lands and Housing.

He celebrated his 80th birthday in Port Harcourt in 2014, releasing a souvenir edition of one of his plays, Isiburu.

Amadi lived in his hometown, Aluu, till his death.

Reacting to the news of the death of Amadi, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike said he was saddened by the death of the literary icon, describing his passage as a loss to the country.