It was as if she waited to have her last dance. That was in February, when the literary community took over the J Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Onikan, Lagos to celebrate the matriarch.

The news of her death at the age of 95 on March 6, 2025, represents another sad loss to the literary community, which has bid farewell to so many of the first generation of writers. She was highly talented, humble, passionate, hard-working and highly impactful to the younger generations.

In a statement, her family expressed gratitude for a life dedicated to excellence, describing her as a versatile media personality who made significant contributions to literature, broadcasting, and sports. They also noted that funeral arrangements would be announced in due course.

“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) in the early hours of March 6, 2025,” the statement read.

At the birthday celebration tagged, ‘Celebrating the Legend @ 95: The Multifaceted Artistry of Mabel Segun. A Life of Literary Excellence and Sportsmanship’, several Nigerian writers and other literary enthusiasts took an inspiring trip into the creative and ideological worlds of Mabel Segun.

From the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka to the Poet Laureate, Professor Niyi Osundare; Professor Akachi Ezeigbo, Dr. Bunmi Oyinsan, Mrs Mobolaji Adenubi, Dr Wale Okediran, Professor Olu Obafemi and Dr Kayode Aderinokun and other celebrated writers, everyone had a revealing thing to say or learn about her.


https://guardian.ng/art/sunset-for-matriarch-of-nigerian-literature-mabel-segun-at-95/