The death has been confirmed of Professor Okon Essien. This is a great loss to the Nigerian Linguistic community and indeed the Academia. Let me share this tribute I presented nine years ago at a Valedictory Colloquium which took place in his honour at the University of Calabar, on the 18th October 2007. I am very glad that he was alive to listen to me as I delivered this paper. Our thoughts are with his family and the Linguistic community as we pray for his peaceful rest.
