The first reaction to the news of his death was that of disbelief. The news was horrifying. I just couldn’t believe it. Yes, Sam Loco Efe was in his 70s. I didn’t believe he would just die so soon. If you knew him, he was too playful and so much vibrant and alive that you wouldn’t think he would die. Even at that age, he could play with a 20-year-old as if they were mates. I know his kids and he had a good rapport with them


I got to know Sam Loco Efe as a man who believed in the ideology and equality of the Nigerian state. Way back Sam Loco believed in this. There was a meeting held by late elder statesmen late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, late Nnamdi Azikiwe and even, the Ikemba and they were discussing the issue of true federalism for Nigeria and while the meeting lasted, an argument ensued. Midway however, the East backed out of the meeting and seceded. And this same Sam Loco believed in that ideology. Although Nigerians came to know him as an actor but it would surprise you to know that the great Sam Loco Efe fought for Biafra.

I am telling you this because a lot of people did not know him. There is another guy, called Ben Agbota Okegwale. He is a writer. He and Sam Loco featured in the famous play, Langbodo in FESTAC 77. Sam Loco played the character called Kako and prior to this time, he and Okegwale had fought for Biafra. So, he had always been in the East. He took off from there to Benin. And that is why he could speak all the languages. It was through hardship and interaction and all of that, that he could pick all those languages. So, apart from speaking the Bini language, the other language he could speak was Igbo.

And some other things happened eventually when he moved to the North, I think somewhere in Jos where, again, he got to know the Hausa language. In fact, he was a genius. He could speak many languages, actually. I remember this play too, when some Spanish people came and before we knew it, Sam Loco was speaking Spanish. We were stunned that he could speak the Spanish language. He was a man who picked and spoke languages easily. He had that gift.

From the Biafran war, he came to FESTAC after which he established one theatre group, I can’t remember the name now, which eventually led to the establishment of the then Bendel Arts Council. So, but he became too big a fish to remain in that Arts Council as it were. He moved down to Lagos but before he came to Lagos, he had played a character called ukata biribiri in the drama series, Hotel De Jordan. Sam Loco Efe was the first actor I have met that I can conveniently refer to as a complete actor because he could play any role. Even before the emergence of Nollywood, he was a properly bred stage actor. He was adjudged the best actor in FESTAC 77 because of the way he played that role of Kako in Langbodo and when Hotel De Jordan became very famous, Ukata biribiri was a character people got hooked onto

He did television shows and other series. Ever before Jimi Solanke started his children’s stories and plays on TV, Sam Loco Efe had done all that long ago. In fact, he was like a pathfinder in that path of telling children stories and singing for them

Relationship with Sam

It was that of a big brother and uncle because I came so close to him and discovered that he was man with whom spending 10 hours would just look like 30 minutes. Now, let me tell you about one big misconception a lot people had about him. They would always tell you that he was a drunk. He was this and that in terms of drinking. I can authoritatively tell you that Sam Loco was a man who, when we sat to drink as it were in those days, he would nurse, caress and told stories over his drinks while some of us had guzzled down more than that. He could drink a bottle of beer within some hours telling stories and played a lot. He took life very easy.

However, there was a tragedy that befell him at some point in his life. And that tragedy changed the face of his life. It was big tragedy for him because he was a man who sincerely loved his wife but unfortunately, he lost his wife. At that critical and most trying period of his wife’s death, a new chapter started for him and that was when he started drinking, which was the type where would caress one bottle over a long period, telling stories.

Looking at a man like Sam Loco Efe, having lived and died without being honoured not even for once, makes one weep for this country. He wasn’t the kind of man who would go and lobby to be given awards or recognized and it is painful. I heard President Jonathan eulogizing Sam Loco. I heard Govs Fashola and Adams Oshiomhole talking about him, which means they knew him, enjoyed him and he brought joy into their living rooms at one point or the other and yet they never thought it wise to honour him. I think it is absolutely unkind and wrong. It is sad. And those who can hustle and lobby and have never impacted anything positive in the country are being recognized and given National honours and awards.

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