29/04/2023
Sam Loco Efe was born in Enugu on 25th December 1945.
His father was a warder, by name— Arase Efeimwonkiyeke. He was a Benin man who worked in Eastern Nigeria and his mother was a petty trader who sold akara.
He spent his childhood in the town of Abakaliki in present-day Ebonyi State. In fact, he spent much of his years in Abakaliki.
When he was in primary school, he lost his father. He had to support his mother in her business which made him spend longer than usual years before graduating from primary school.
He started acting while still in school when a theatre group came to stage a play called "The Doctor In Spite of Himself", afterwards he discussed with members of the group about the theatre and performance arts.
In elementary school, he was a member of various groups including a drama society that performed a rendition of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at an Eastern regional arts festival in Abakaliki, the play came last in the drama competition but Efe was noted as the best actor which earned him a scholarship to complete elementary school.
After finishing elementary school, he attended various secondary schools and was active in the drama society, organizing a performance of The Doctor in Spite of Himself and a play called Vendetta.
After secondary school, he was a member of a traveling theatre group and played soccer earning the moniker locomotive later shortened as loco. That was how his name Loco came to being.
During the Biafran genocidal War, Efe fought on the Biafra side until he returned to Benin in 1968. He saw himself as an Igbo man and a Biafran before anything.
While in Benin in the 60s, he started the Ovonranwen Theatre Group with their debut production being Ogierhiakhi’s Obaiwape.
However, his earnings from acting was meagre and thereafter, he traveled to Lagos to seek better career opportunities and to explore a career in football.
He got his first job in 1972 working for Michelin Tyres. He applied for the position without knowing
