Veteran Nigerian actor, Charles Inojie has described his late colleague, Sam Loco-Efe, as “the most intelligent Nollywood actor that ever lived”.
In a recent chat with a media personality, Chude Jideonwo, Inojie said Efe was “from another planet” due to how much of a genius he was.
He said regrettably, the legendary thespian died without a national honour.
Inojie said, “Uncle Sam (Sam Loco-Efe) was perhaps the most intelligent Nollywood actor that ever lived. He can be here smoking cigarette, and people are rehearsing that way, you won’t know that his subconscious mind is where they are rehearsing. He would be correcting you from afar, you won’t even know he is talking to you.
“If you have a scene to play with him, Uncle Sam would only read with you once. He would ask the others to rehearse their lines. He would read that scene just once. He would say his lines, and when you missed yours, he would tell you your lines. Since I’ve been meeting people, I haven’t seen that type before. Uncle Sam was from another planet.
“But the country we live in, how can anyone imagine that Uncle Sam died without a national honour? In a country where national honours are being given to neophytes, greenhorns. Uncle Sam died without a national honour.
“One of Nigeria’s entries to FESTAC 1977, I think that was ‘Lambodo’ where uncle Sam played the lead role. He got a special mention from the Queen as the best actor in Africa. That kind of human being, even in death, he deserves posthumous awards.”
Sam Loco-Efe died on August 7, 2011, at the age of 65.
