Late Samuel Arase Efeimwonkiyeke, popularly known as Sam Loco Efe, was a popular Nigerian actor who mainly appeared in comedic Nollywood movies in the 90s and early 2000s.

Some of his movies include Open & Close (2011), Heart of Stone (2010), Intelligent Students (2008), Marcus 'D' Millionaire (2008), and Osuofia and the Wise Men (2008).

While Nollywood veterans argue about whose acting career started first without providing proof, records show that Sam Loco Efe began his career in the 60s.

Citizen magazine documented this in 1991. Read below.

It began in 1960, when an amateur theatre group visited his school and sparked his interest in acting. With the help of a teacher, his school staged excerpts from Julius Caesar at the Abakaliki Zonal Festival of Arts. They came last, but Sam Loco won the prize for “most promising actor,” along with a scholarship.

“Without that scholarship, I wouldn’t have gone to secondary school,” he told Citizen.

Through secondary school, he started theatre clubs that regularly staged concerts. In 1968, he formed the Ovonranwen National Theatre Group (ONTG) in Benin.

Even the Civil War did not take him away from the stage. After briefly fighting on the Biafran side before being captured by Federal troops, he performed sketches to boost the morale of soldiers.

He later moved into television, starring in NTA Benin’s prime-time drama Hotel de Jordan. He played Pikado Suberu and later Ukatabiribiri, earning just ₦10 per episode.

Worried about his financial future, Sam Loco moved to Lagos in 1972 and worked as a sales representative for Michelin, Dunlop and Karo Pharmaceuticals. He returned to theatre in 1977 after landing the lead role in Langbodo, Nigeria’s entry at FESTAC ’77.

When plans to tour the play internationally fell through, he joined the University of Ibadan as a senior artiste and enrolled in its two-year diploma in theatre arts, graduating in 1979.

He later went solo, working across radio, television and stage while also taking on MC jobs. He formed Ben Sam Productions with Ben Okunguale, which toured extensively, and in 1980 joined the University of Ibadan Performing Company as head of drama for three years.

By 1985, he was working on a television programme when a call came from Odumegwu Ojukwu in Lagos, inviting him to participate in his sponsored play, Wind Versus Polygamy. More productions followed, including Eruku, Once More Dear Native Land, Broken Jug, Turning Wheel and The Prince Must Marry the Princess.

Reflecting on his journey, Citizen wrote, “Surely, Sam Loco Efe, has come a long way in the theatre. The years too have taken their toll: Gone are the cars. Gone, also, are the chauffeurs. But for him, life goes on... on stage.”

ASA