Veteran Nigerian actor, Charles Inojie, has characterized his late colleague, Sam Loco-Efe, as “the most intellectually gifted actor in the history of Nollywood.” In a recent conversation with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Inojie expressed admiration for Loco-Efe’s genius, describing him as being “from another planet.”
Inojie regretfully mentioned that the legendary actor passed away without receiving a national honor. According to Inojie, Sam Loco-Efe had a remarkable ability to absorb information effortlessly. Even while casually smoking a cigarette, he could observe and correct actors rehearsing scenes without directly interacting with them.
Recalling his experience working with Loco-Efe, Inojie said, “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.”
Inojie criticized the absence of a national honor for Loco-Efe, considering his significant contributions to Nigerian cinema. He highlighted Loco-Efe’s special mention by the Queen as the best actor in Africa during Nigeria’s entry to FESTAC 1977 with the film ‘Lambodo.’ Despite such achievements, Sam Loco-Efe passed away on August 7, 2011, at the age of 65, without receiving a posthumous award.