Sam Loco Efe

During the Civil War, Efe fought on the Biafra side until he returned to Benin in 1968. While in Benin, 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 how to drive which was a requirement for the job. He learned how to drive a day before the interview. During the interview, he passed the oral interview and failed the driving test but honesty about his error in judgement won over the interviewer. He worked for Michelin selling tyres in Lagos, Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta. He soon left Michelin to work for Dunlop Tyres as a Senior Sales Representative in the Tyres and Allied products division. While working for Dunlop in Benin, he was a cast member of NTA Benin's television series, Hotel de Jordan and also performed in a rendition of Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to Blame. In 1977, he left sales for a career in theatre. He auditioned and got the lead part of Langbodo, a play by Dapo Adelugba presented during Festac. After the end of Festac, Adelugba introduced him to a friend of his at University of Ibadan about opportunities in theatre. Adelugba's friend was able to get Efe a position as a senior artiste in the institution.

Sam Loco Efe (25 December 1945 – 7 August 2011), born Sam Loco Efeeimwonkiyeke in Enugu, was a Nigerian actor, producer and director.