PSALM 48:14 : For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

GIDEON Emoro Efetie, affectionately known as “Daddy” was born March 11, 1925. He was the firstborn male of 10 children. His parents were Daniel Nokiojare and Rebecca Eboh Efetie. His parents and  Samson Efetie  preceded him in death.

Chief Efetie began his distinguished educational career at  St John’sAnglicanPrimary school in Agbor. He later passed  his certificate exams on merit to gain admission to DennisMemorialGrammar  School, Onitsha where he completed his secondary education. DennisMemorialGrammar School was the only other prestigious boys school in Nigeria at par with King’s College, Lagos during that era.

His excellency, Chief S.J Mariere, his adopted uncle and Mrs Mariere were a great help to him as they played a major role  during this period of his secondary education. He  was greatly indebted to them and appreciative for all they did.

He later left the shores of Nigeria with the United States as his destination. But a combination of sea sickness which made his journey a difficult one  and the advice of a fellow Nigerian who had travelled with him on the same ship, compelled him to stay in the United Kingdom.

Through a combination of  circumstances that could only be described as miraculous, he gained admission into the Oxford University, in the United Kingdom. Among these miracles was his being offered a scholarship by the Government of the then Western Region of Nigeria.

He also appreciated the contributions of the Reverend Canon Shepherd of Oxford, Mr and Mrs Marriot  and their daughter Elizabeth as well as his best friend and colleague, Peter Marriot.

And while he lived, he remained indebted to them because they were all to him like ministering angels during his stay in England. He studied and graduated with a degree in Natural Science. He also had a Master of Arts degree and a P.G.C.E  from the OxfordUniversity. He stayed at the St. Edmunds Hall during his time of study at Oxford.

He was well celebrated as the first Isoko man to study abroad  and was honoured by Oba Ovonramwen of Benin with a large banquet and a head sculpture. Daddy taught briefly the students of the Lower and Higher School Certificate classes at the GovernmentCollege, Ughelli, Delta State,  Nigeria from 1956 to 1962.

In the next stage of his career, he had the choice of joining the Army or the diplomatic corps. He joined the Diplomatic Service where he rose to the rank of Ambassador.  His major postings included  Moscow, capital of the defunct U.S.S.R, and later Banjul(then Bathurst), Gambia where he was High Commissioner.

He was the Consul- General of Nigeria in Hamburg, Germany from 1972-1974. Other postings included Beijing, China, Dakar(Senegal), Khartoum in Sudan and the United Nations in New York and WashingtonDC, U.SA. His interest in educational  and national matters remained aglow after retiring  in 1981 from the Foreign Service with his publications.

He is the author of  Thrilling African  Folktales. He used to say in his latter days: “Our African Cultural Heritage must be preserved. They will disappear or die with those who know them so well if they are not written down”.

Even in retirement, Ambassador Efetie did not fail to keep abreast of national issues but used every opportunity to express his feeling or opinion on matters bordering on governance.

In fact, he was a regular contributor to the opinion pages of the Vanguard newspapers. And in his last published article of June 22, 2012 titled: “Some Topical National issues”, he advocated thus: “A government is expected to be firm and will not lose its power and prestige if it will sometimes bend a little and go back once in a while on its decision, where it is an unpopular one. It will bring about a cordial relationship between the government and the people”.

He was also a businessman  and owned  Menada Nig. Ltd which manufactures perfumes, soap, silver and gold polish, glass cleaners under franchise from a company in Germany. Never a time wasted.

He was a hard worker. His best legacy to all his children was education. He sacrificed to see that they got the best. He was a disciplinarian and a deep-loving father. He was gentle and good natured.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Mr. THEO EGUH,  a relative ,wrote from Lagos.