EFERE OZAKO
There are people whose presence quietly but powerfully shapes an industry. Efere was one of them. For him , Law wasn’t just a profession. It was his calling, his essence. With entertainment law and Nollywood, Efere wasn’t a practitioner. He was the heartbeat of it. A visionary who saw not just contracts and clauses but culture, creativity, and the need for structure in Nollywood’s chaotic brilliance.
I remember those nights at Transcorp Hilton. He had just opened his Abuja office. He would head to my room at night, sometimes with his cousin, Kaine. “Ziiik, order food and let’s talk business,” he would scream from the door with that familiar glint in his eyes. And business for Efere wasn’t just deals. It was dreams. It was about how Nollywood could grow, how artists could be protected, and how our stories could find legal strength.From dissecting the loopholes in contracts to IP protection, his passion was relentless.
Zik Zulu Okafor: We would laugh when he’d throw his hands up and say, “Wetin Lawyers dey do sef ?”. That was his pet project that started with publications and then visits to primary and secondary schools to give the pupils some basic ideas about law and to simplify the profession.
In Nollywood, Efere carried the burden of a legal system that hadn’t yet caught up with the creative explosion around it, and still, he pushed forward.
He gave his time, his thoughts, his energy, everything to the pursuit of justice for creatives. But in the end, Nollywood, for all its sparkle, did not repay his sacrifices. The industry he gave so much to never truly gave back, and that is a hard truth to swallow. Nollywood was still grappling with understanding itself, preferring ” sharp, sharp money ” to a convoluted legal process. So, Efere preached the legal homily well, gave lectures, and held workshops. Nollywood understood Efere’s value . They appreciated both his creative and legal destinations. But an industry economically ruled by whim wasn’t quite ready to pay seriously for legal services.
Hmmmmm. Then, the news snuck in. Like a breeze of silent mystery. Efere was gone. Dead. His passing was sudden, shocking, confounding, a tragic drama with no warning, no final act. Yet, his life was a masterpiece of purpose. He showed us what it means to be devoted. He taught us that change begins with conviction, even if the world doesn’t yet see the value of what you’re fighting for. He was a profile in courage.
May the memory of his life be a blessing.
May the seeds he planted in law and in love for the creative industry grow beyond his years.
May his soul find the peace this world didn’t always afford him.
Rest well, Efere, my guy. You remain unforgettable, yes, yes.
Peace
by Zik ZuLu Okafor : (Writer, Actor, Director, Producer & Former President of Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria)
