Who is Chief Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan?

He is a Nigerian-an Ibibio by tribe from Akwa Ibom State , who was born at the end of the Nigerian civil war in rather dramatic circumstances. The circumstances were indeed dramatic such that instead of your usual midwives at the venue, rather you had a regiment of soldiers assisting in the delivery of the baby. One of the soldiers, General Lawrence Onoja (rtd) rose to become at several instances military governor of Katsina, Plateau states and at one point was number three in the military hierarchy during the General Sanni Abacha junta.. Yes I am a Blackman and please underline the “black” cause am very proud of my black roots and heritage. I was born an artist but stubbornly abandoned my natural talents for the arts.  I acquired a law degree just to spite my parents. Today I have continued to make efforts so as not to regret that action of veering into the legal profession. Try as hard as I could though, my artistic drive have simply refused to be eliminated though highly suppressed, because I still find time to draw and paint. I grew up in the streets of Uyo and Port Harcourt and love to think of myself as an artist by nature and a lawyer by training. Am widely travelled and married with children.

When does the day begin for Chief Akpan?

As soon one day end….if it ever does for me…. Because I find the quietude of night so convenient to engage in researches and often I read all through the night... the next day begins and I have had to worry about my health some of the time on account of a lack of sleep. My father once reprimanded me for excessive sleep because according to him that’s all you do once you are dead. So why spend your life asleep?

Favourite colour?

Blue

Favourite movie stars?

Marlon Brandon, Sean Connery, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo Di Caprio, Sharon Stone,  Wesley Snipes, John Wayne, Vivica Fox, Liz Benson and Pete Edochie.  

Favourite music stars?

I probably love them all… Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Bob Marley, Miriam Makeba, Don Williams, Faze Alone, Styl Plus, Onyeaka Onwenu & Fela Kuti.

Favourite snack?

Burger 

Favourite meal?

Edikang-Ikong & foo foo

Favourite drinks?

Milk, palm wine & lots of water

Favourite dress regime?

Corporate outfits

Favourite desserts?

Fruit salad

Favourite sports?

Golf, Soccer, Chess, Formula One, Basketball & Boxing

Favourite artists?

Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso   

Favourite piece of art?

The Statue of liberty, the Eiffel Tower

Favourite sport stars?

Michael Jordan, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tiger Woods, Edson Arantes De Nascimento “Pele”, Mohammed Ali, Larry Bird, Azumah Nelson, Diego Maradona, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Daniel Amokachi.

Favourite Military strategist/commanders?

Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Romel “the desert fox”, Shaka Zulu, Julius Caesar , Admiral Nelson,

Most read authors?

Frankly I believe that I must have almost read everything written by William Shakespeare, James Hadley Chase, Jeffrey Archer, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka.   

Favourite Music Composers?

Mozart, Handel, Beethoven

Favourite Nigerian Authors?

Wole Soyinka & Chinua Achebe

Between Achebe and Soyinka if you must pick one of them for an Award?

That’s a cruel comparison.... I would be compelled to insist that am given two separate Awards…. I do revere both writers almost and always have accorded both some demigod status. There is no basis for comparison really. For winning the Nobel Prize for literature way back in 1986 as the first black African ever, Soyinka undeniably holds the ace. Yet I must tell you that Achebe’s “Things fall Apart” is arguably the most profound literally work ever to come out of Africa .  Imagine someone trying to compare Soyinka’s “Telephone conversation”   with Achebe’s classic piece: Things fall Apart,  certainly both works are unique and cannot be compared at all.