Tributes pour in for academic Simon Akpo

Tributes have been pouring in for Nigerian academic Simon Akpo, who died last Thursday at the age of 70. Akpo was first a lecturer at the Namibian University of Science and Technology, and was at the University of Namibia at the time of his death. The Namibia Business School, where Akpo taught, says he was more than a lecturer, as he made a great contribution to the school and impacted his students’ lives. The school says as it comes to terms with this loss, its thoughts and prayers are with the academic’s family, friends and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him. “May his soul rest in eternal peace and may his family and loved ones find strength, comfort, and healing during this time of profound sorrow,” the school says in an announcement. Community members describe Akpo’s death as devastating.

One of his former students, Nkrumah Bankong-Obi, says Akpo was a pathfinder, a bridge that laid the path for generations, and an anvil upon which many were forged. “But the clan will carry on, however weary and burdened. We have lost many heroes but this hits really up close,” Bankong-Obi says. Another former student, Joy Jakes, describes the academic as a gift from God when she first arrived in Namibia. “I was still trying to find my feet and figure out how things worked in a new country. “One of the people God brought into my life during that period was Dr Elder Akpo. I remember how he took me around Windhoek, helping me find the things I needed to settle down. From getting my very first apartment to buying household items,” Jakes says. She describes him as a father figure. “You were not just a father figure to me. You were a blessing to so many Nigerians living here in Namibia. You touched lives, helped people find their feet, and made a foreign land…