Friday Ekpe
Friday Ekpe | |
|---|---|
 Friday with his wife, Offiong, and their daughter Tahereh Edu. | |
| ABM | Africa ???? - 1973 |
| Counsellor | Northwestern Africa 1973 - 1975 Western Africa 1975 - 1980 Africa 1980 - 1995 |
Friday Ekpe is a Nigerian Baháʼí who served as a Counsellor for Africa. He was named after the day of the week he was born.[1]
Background[edit]
In 1955 Ekpe was a student studying in Limbe, Cameroon, and that year he befriended fellow Nigerian student Master Saibo Layani who introduced him to Enoch Olinga and he learnt about the Bahá’í Faith and became a Bahá’í. By 1960 he had returned to Nigeria settling in Lagos.[2]
In June and July of 1969 Ekpe participated in a twenty-six day teaching trip in the South-Eastern State of Nigeria traveling by motorcycle.[3] As of September 1972 he was serving as an Auxiliary Board member and hosted Rúḥíyyih Khánum in his home in Calabar during her visit to Nigeria,[4] and in December he participated in the first West African Bahá’í Youth Conference, held at Yundum College in the Gambia, taking part in a panel discussion on teaching the Faith.[5] In December he participated in the West African Summer School held in the Bomi Hills.[6]
In 1973 Ekpe was appointed to the Continental Board of Counselors for Northwestern Africa when the Universal House of Justice increased the membership of the body,[7] and in 1975 he was appointed as a Counselor for Western Africa when the Universal House of Justice split the Board into two.[8] In 1977 he taught at the first Summer School of Sierra Leone in Magburaka.[9] In 1980 the Universal House of Justice merged all Boards in Africa into a single Continental Board and introduced five year terms for Counselors and Ekpe was appointed to the newly formed body.[10]
In May 1983 Ekpe was a special guest at the National Convention of Benin which was the largest ever held in the country and involved meetings with officials and television and media proclamation of the Faith.[11][12] In June he spoke at the funeral of prominent Nigerian Pius Etim Udoh who was a Bahá’í and was able to proclaim the Faith to the attendees.[13] He was appointed to a second five year term in 1985.[14] In August 1989 he was interviewed on Radio Uganda about the Faith.[15] He was appointed for his third and final term in 1990.[16]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2017/10/23/hope-and-prayer-for-a-unified-world-at-baha-i-celebration.html
- ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 638, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1969). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 464, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 492, Pg(s) 22. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 504, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 505, Pg(s) 21. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 509, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ 6 January 1975 Letter from the Universal House of Justice
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 151. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (February 1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 599, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 630, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 631, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 631, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (December 1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 657, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1990). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 706, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
- ↑ 25 October 1990 Letter from the Universal House of Justice
