Nigeria, Oct. 2 -- Words may fail me to describe him. Justice Egbert Udo Udoma belonged to the rare, farsighted generation that agitated for political recognition through state creation when it was less fashionable to do so.

When Akwa Ibom State was finally created on 23 September, 1987, he was among a few of the prophetic breed still alive to celebrate the fulfilment of a collective dream.

Here is a recall of a moment in my tour of duty as a journalist when I sat with the late jurist for a conversation that taught me a lesson in patience. This happened in the elderly side 1990s.

It was momentous - an exclusive encounter that has left in me a tasteful memory. Times and seasons have erased certain exactitudes from my recollections regar...