Rev. Dr. Uwem Akpan
We love you. We made this for you.
"The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon."Psalm 92:12 · This is you, Daddy.
29 July 1956 · 29 July 2026 · Seventy incredible years
Daddy, you are extraordinary.
We have grown up watching you. Really watching. And here is what we know: you are not one thing. You are many, many things, and you have been consistent in all of them for as long as we can remember.
We have seen you on your knees at every hour. Wake up at 2am, there you are. Come home at midnight, there you are. Sitting completely still for two hours, quiet as the room itself, somewhere between this world and the next. Your prayer life has never been a performance. It has always just been you and God, and the rest of us learned what that looks like because you never hid it.
We have seen you with your Bible, not just reading it, but living inside it. Studying. Meditating. Going back to the same passages again and again like they owe you something. You have never been interested in the surface of anything. You always went deeper.
And the writing. Daddy, there are pieces of paper everywhere. Always have been. Thoughts, scriptures, notes, your handwriting on everything. You have the coolest handwriting we have ever seen, by the way. We have always thought so.
You met Mummy at NYSC camp, filling out a form, both of you still argue about who asked who for a pen. We love that story. We love that it was ordinary, and that from something that small, you built almost forty years together and three children who are standing here today, so grateful to be yours.
Seventy years. Still going. Still on your knees. Happy birthday, Daddy. This page is our small way of saying: we see you. We celebrate you. And we love you more than these words can hold.
Seventy years well lived
Everything you are, Daddy
The Man on His Knees
Wake up at 2am, there you are. Come back from anywhere, there you are. Two hours sitting completely still and silent, somewhere between this world and the next. Your prayer life has never been a performance. It has always just been you and God. And we were watching. We always were.
Man of the Word
You don't just read the Bible, Daddy. You live inside it. Study. Meditate. Go back again and again. A PhD earned not in spite of your faith but because of it. You have always believed that going deeper into the Word is an act of worship. We believe that now too, because of you.
The Writer with the Coolest Handwriting
Pieces of paper everywhere. Always. Thoughts, scriptures, notes, your handwriting on everything. We have always thought you have the coolest handwriting we have ever seen. You have never stopped writing, and the world is better for it.
Missionary at Heart
You don't just talk about missions. You finance them, pray for them, and get on buses and planes to insecure places to preach the Word yourself. You gave away our bus. You didn't sell your cars. You gave them to missionaries. That is not normal. That is extraordinary. That is you.
The Quietly Generous One
You think about the poor and needy in a way most people don't. Not as a thought, as a practice. What you have, you give. We grew up watching you live that out and we didn't always understand it then. We understand it now. And we are proud.
The Fitness Freak
Working out daily for as long as we can remember. You cannot be beaten in push-ups. We have all tried. The meticulous, germophobe, pedantic man who also drops and does push-ups. That is a specific kind of character and we love every bit of it.
The Music Man
We grew up with piano classes after school because of you. All of us playing instruments. That came from you. You were in a music group after secondary school with your St. Gregory's friends. That detail delights us. You have always known that music is a language on its own.
Our Dad & Mummy's Person
You met Mummy at NYSC camp, filling out a form. You still argue about who asked who for a pen. We love that story. From something that small, you built nearly forty years together. You are still each other's. And that quiet, steady love is the foundation everything else in our lives is built on.
Brother of Six Sisters
Maja 7, forever. You love your sisters fiercely and they love you right back. We grew up knowing that family, your family, was something you held close and never took for granted. That taught us something about loyalty we carry with us every day.
Coach, Teacher, Mentor
Especially the younger ones. You have always had a particular tenderness for people who are still becoming who they are. You see potential and you name it. You coach it. You stay. The people you have poured into over the years are your legacy as much as anything else.
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion — until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6 · Daddy, this verse is your story