Emma Etuk

Emma Etuk, an author of seven books to date, was born in Obigbo, a village in Asa County Council, about 15 miles from Port Harcourt. He is the eldest of four surviving of the ten children born to Samuel and Akon Etuk. Six of Emma's siblings died before they reached the age of seven. Emma's parents were peasant farmers originally from Afaha-Offiong in Western Nsit, now part of Akwa Ibom State.

Emma describes his father as a prayerful man who held church services in his native Ibibio dialect for the local Ibo community in the family living room. It was Emma's role to translate the sermons to Ibo. Emma remembers his mother as a thinker, a reflective woman. Akon was a homemaker and an industrious woman. She earned extra income for her family through petty trading and preparing cooked food to be hawked by her eldest son. Emma fondly recalls his mother's love of singing, particularly in trying times. He attributes his love of song to his mother.

Ipu Central School in Imo River marked the beginning of Emma's formal education. He was already eight years old when he met the school entrance requirement of being able to touch his ear with his hand reached over his head. Once he completed elementary and primary school, he stayed home for a year due to difficulties within his family. Emma left his parents to attend high school in Afaha-Offiong. He lived in the school dormitory as was customary for many young men at that time.

Although Emma dreamt of working for Shell BP Oil Company once he graduated from high school, this dream was not realized. A lengthy job search and the onset of the Nigerian civil war had made him the primary breadwinner in his family. Circumstances forced him to return to take on a teaching position at his old high school, teaching only as the war allowed.

In 1970, Emma moved to Calabar where he began work as a civil servant at the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development. He rose through the ranks to the position of estate officer. Training opportunities through the ministry afforded him the opportunity to enroll in the College of Technology in Calabar where he obtained an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Estate management in 1975 and 1979 respectively.

A chance meeting at a Qua Iboe Church Scripture Union meeting with Dr. Alvin Anderson, an American, who taught at the University of Calabar precipitated Emma's arrival in the United States to attend Malone College in Canton, Ohio. Emma left Nigeria to continue his college education in the United States ten days after the death of his mother. What was left over from the Christian community's donations for his mother's funeral became the payment for his airplane ticket to the new world.

College credits transferred from the College of Technology in Calabar allowed Emma to complete his B.A. in Business Administration in a year. His interest in formalizing his religious knowledge and a desire for further intellectual growth led him to pursue a masters degree in church history at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio.

While he was enrolled at the seminary in Ohio, Emma was awarded a full scholarship and graduate assistantship to study church state-studies (political theology) at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. This scholarship alleviated some of his financial difficulties and provided him an avenue to explore religion in another context.

In 1991, Emma Etuk completed his doctoral program at Howard University in Washington, D.C. with a focus in United States history. Since then, he has taught at Howard University, Dillard University in New Orleans, Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida and Morgan State University in Maryland.

Emma Etuk, his wife, Ayda and their two children currently reside in Forestville, Maryland where he actively pursues his personal goal of writing human-interest books that explore human development, family, parenting, marriage, history, politics and religion. His publication, Friends What Would I Do Without Them, explores establishing meaningful friendships in a seemingly lonely world. He describes the focus of his writing as "those things that relate to the human person". His eighth book is due to be published in 2004. Emma can be contacted at emida@yahoo.com.