Chief Joseph Okpon: The Man Who Spoke for the Earth and His People
By Ekemini Simon
When the bell tolls at Christ the King Cathedral, Uyo, on Friday, November 14, 2025, it will not merely signal the beginning of a funeral mass. It will echo through the conscience of a people; a solemn reminder that a great tree has fallen in Akpayak Community, Uyo, and with it, one of Akwa Ibom’s most fearless defenders of justice and the environment.
At 87, Chief Joseph Effiong Okpon (JP) may have completed his life race, but the ripples of his voice which was always clear, courageous, and unrelenting will long outlive the dust of his grave.
A Voice in the Wasteland
Chief Okpon’s story is that of a man who refused to be silenced by age, power, politics or his background as a retired civil servant. Though grey with years, his spirit burned with the green fire of environmental passion. As Family Head of Akpayak Community in Uyo, the very neighborhood that has borne the burden of the State’s waste for decades, he became the conscience of a people suffocating under the weight of neglect.
Akpayak lies just a stone’s throw from the Akwa Ibom State Government House, yet for years, it hosted the waste of the entire capital city. To Chief Okpon, this irony was unbearable. He did not mince words. Standing before journalists and Civil Society Actors in 2023, he declared with characteristic candor:
“Just because you are in an air-conditioned car or office, you don’t know what we are facing. The air we breathe is poison. We are dying by installment.” It was not just a complaint, it was a cry for justice.
When others grumbled in silence, Chief spoke with the conviction of a man who knew that truth, however inconvenient, was still truth. He dared to challenge the government to relocate the dumpsite, not once, not twice, but severally and even demanded that decommissioning follow international best practices.
For him, the issue was not politics but humanity. The toxic smell that rose from the dumpsite did not discriminate. It invaded homes, poisoned one of the few remaining streams within the capacity city and corrupted the innocence of children. “The new dumpsite has blocked our stream. Waste is scattered everywhere and has sipped down to our underground water. No borehole is really safe for drinking within this community. our farmlands are gone, ” he lamented.
An Elder of Action, Not Excuses
Even in his twilight years, Chief Okpon remained active in Zero Waste Ambassadors (ZeWA), a grassroots environmental movement that champions community-led waste management and sustainability.
Where many saw waste, he saw worth; where others saw dumpsites, he saw lost livelihoods and broken ecosystems that could be restored. Despite being in his 80s, he attended meetings, joined advocacy engagements, and offered thoughtful insights that enriched the movement.
According to the Director of Campaigns and Administration at Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF), Maimoni Ubrei-Joe, who led advocacy on waste management at Akpayak in the last four years, Chief Okpon’s activism redefined environmental struggle in Akwa Ibom:
“He was more than a community leader. He was a fearless defender of the earth whose tireless activism reshaped the environmental conscience of the state. His courage moved the government to act. He proved that one man’s voice can indeed echo through generations”
” Even in the face of the environmental, social, and economic crises brought about by indiscriminate waste disposal, he never wavered. He believed that defending the earth was defending life itself, and he gave his all to that cause.”
Courage in the Face of Power
Few had the audacity to look power in the eye and speak truth as Chief Okpon did. His voice, though often trembling with age, carried a moral weight that no political office could match.
He once challenged the authorities directly “If the government refuses to listen, we will protest and halt operations at the dumpsite. We cannot continue to die silently.”
He understood that environmental degradation was not just about pollution, it was about public health, safety, and the right to live in dignity. He frequently lamented how criminals had turned the abandoned dumpsite into a den of drugs and armed robbery. “We asked for police protection,” he once said, “but instead of securing the area, they joined in the cocaine business.”
The Heart Beneath the Activist
Beyond the fiery rhetoric and fierce advocacy lay a tender heart. Those who knew him speak of a man of deep humility and grace. He loved his family, treated neighbours with kindness, and guided the younger generation with patience and wisdom.
The Youth Leader of Akpayak, Ubong Henry captures this warmth in simple but profound words: “He was a devoted family member, a trusted friend, and a person of integrity. His life was marked by humility, kindness, and service. We will miss him greatly.”
A Legacy Still Waiting for Justice
Today, even after his passing, the issues that consumed Chief Okpon’s later years remain unresolved.
While the Akwa Ibom State Government has begun some sort of handling waste at the new dumpsite by pushing it off the road, the core problem persists. The new dumpsite still sits within Akpayak Community, and the old dumpsite remains undecommissioned, continuing to pose health and environmental hazards to residents.
For many in Akpayak, this partial response feels like a betrayal of Chief Okpon’s vision, a man who asked not for pity, but for justice. His lifelong struggle was not simply about moving heaps of garbage, but about restoring dignity to a community that has endured decades of environmental abuse in silence.
Yet his dream has not died. The Zero Waste Ambassadors he helped strengthen continue to push for the relocation and full decommissioning of both sites, inspired by his enduring spirit. This is the position and vision of Ubrei-Joe. According to him ” Though Chief Joseph Okpon has passed on, his spirit lives in the movement he inspired. The Zero Waste Ambassadors he helped pioneer continue to carry his torch, nurturing hope, protecting communities, and advancing the vision of a cleaner, just, and sustainable world. But will ZeWA continue on the path that Okpon has touchlighted?
The Coordinator of Zero Waste Ambassadors, Akwa Ibom State, Comrade Faith Paulinus says the movement is determined not to abandon the baton. “Chief Okpon taught us that advocacy is not just about speaking, it is about acting with heart, vision, and persistence. His legacy will continue to inspire environmental defenders, ZeWA and all who strive for a sustainable future. May his ideals live on in every community initiative”, Paulinus said.
ZeWA’s coordinator said he is optimistic that his legacy will live on in every community voice raised against pollution, every youth empowered to fight waste, and every mother who now understands that clean air is not a privilege but a right.
The Final Rest
As the solemn hymns rise on Friday morning and his coffin is lowered to earth, it will not be the end of his story. For those who fight for justice, death is merely a passing into memory and hope.
Chief Joseph Okpon’s struggle was not in vain. His life reminds us that even from a small community, one man’s courage can move mountains, and keep duty bearers on their toes.
He has returned to the earth he fought so hard to protect, its dust now his home, its whisper his eternal song.
Many may add amen to the prayers of the Akwa Ibom State ZeWA Coordinator “May the soil of Akpayak, which Chief Joseph Okpon defended so bravely, rest gently upon him. May his voice continue to echo wherever injustice stinks of decay.”