The headline says it all. Alec’s father was a character that loomed large in people’s lives and this obituary explains why. Not many a man’s name becomes part of a saying in an African language:
He spent 16 years in colonial administration in Nigeria, from 1947 to 1963, and proudly laid claim to being one of only two Britons, ever, whose surname passed into the native Hausa language. “Aka yi masa mafed” (literal translation “One did to him Muffett”) coming to mean “Justice caught up with him”.
I had the privilege of meeting the man himself. We talked of international relations, Ethiopia, WWII, history and African languages. Even in his weakened state he brought terror to the carers around him.
They don’t make them like this any more… Sorry, Alec. 
Sympathy and best wishes to Alec and family.
