Princess Tejumade Alakija, daughter of the monarch of the Ife tribe of Nigeria (then known as West Africa) attended Westfield College (present day Queen Mary University of London) from 1947-1950.
Princess Tejumade Alakija, daughter of the monarch of the Ife tribe of Nigeria (then known as West Africa) attended Westfield College (present day Queen Mary University of London) from 1947-1950. Her father, Sir Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife, was the traditional monarch of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife.
The Princess attended Westfield College from October 1947 to June 1950. She studied Honours History, specialising in Colonial History and the Development of the Commonwealth. During her studies, she also achieved an Intermediate BA in English, History and Latin.
Princess Alakija is a well loved and respected figurehead, she was a trail blazer, and an important figure to remember in the theme of Black History Month, reclaiming narratives.
Princess Alakija’s time at Queen Mary was spent pursuing many new and challenging courses, actively participating in various student groups. Described as having ‘...played a very active part in College life,’ the Princess had an active social life at Westfield, making several close friends. She was an active participator in College societies and an attender at College social functions and discussion.
She became very politically minded. Her political ideology was largely influenced by a strong objection to racial discrimination and inspired her Left-leaning views. She took an active part in the last General Election on the Labour side.
She has been described by the then-Principal of Westfield, Mrs. Stocks, as a “...very vital and intelligent young woman,” and was well liked by her peers and teachers.
Living in a foreign country and studying in a language she was unfamiliar with undoubtedly posed challenges for the Princess. In a letter to her father, the Ooni of Ife, her Principal noted; “...she has worked hard and well, but of course she has been [challenged] from the start, by the fact that she is working in a foreign language against an unfamiliar cultural background...” Moreover, on one occasion, her duties as a Nigerian Princess further challenged her studies, when she supported her father during his visit to England during her long vacation period. Despite the challenges, the Princess obtained an Intermediate BA in English, History and Latin. Princess Alakija obtained a third-class honours degree BA History. In her specialised subjects, she was noted as having done some work which was “well above Third Class Honours level”.
Princess Alakija was known by her teachers as having “considerable social gifts” and making “close friends among the English students”, displaying “...exactly the right degree of courtesy and humility in dealing with people older than herself.”
Determined to pursue a postgraduate teacher’s diploma, Princess Alakija had her mind set to study at the University of Oxford. Principal Stocks aided the recent royal graduate by writing to the Head of the Oxford Educational Department to consider her as a candidate for a place at Oxford.
“She is anxious in the first place to take a postgraduate teacher's diploma and both Miss Martin and I think that this is the right thing for her to do. It is a necessary qualification for the Government Service and indeed, if she intends to do constructive educational work in her own country, she ought to know something about how teachers are trained...”
“...I think it would be a very good thing for her to have a year at Oxford. Quite apart from the beauty and charm of the place, it would give her some experience of a very different type of university. And this would help to build up her knowledge of the educational scene.”
After obtaining her teaching license from Oxford, Princess Alakija pursued her interest in working for the civil service. Her civil service career began as a teacher, eventually leading the creation of the Anglican Girls Grammar School in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria. The Princess later went on to join the Western Nigeria Civil Service where she served as Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Works, then Ministry of Trade and Industry – eventually becoming a Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education.
Princess Alakija went on to be appointed as the Head of Civil Service for the Oyo State – the first woman to ever be appointed to this role in Nigeria.
Princess Tejumade Alakija joined the Western Nigeria Civil Service and served as Assistant Secretary at the Ministry Works, and later the Ministry of Trade and Industry before becoming a Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education. She retired as Head of Civil Service Oyo State, the first female to be so appointed in Nigeria. She was also former Pro Chancellor of three Universities, University of Benin, University of Nigeria Nsukka and University of Abuja.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to the Queen Mary Archives and Oxford University Archives for their assistance in retrieving this information and for supporting this research.
PHOTOGRAPHS
https://oyoinsight.com/alakijas-10th-years-memorial-events-begin/
https://jolibaafricacom.wordpress.com/2020/07/28/princess-tejumade-alakija/ She was the first female head of Oyo State’s civil service. From 1993 to 1997, she was Pro-Chancellor of the University of Abuja.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adesoji_Aderemi