I remember you my dear Mrs. Coker

I remember you my dear Mrs. Coker with such crystal clarity, even if the first time we met would have been nearly 47 years ago today.

You were a part of my life as my mother. And I do not mean that lightly. You nurtured me through my years away from home for the first time; four of my five years at Queen’s College, Lagos were under your care.

I remember you distinctly even if not as much as others do; my memory needs to be jogged especially as we get older. But what I do remember is as much a part of me as my DNA. How you taught me phonetics and I think I did well at it too; how you scolded repeatedly: “Don’t walk on the grass or across the quadrangle.”; “Wear your beret properly.”; “Don’t wear your sweater around your waist.”

To this day I cringe at the thought that hanging one’s sweater on the waist is seen as fashionable. For me it’s not a style to even contemplate as I pass on the same message to the next generation. That was how much you taught and reinforced the way ladies should speak, act and behave; and we are all the better for it, many years later.

I remember the morning assemblies where we sang non-denominational hymns. I never realised you were Catholic until the arrangements for your obsequies.

I remember the Saturday evening entertainments when the likes of Snr Susan Soboyejo won the Miss Legs contest; the traditional cultural dances and songs where we learnt dances from the various ethnic groups; dances that must have fuelled my love for dance, song and music of all types. 

I remember the tuck boxes we used to be allowed to have for home food and snacks; the well-prepared jollof rice, chicken and ice cream that we looked forward to having as Wednesday and Sunday culinary delights.

All these fond memories I have of a school run under your firm and decisive leadership.        

I do wish you had allowed us to speak “vernacular”, as you termed our native languages, and perhaps find a way of blending both the love of phonetics with the ability to speak in one’s own mother tongue or language of the places in which we resided. But I know it wasn’t just Queen’s College where this was practised. It was the policy of the time and as usual you complied and enforced this fully. 

One thing is clear. I really loved how you nurtured me. I loved your teaching style – firm and value adding. 

You took us in as your children; rearing us in ways you knew would serve us well and do you proud. How right you were.

I am glad to have seen you the last time my set celebrated the 40th anniversary of our departure from school in 2018. Just three weeks before your final exit I had contacted Remi to discuss connecting you to a journalist who was keen to interview you. But you were too weak then. I wish we had thought of it much earlier, but I’m glad you left behind “My Life and Times” – thanks to the great work of Snr Tonye Unuigbe. 

Thank you for all you did for me and for so many of us. Thank you for being such a cherished part of our upbringing. I consider myself to be one of the privileged and lucky ones to have had you as principal, teacher and mentor. 

You are at peace now, enjoying heaven with my dear Mother and enjoying the gist. 

Keep on guiding us right, wherever you both are. God be with you, till we meet again.

Ifueko M Omoigui Okauru, MFR

Class of 1973-78 

President, Queen’s College Old Girls Association (QCOGA) 2019-2021

Tribute by Abimbola Okenla Sowemimo Class of 1958/60

Part 1

MRS EFUNJOKE COKER WAS NEVER MY PRINCIPAL AT QUEENS COLLEGE.

I WAS IN SCHOOL DURING THE COLONIAL ERA AND I KNEW HER THROUGH MY OWN PRINCIPAL – MRS. MARGARET HARWOOD, HER IMMEDIATE PREDECESSOR.

WHAT INTRIGUED ME MOST ABOUT THE TWO OF THEM AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS THAT BOTH OF THEM EQUALLY EXHIBITED SUCH MATURITY, STRENGTH OF CHARACTER, AND SUCH STERLING QUALITIES THAT THEY DIDN’T BOTHER THAT ONE SUCCEEDED THE OTHER.

THEIR FRIENDSHIP WAS SO SINCERE , SO GENUINE AND DEEP. THAT I GOT TO KNOW MRS COKER AT ALL WAS WHEN MRS HARWOOD, MY FAVOURITE PRINCIPAL, MENTOR, FRIEND, AND LIKE A MOTHER TO ME IN EVERY WAY AND FORM, LITERALLY BEGGED ME TO LOOK FOR MRS. COKER ON HER BEHALF AND GET HER ADDRESS FOR HER.

MOREOVER, I WAS STUPEFIED WHEN MRS HARWOOD ANNOUNCED TO ME WITH SUCH WARMTH AND AFFECTION THAT MRS COKER WOULD SPEND HER SUMMER VACATION WITH HER AT HER HOUSE IN SUFFOLK.

GREAT WERE THE TIES BETWEEN THEM.

MAY HER SWEET, BELOVED, GENTLE, AND VERY BEAUTIFUL SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE, AMEN.

MRS IPHIGENIA EFUNJOKE COKER , REQUIESCAT IN PACE AMEN

Part 2.

THE TRUTH BE TOLD AND I MUST BE FAITHFUL TO RECOUNT IT TO BENEFIT THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS SO THAT WE CAN TRULY PASS ON THE TORCH FOR EVER AND EVER, AND WE DON’T DIE WITH OUR KNOWLEDGE AND BECOME UNPRODUCTIVE AMEN .

NOW, AT THAT SPECIFIC MOMENT OF OUR NATIONAL HISTORY, AT THE VERY END OF THE COLONIAL ERA, OF WHICH BY GRACE AND MERCY OF GOD ,THE ALMIGHTY, I WAS A PARTAKER, PRAISE HIS MOST HOLY NAME FOR EVER AND EVER , AMEN.

THE NIGERIANISATION POLICY WAS ON . THIS MADE THE TIMES TO BE HARSH AND HARD AND FEELINGS WERE HIGHLY VEXED AND THIS WAS WHY, WHEN , AND HOW, MRS HARWOOD LEFT AND MRS. COKER CAME ON BOARD. HOWEVER THE VERY GOOD THING ABOUT THE TWO OF THEM WHICH I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, AND WHICH RESONATES TO THEIR CREDIT, AND WHICH THEY EQUALLY EXHIBITED, THE VERY TWO OF THEM , THE TWO GLADIATORS, TO THE UTTER AMAZEMENT OF ALL US THE SPECTATORS, WAS THE GLADSOME WAY THEY RECEIVED EACH OTHER. THIS WAS THEIR MATURITY. THIS CERTAINLY WAS THE BEAUTY OF THEIR SOULS ETERNAL REST GRANT UNTO THEM, O LORD , AND LET LIGHT PERPETUAL CONTINUE TO SHINE UPON THEM AMEN. TO SUM UP THE WHOLE EPISODE SUCCINCTLY, WE FIND RECOURSE TO THE LATIN EXPRESSION, ABLY TAUGHT TO US IN THOSE DAYS IN QUEENS COLLEGE LAGOS , BY OUR ERUDITE AND MOST AMIABLE TEACHER, MRS STELLA ODESANYA ,THE LATIN GURU, THUS , PER ARDUA AD ASTRA – THROUGH DIFFICULTIES TO THE STARS AMEN .

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND REMAIN RICHLY BLESSED AMEN

MRS OKENLA SOWEMIMO 1958/1960 SET AMEN

Mrs Efunjoke Coker…a pride to all Queen’s College Old Girls. The first Nigerian Principal and what we can say is the Founder of the Modern  Day Queen’s College.

The Principal of All Principals… I salute you

Our interactions were as fellow Old Girls, most especially as l was the Secretary of QCOGA throughout your tenure as Principal. You made interactions easy and smooth for the progress of the school

You stood for Excellence Discipline with strong morals of which my own daughter Oludayo is a product of.

As fellow members of Zonta International Club Lagos 1, our interactions was always a pleasure

Adieu our dear Mrs Coker, you lived the motto “Pass On The Torch” with QC girls doing exploits all over the world

Heaven has received an Angel

Rest In Peace

Lady Abigail Iyabode Awotesu

HER EXCELLENCY, DR. MRS. IPALIBO HARRY BANIGO

A Sacred Assignment

I have so many fond memories of life in QC with Mrs Coker, our highly respected Principal, doing her best to make ladies of us. I remember the piano recitals and classical music that we listened to at Assembly. I remember us all sitting around her on the parquet floor in the Assembly Hall, watching the slides from her travels each time she returned from a trip abroad, broadening our minds. I recall the lessons in Phonetics and trying to imitate her careful diction. She insisted that every word be pronounced correctly whether you were speaking to a labourer or a Professor. We were not allowed to use toilet paper for our noses, it had to be tissue paper. She spent endless hours explaining to us the meaning of “integrity” and why it was so important that we live by it. I must say that Mrs Coker ensured that we had a good , balanced education. To think that when she retired in 1977, she was only 53 years old (which doesn’t sound that old now that one is past that age but while in school, we thought she was very very old)!

In recent years, I got accustomed to visiting Mrs Coker at her home regularly. Soon enough, she became  “Mum” rather than “our highly respected Principal”. I found it amusing that she now spoke mostly in Yoruba all the time, in school we always had to speak English and we had never heard her speak Yoruba. During those visits, there was always something to learn from her.  I found out how much she really loved us, her girls, and this brings to mind a line in her book, My Life and Times, where she referred to Queen’s College as a sacred assignment which God had given her. Indeed she carried out that assignment with every fibre of her being. She was truly a great mother.

As we prepare for Mum’s funeral, my prayer is that the Lord will be with all those she left behind, especially Remi, her immediate family, her Queen’s College family and all those she held dear to her heart. May we all continue to cherish our loving memories of her.

‘Wande Muoyo (nee Banwo) 

1970-74/76 set

TRIBUTE TO LATE (MRS) IPHIGENIA EFUNJOKE COKER

The passing of our beloved and much revered former Principal of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, Mrs Coker, spells the end of an era.

I had the privilege and honour of knowing Mrs Coker for forty -four years in two capacities- as a pupil of Queen’s College where she was our 1974/79 set’s Principal for three years and then as a close friend of her daughter, Remi.

At school, she set such high standards for us to emulate. I greatly admired her upright ,elegant stature and her quiet but effective mien that commanded the respect of all who crossed her path.
At home, Mrs Coker, was a dear mother to all with a passion for people and for life. She clearly loved her OGQC family who constantly surrounded her with love and affection as well as her immediate and extended family including her great pride and joy, Remi and by extension, Remi’s friends.
Mrs Coker was also a great conversationalist and would regale Remi and l with stories of ‘Old Lagos’. On a personal level, it was important to her that l embraced my heritage in its entirety so would insist on conversing with me in Yoruba throughout my early visits to Remi and if ‘lafu’(which l was not terribly keen on), was being served for lunch, would smile mischievously as l struggled to eat it all the while saying how much l was enjoying lunch.
Mrs Coker’s great intellect, appreciation of the ‘arts’, sense of adventure and genuine love for people remained steadfast throughout her life. She would admonish me whenever she felt that the period between my visits to her had been too long , jokingly say that my visit marked a great day for which she had felt obliged ‘to roll out the drums’ by preparing a ‘small feast’ for me.
A truly remarkable woman of substance!

May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
Doreen O. Lambo

Tribute to Mrs Iphigenia Efunjoke Coker – a generational Influencer

Apart from our parents, Mrs Efunjoke Coker was one of the greatest positive influences in our lives.

Since Arinola blazed the trail by being the first member of the Akinpelu family to gain admission into the prestigious Queen’s College in 1967, it became “QC or nothing” for the Lagos branch of the family. Arinola, Titilola and Olabisi had the privilege of being students when Mrs Coker was PQC.

We learnt courage, determination, doggedness, integrity, carriage, diction and much more, which we have continued to pass on to future generations. Mrs Coker directly or indirectly impacted the entire family, especially the girls. She became a symbol of what we wanted to become in life. In each of our own little ways, we have tried to make her proud.

Our dear Mrs Coker may your great and noble soul rest in perfect peace.

Much loved and never to be forgotten by:

The AKINPELU girls.

(3 daughters and 7 granddaughters of Oladejo and Adeoti AKINPELU)

1. Prof Arinola Sanya – Class of 71/73, Head Girl 1973
2. Dr Titilola Akinlade – Class of 72/74
3. Olabisi Babalola – Class of 79
4. Dr Abisola Afolalu – Class of 89
5. Yetunde Uwaifo – Class of 93
6. Dr Olubukunola Adefabi – Class of 94
7. Oladunni Akinpelu – Class of 96
8. Adebukola Akinlade – Class of 98
9. Motunrayo Famoriyo – Class of 2003
10. Oyinkansola Akinpelu – Class of 2003

Prof. Arinola SANYA (Née AKINPELU)

It is a privilege to join in the celebration of the life and legacy of our dearly beloved and revered Dr.(Mrs) I.E. Coker as PQC and member of Council of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She was a great Educationist, an outstanding and effective “Girl Child Educator”, a legendary role model and an unforgettable mentor of thousands of highly successful national and global female achievers in all spheres of human endeavor!

Her highly commendable performance as a member of the University of Ibadan Governing Council made QCOG staff and students of UI very proud of her and our great Queen’s College Lagos! Dr (Mrs) I.E. Coker certainly left indelible footprints in the sands of time.

As Head Girl QC (1973), I had additional working relationship with Mrs Coker, which exposed me to the administrative style and acumen of this astute, diligent, confident, humane, composed, elegant, firm but fair female administrator! I was greatly influenced by her comportment and style later in my own career as an educator and later as an administrator. Her voice and name kept ringing in my mind as I always proudly refer to her moral and leadership admonishing quotable nuggets of truths and wisdom!

Adieu our legendary Dr. (Mrs) Coker! You fought a good fight, you finished the race! May your great soul continue to have sweet repose in the bosom of your Lord, Amen.

Prof. Arinola SANYA (Née AKINPELU). OGQC 1971/73 set. Head Girl QC 1973.

Tribute to Dr. (Mrs.) Iphigenia Efunjoke Coker
My Principal, My Mentor, My Role Model and My Friend

By Engr. Dr. (Mrs.) Olatokunbo Somolu

Through the first six years of my time in Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, I watched you from a distance, always in awe of your ever steady firm strides and authoritative announcements made each morning during assembly.

In my final year in 1969 when I became the Head Girl, I now worked more closely with you and you became a mentor, a mother, an inspiration and my friend all rolled together.

All students either went into hiding or just sat still whenever you walked down the corridors because we all knew you were firm, strict and a disciplinarian to the core. You did not tolerate any action or behaviour that was not in conformity with the school rules, good order and excellence in all situations and at all times.

In 1969 as the Head Girl, I formed a friendship with you which has lasted until 23rd December 2019 when the Lord took you home to rest.

Myself and numerous others have, over the years, imbibed your disciplined, organized and orderly lifestyle. You were a real mother who taught us rules to guide us into high achieving, progressive and good living. You taught me that in life, I have to take the bad occurrences along with the good ones, as life is never a bed of roses.

I remember you always encouraging me to aim for the top. You physically attended my PhD graduation ceremony in January 1979 and you attended my wedding and several other landmark events in my life.

You were an embodiment of grace, of compassion, of strong will, dedication and you were “integrity” personified. You lived a dignified life till the end and even when communication became more difficult for you, you still said only words of encouragement.
Three words of encouragement you still uttered to me on the evening of Sunday 22nd December—-a few hours before you joined the saints triumphant.

We thank God for knowing you and for your truly meaningful, impactful and dedicated life to several generations of girls and other people.

Rest in the bosom of the Almighty, your Creator.!!!!!
Engr. Dr. (Mrs) Olatokunbo Somolu
Head Girl – Queen’s College Lagos (1969)

ADIEU! MRS I.E. COKER, PQC: A WOMAN FOR ALL SEASONS!

How fortunate I have been to enjoy a close relationship with such an extraordinary woman for over half a century! I am truly grateful to God for this privilege, and to Mrs Coker herself for inspiring and encouraging me throughout this period. During our HSC literature class she brought Milton’s Paradise Lost to life; when I became Head Girl in 1967 she taught me Leadership by Example, and helped me to acquire the self-confidence needed to shoulder this huge responsibility… During the Civil War our highly respected, indefatigable PQC created an atmosphere of normalcy in Queen’s College so that girls from all over Nigeria could continue to live together in harmony and pass their exams with flying colours. Good behaviour was the order of the day, and nobody was above the law. Mrs Coker was a strict disciplinarian, but she was fair, and we knew she cared about us. She took immediate action when we informed her that KC Boys were eating better meals than we were!
She instilled in us the necessary confidence and values so that many QC girls became “firsts” in emerging sectors and male dominated businesses and professions, while many others are rendering selfless service to their communities. She established a QC brand of Excellence and Camaraderie, and our greatest Tribute to Mrs Iphigenia Efunjoke Coker will be to continue to PASS ON THE TORCH!
May her Sweet Soul Rest in Perfect Peace.

Shade Bembatoum-Young FIMC,CMC
Honorary Life Vice President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Past President ZONTA Club of Lagos 1

A TRIBUTE TO MRS. IPHIGENIA EFUNJOKE COKER FROM ELELAONU OKORO (MRS.) NEE AMADI 1962 – 1963 HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE CLASS.

Mrs. Coker was our Literature teacher as well as the form teacher for the HSC class. She was a woman of many parts. She was a dedicated teacher who handled her subject diligently. She was a disciplinarian who commanded the respect of both students and staff.

Mrs. Coker was a graceful lady, a role model to students who emulated her comportment.

She impacted positively on our lives as students both academically, socially and morally. She was strict and yet compassionate and caring.

Mrs. Coker went beyond being our Literature teacher to playing the role of a mother. She had a positive impact on our lives. She was a detribalised Nigerian as we felt very much at home irrespective of our ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Mrs. Coker ensured that we obeyed the school rules. She was very meticulous in the way she supervised us. For example on Fridays she inspected our dressing, paying special attention to our nails which were trimmed if they were long. She also censored our letters before releasing them to us which ensured that we were protected and not distracted from our studies.

Mrs. Coker ensured that we had balanced education with emphasis on both good character and academic excellence. Her efforts paid off as most of us had good grades in the Higher School Certificate Examinations and gained admissions to universities.

I benefited immensely from her strict disposition as a student in the 1962-1963 HSC class and later as a teacher in Queens College where she was the Principal in 1973.

Mrs. Coker was an exemplary administrator an astute educationist, and advocate of the girl child. 

I pray that her good soul would rest in perfect peace.

Pass On The Torch!!

Elelaonu Okoro (Mrs) Nee Amadi

HSC class of 1962-1963.

“As you have conquered Queens College, be equally determined to conquer all future difficulties. With God’s help of course.” So were the words of mother, teacher, mentor and Principal; to a beloved daughter.  

I met Mrs Coker in 1974 when i was admitted into Queens College. She watched over me with keen interest, encouraged me through school and the tips on living a courageous course. I lived with her for two weeks when she told my father to stay off my matters after my protest demanding to leave QC. She outrightly said that so long as she remained Principal Queens College, this bright little girl will not leave this College. I gave up on the will to leave and today I live to say that Mrs Iphigenia Efunjoke Coker is one reason why I stand tall in everything I do.

Adieu; to an indefatigable woman of substance, mother, disciplinarian, teacher and mentor. Memories of you will remain indelible in the sands of Education and Leadership in Nigeria and indeed the world. Your products are in every corner of the globe and doing you proud.

Rest On in Perfect Peace!

Fadimatu Magaji Muazu (Class of 1974- 79)

Dear dear Cokie, how could I ever forget that poise, that gentle but majestic walk, that smile so sweet but yet stern. The clap that would make any girl freeze on the spot knowing fully well that the finger summon would be next, which meant something was wrong with your appearance, your hair,pinafore flap, shoes or maybe you were just slouching. 

You instilled such discipline in us right from our carriage,ensuring we valued self dignity and dignity of others. So many lessons learnt and so much grasped without even realizing it. Today we know that what we are is majorly from what you gave us in so many different ways, my pen and paper cannot do any justice to that. So I say, “Thank you Mrs Coker for, giving yourself to us”

I remember my first ‘trip’ to the Principal’s office, I thought I was going to die but no, you didn’t kill me, rather you schooled me and I came out rather amazed, you truly were a lady and definitely a mother. I salute!!

It was my dream to visit you and ofcause have a historical picture but alas! So today I hug you in my heart proudly knowing that you live in me and in many others. 

Rest on our Queen, know that you have passed on the torch, shining brightly everywhere, North, East, West ,South and beyond the shores of this great Nation. 

Sleep on my Queen. Eternal rest.

Sa’adatu Audu Bako 

Class of ‘76

Mrs. Coker, Cokie, Aunty Joke – an excellent administrator, a meticulous teacher, a disciplinarian, a loving aunty.

She taught us to be ladies in our dressing and comportment. Just once, 30 years after leaving QC, I had cause to tie a cardigan around my waist. I was glad Cokie couldn’t see me! As a teacher she took extra care to ensure that we excelled.

I remember the evening English Literature classes, which helped tremendously. We mastered Byron, Yeats, Shelley, Shakespeare etc. and this was reflected in our HSC results. She contributed immensely to who I am today and I cannot thank her enough. With her support I was able to complete my Girl Guide First Class badge and go further.

QC’s Girl Guide company was the best in Nigeria thanks to her support. She gave me the opportunity to develop leadership skills that have stood me in good stead. Aunty Joke is gone but can never be forgotten.

May her soul rest in perfect peace.

Prisca Soares

Class of 69

“Girls!”… then clap clap clap “get off the grass”.

This is one of my fondest memory of “Cokie” as we fondly and reverently called her. She invested in our lives and taught us good morals, good diction in the English language and etiquette for ladies.

May her gentle soul rest in peace.

Olayinka Akinyede on behalf of the Akinyede girls.

Class of 78

May her soul rest with Christ

What a blessed life
Mrs Coker taught us class
Remember we had to sit every assembly and listen to Mozart and Handel
When we sang the songs of praise hymn
‘Immortal invisible God only wise …..
She would stop us cos we would sing “immortal Invisibull” she will stop us and say “not invisibull …invisible”

Mope Akintorin nee Omidiora

Class of 1973-78

I have been truly privileged to experience the two sides of Mrs Coker.  

First as my Principal.  One Saturday or Sunday afternoon in my 1st year at Queens College, as I stepped into the corridor between the boarding house block leading up to the assembly hall block, I was shocked to find ‘Cokie’ at the opposite end of the same corridor walking in my direction. I froze and wished I could disappear into thin air, but there was no going back. Though I knew I had done nothing wrong, I now needed to ensure that  everything about me was in order – clothes, hair, shoes, and even my comportment. That was the longest walk of my life and with every step I took as we approached each other my legs shook more. There was no one else in sight. I recall Heaven and earth almost moving by the time our paths actually crossed and her looking down from her tall frame at my definitely less than 4 foot frame and simply exchanging a Principal pupil greeting. I wonder till this day how I did not faint and just fall flat on my face.

This memory sums up just how much she was revered by all who knew her. 

I therefore could not believe it when I discovered the second side of Cokie from the time I became close friends with Remi at University. I could not believe that I could be sitting in her room like I would with my Mum, talking and laughing. This second side of my knowledge of her culminated in me loving her enough to dare to ask her to be the Chairman at my wedding in 1992, a role which she played as usual most admirably. 

Till the very end, she saw and loved to share the funny side of so many of her past experiences. Her font of wisdom and ability to apply this to ensure fairness and sound judgement in the most tricky situations, was remarkable and second to none. I am convinced that irrespective of the stern face that we often saw at assembly, she must have on a number of occasions gone back and had quite a giggle in her office.

Having a masters in English and insisting that we spoke Queens English in school, I was again surprised when I got a serious scolding from her for not speaking to my children in Yoruba, and equally surprised to learn that she spoke to Remi only in Yoruba until she was 2 years old.  I came to realise that, in addition to speaking English properly and comporting ourselves as ladies, she strongly believed that we should be proud of our culture and language and be confident in our own skin.  

Mrs Coker taught us and lived by her principles 

– She believed in being practical and simple. 

– She was stately to the very end and yet so humble

– Extremely disciplined and a disciplinarian and yet enjoyed the pleasures of life to the full – on her 95th birthday she was still able to eat chocolate and requested that I brought some back with me on my next trip.

In 2018, I decided during some of my visits to spend the time singing. I would sing praise songs hymns and any popular oldies that I could remember that I thought she might remember. And she would respond to each one, singing along with me in perfect tune, even at the age of 94! 

She truly loved her girls and her home was open to so many of us who loved her and trooped in and out to visit her. 

This, she shared with me, was what was keeping her going … She loved and lived for us, her girls.

May her sweet soul rest in peace.

Lande Adejumo

YEWANDE COLE

Mama was a very kind hearted and loving mother. Asides from being one of her babies in her youngest set at Queens College, Yaba, Lagos in 1976 her retirement year, I was privileged to be her neighbour on Femi Ayantuga Crescent in Suru – Lere which was her first abode after Queens College. Her house was directly opposite my parents house. She was particularly fond of my late mum (Mrs Betty Cole) who she looked after when she fell ill in 1980/81. She would spend the whole day with her feeding and taking care of her until my dad returned from work in the evening, only popping back home occasionally to check on her brothers who lived with her. I wept uncontrollably during my last visit to her a few years ago with my daughter who incidentally is mama’s daughter’s namesake (Remi Coker) because she insisted on praying for each of us as if she was bidding us farewell. I knew within my spirit that it was going to be my last private visit to see her before she left us. I thank God for giving me the privilege of knowing such a beautiful lady.
Cokie as she was fondly called in QC was a great mother, mentor and disciplinarian and each and everyone of us is proud to have had her as our principal.
May her gentle soul rest in peace.

I commiserate with the family of Mrs. Efunjoke Coker, who played such a unique role in the life of Queen’s College, Lagos.

She was a student, teacher, first Nigerian Principal, the longest-serving principal for 14 years in the school and the only person in contemporary times, after whom a house was named – Efunjoke House. That was my house! During my time at Queen’s College, Mrs. Coker would attend our annual inter-house sports day and would cheer us on.  I remember saluting her as we marched past the tent for special guests during the ceremony.

I pray for God’s peace and comfort for her family, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Engr. Temitayo Okunoren-Makindipe

OGQC 1985 Set
Vice President 2, Queen’s College Old Girls’ Association.