Kofoworola Ademola is the first African and Nigerian woman to earn a degree at Oxford University, London. She was born in 1913 to the well renowned Lagos lawyer Omoba Eric Olawolu Moore and his wife Aida Arabella. He was a member of an Egba royal family.

 

Kofoworola studied at CMS Girls school in Lagos then proceeded to New York USA where she was got admission into the Vasser College. She moved to Portway College, Reading, United Kingdom, and St. Hugh’s College Oxford where she studied from 1931 to 1935.

 

Dedicated to pursuing her dreams, Kofoworola Ademola became the first African and Nigerian woman to earn a degree from Oxford University.

 

She married Adetokunbo Ademola, a renowned Nigerian lawyer, in 1939. Her husband went on to become the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He also doubled as the Chancellor of the University of Benin. Their union was blessed with five children.

 

Kofoworola Ademola used her educational background to pioneer women’s affairs in Nigeria.

 

In 1958, she emerged as the first president of the National Council of Women Societies. She later became a board member of the International Council of Women.

 

 

Lady Ademola is a multi-faceted woman. She was a writer who wrote children’s books. Also a social worker, teacher, and educator, she co-founded two schools. These schools are the Girls Secondary Modern School in Lagos and New Era Girls’ Secondary School, Lagos.

 

She was then a director of the board of trustees of the United Bank For Africa (UBA) and secretary of the Western Region Scholarship Board. She was also appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1959, receiving the award from Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

 

Finally, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s government in the 1960s awarded her the honour of membership of the Order of the Federal Republic.