Alvan Ikoku (1900–1971) was a Nigerian educator, statesman, activist and politician. Born on August 1, 1900 in Arochukwu, present day Abia State, he was educated at Government School and Hope Waddell College, Calabar. In 1920, he received his first teaching appointment with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland at Itigidi and two years later became a senior tutor at St. Paul's Teachers' Training College, Awka, Anambra State. While teaching at Awka, Ikoku earned his University of London degree in Philosophy in 1928, through its external programme.
Soon after, in 1931, Ikoku established one of the earliest private
secondary schools in Nigeria: the Aggrey Memorial College, located in
Arochukwu and named after James E.K. Aggrey, an eminent Ghanaian
educationist. In 1946, after several constitutional changes allowing
more Nigerians in the legislative chambers, he was nominated to the
Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly and assigned to the ministry of
education. In 1947 he became part of the Legislative Council in Lagos as
one of three representatives of the Eastern Region.
Ikoku fostered considerable government interest in the Nigeria Union of Teachers
(NUT), becoming instrumental in the Legislative Council's acceptance of
44 NUT proposals amending various educational ordinances. He
encountered resistance through much of the 1950s, when the Colonial
Government rejected NUT recommendations for the introduction of uniform
education in Nigeria. However, Ikoku and his union were vindicated after
national independence when the recommendations became the foundation of
official policy on education.
Mazi Alvan Ikoku on the ₦10 note.
Upon retiring from government politics, Ikoku served on various educational bodies in the country. He was a member of the West African Educational Council (WAEC) and the Council of the University of Ibadan
as well as Chairman, Board of Governors of the Aviation Training
Centre. Honours for his contribution to education in Nigeria include an
honorary Doctorate in Law (1965) at a special convocation of the
University of Ibadan, the establishment of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, and his commemoration on a bill of Nigerian currency, the Ten Naira note. He died on November 18, 1971.
