By Yusuf Ayodeji Ajani, PhD Department of Library and Information Science, University of Abuja, Nigeria
Dr. Victoria Oare Okojie, CLN, FNLA (1959- 2026)
Dr. Victoria Oare Okojie, CLN, FNLA (1959- 2026)Dr. Victoria Oare Okojie, Certified Librarian of Nigeria (CLN) and Fellow of the Nigerian Library Association (FNLA), was a titan of African librarianship, an accomplished scholar, institution- builder, global advocate, and mentor whose four- decade career transformed the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession across Nigeria and the continent. Born on 28 November 1959 in Irrua, Ishan, Edo State, Nigeria, she died on 14 September 2026, leaving behind a legacy of professional excellence, regulatory innovation, and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of libraries.
Early Life and Education
Dr. Okojie’s academic foundation was as interdisciplinary as her later career was multifaceted. She earned a B.Ed. in Geography from the University of Benin in 1980, followed by a Master of Library Science (MLS) from the University of Ibadan in 1983. She deepened her geographic expertise with an M.Sc. in Geography from the same institution in 1991, before capping her academic credentials with a PhD in Library and Information Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 2012. Her doctoral research examined information literacy skills and ICT use among librarians in Nigerian university libraries, a theme that would resonate throughout her later advocacy for digital inclusion and professional capacity- building.
A Trailblazing Career: The University of Ibadan and the British Council
Dr. Okojie’s professional journey began in 1984 when she was appointed Librarian II at the Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan. Her University Librarian had been eagerly awaiting her arrival, having been impressed by her outstanding interview performance and a glowing recommendation from one of Nigeria’s most iconic LIS professors. At UI, she built a formidable foundation, serving as cataloguer, reference librarian, information technology services librarian, and Faculty of the Social Sciences librarian. These formative years instilled in her a holistic understanding of library operations from technical services to user engagement and systems management.
1994, providence smiled on her again when she was appointed Area Director and Head of Library at the British Council in Ibadan, the first Nigerian ever to attain that rank. The British Council Director for West Africa, who chaired the interview panel, later informed her that her IT skills, intellectual poise, comportment, and even her dress sense had distinguished her from the competition. She served the British Council for a decade of quantifiable excellence before departing in 2002.
Independent Consultancy and Global Engagement
Rather than retreat into conventional employment, Dr. Okojie embraced risk and entrepreneurship. She co- founded a successful consultancy firm with two former British Council colleagues, proving that librarians could thrive as independent professionals just like medical doctors, engineers, and architects. Their client roster was formidable: the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development (DfID), the British Council, and numerous local organisations, including banks. This consultancy phase demonstrated her versatility and her conviction that librarianship was a profession of strategic value, not merely a public- sector vocation.
The Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN)
In 2009, while returning from an IFLA workshop in Botswana, Dr. Okojie received the call that would define her administrative legacy: she had been appointed the pioneer Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), a Federal Government parastatal equal in status to the office of National Librarian. At the LRCN, she professionalised the field with singular determination. She developed the Code of Ethics and Conduct for LIS practitioners, established minimum standards for academic, public, special, and school libraries, and spearheaded the review of LIS curricula to align them with global best practices. She initiated the geo- location of public libraries nationwide, creating the first comprehensive spatial database of Nigeria’s library infrastructure, and established benchmarks and minimum academic standards that gave the profession regulatory teeth for the first time in its history. Her work at the LRCN was not merely administrative; it was visionary. She saw regulation not as restriction but as a mechanism for elevating the profession’s status and ensuring that library services met the information needs of a developing nation.
Leadership in Professional Associations
Nigerian Library Association (NLA)
Dr. Okojie served as National President of the Nigerian Library Association, where she grew the association’s assets significantly and strengthened its institutional capacity. Her tenure was marked by a pragmatic focus on advocacy, professional development, and organisational sustainability. She remained deeply invested in the NLA’s evolution, later contributing chapters to the association’s 60th- anniversary commemorative volume, chronicling its relationship with the LRCN and its advocacy achievements.
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
On the global stage, Dr. Okojie was a commanding presence. She served as a member of the IFLA Governing Board, as Chair of the IFLA Africa Section, and as Chair of IFLA Division V (Libraries Serving the General Public). As Chair of the Africa Section, she was deeply involved in repositioning African libraries to participate actively in national development, aligning library services with the continent’s socio- economic transformation agendas. She was also one of the first Nigerians selected for the prestigious IFLA International Leaders Programme, an initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of global library leaders. Her international service extended to the Stichting IFLA Global Libraries Foundation, where she served as a board member, helping to shape philanthropic investment in library development worldwide.
International Advisory Roles and Advocacy
Dr. Okojie’s expertise was sought by some of the world’s most influential institutions. She served on the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, where she helped safeguard documentary heritage of universal value. She was an adviser to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries Program, shaping strategies for public access computing and digital inclusion in developing countries. She also served on the International Advisory Board of Book Aid International (UK), where her 38 years of field experience informed the organisation’s literacy and library support programmes across Africa. Her advocacy was not confined to boardrooms. She attended over 200 conferences across the globe, delivered keynote addresses, and represented African librarianship at the highest levels of policy discourse. Her message was consistent: libraries are not luxuries; they are essential infrastructure for education, democracy, and sustainable development.
Academic and Research Contributions
Dr. Okojie was as prolific a scholar as she was a practitioner. She published more than forty papers in learned journals, contributed chapters to numerous edited volumes, co-edited major works, and authored course guides for the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Her research traversed a remarkable range of subjects: innovative library financing in sub-Saharan Africa, public libraries and the development agenda, e-books and mobile devices in Nigerian libraries, social bookmarking and digital libraries, knowledge management, green libraries and environmental sustainability, webometrics, and the future of libraries in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In 2022, she co-edited Global Perspectives on Sustainable Library Practices (IGI Global) with Magnus Osohon Igbinovia, a volume that consolidated international scholarship on environmentally responsible library management. She also co-edited a festschrift in honour of Dr. Helena Asamoah-Hassan, demonstrating her commitment to celebrating African library leadership. Her later work ventured into artificial intelligence policy for academic libraries and the implications of COVID-19 for library services in Nigeria, showing a scholar who remained intellectually restless until the end. As a lecturer, she held appointments at the University of Abuja, the National Open University of Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, and the University of Buea in Cameroon, where she influenced generations of students with her blend of theoretical rigour and practical wisdom. She was, by her own account, happiest back in the classroom, “reveling students with wide range of experiences.”
Provost of Edo State College of Education, Igueben
In late 2025, Dr. Okojie was appointed Provost of the Edo State College of Education, Igueben, by Governor Monday Okpebholo. The appointment was a testament to her stature as an educator and administrator of national repute. She brought to the office, in the words of the state government, “a wealth of scholarly insight, institutional knowledge, and a proven track record of service excellence.” True to form, she moved quickly to revitalise the institution. Governor Okpebholo publicly commended her for the “rapid transformation” she initiated, a reflection of the same administrative acumen that had redefined the LRCN and the NLA. Her tenure, though cut short by her passing, demonstrated that her leadership gifts transcended the library profession and extended to the broader terrain of tertiary education governance in Nigeria.
Awards, Honours, and Fellowships
Awards, Honours, and FellowshipsDr. Okojie’s contributions were recognised with more than 15 awards and numerous prestigious fellowships. She was a Fellow of the Nigerian Library Association (FMLA) and a Certified Librarian of Nigeria (CLN). Among her accolades were the NLA Eminent Service Award, multiple Excellence in Librarianship awards, the “Daughter of Destiny” Award, and recognition as an Icon of Education. She was honoured with an honorary doctorate from Commonwealth University Belize and awarded fellowships by the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
Philosophy and Personal Ethos
Philosophy and Personal EthosThose who knew Dr. Okojie often remarked on her elegance, intellect, and indomitable spirit. She was a risk- taker who believed in deliberate action. “To get to the peak of the profession nationally, regionally and internationally,” she once advised young librarians, “you must be multi- skilled, able to multi- task, take calculated risks, be focused, committed and passionate, and you must be deliberate in whatever you do.” Her personal mantra was one of optimism and opportunity. “As a policy,” she wrote, “I never see challenges; rather I always see opportunities in every situation. For me, it just gets bigger and better! You too can make it! All you need is to believe in yourself and go for it!” This philosophy animated every institution she touched, from the Kenneth Dike Library to the Provost’s office at Igueben.
A Lasting Legacy
A Lasting LegacyDr. Victoria Oare Okojie’s death on the early hours of the 14th September 2026 was a profound loss to the LIS profession, to Nigerian education, and to the global community of information advocates. Colleagues remember her as an outstanding scholar, a generous mentor, and a visionary leader whose contributions to professional development, regulation, and advocacy will remain unforgettable. As scholars and practitioners have noted, her passing leaves a void that will be felt across Nigeria, Africa, and the world. Her legacy endures in the regulatory framework of the LRCN, in the strengthened institutions of the NLA and IFLA Africa, in the published scholarship that continues to inform library policy, in the young librarians she mentored, and in the revitalised Edo State College of Education that she briefly but brilliantly led. She believed fiercely in the transformative power of libraries and information, and she spent her life proving that belief right.
May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.
