Kofoworola Abeni Pratt

Kofoworola Abeni Pratt
Source: Royal College of Nursing, London.

Kofoworola Abeni Pratt was an illustrious nurse who made highly regarded contribution to her profession in Nigeria. Born into a middle class family in 1918, Kofoworola trained as a teacher in the University Missionary College in Ibadan because of her father’s disapproval of her intention to be a nurse. She taught at C.M.S. Grammar School from 1936 to 1940. After her marriage to Dr. E.S.O. Pratt, she traveled to Britain in 1946 to follow her original dream of becoming a nurse, qualifying as a state registered nurse in 1950. She was, while studying in Britain, an active member of the West African Student Union. Kofoworola became a matron at the University College Hospital Ibadan when she came back to Nigeria in 1954. She was the Lagos Commissioner for Health in the 1970s and was awarded the prestigious Florence Nightingale award in 1983, ten years before her passing.

Contributor:
Tope Apoola
Profession: Writer