Fifi Ekanem Ejindu is a Nigerian architect, businesswoman and philanthropist. Born in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, she is the great-granddaughter of King James Ekpo Bassey of Cobham Town in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

, Nigeria.

Biography

Fifi is the great-granddaughter of James Ekpo Bassey, an Efik

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

of the colonial era whose seat was in Cobham Town,

, Nigeria. King Bassey, her mother's grandfather, was crowned king of Cobham Town by representatives of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1893. As a result of this heritage, Princess Fifi uses the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of H.H. The Obonganwan King James socially. The princess was born ''Offiong Ekanem Ejindu'' in

, the capital of

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, Nigeria. She was also raised there. Her father, Professor Sylvester Joseph Una, studied at the

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in the United States. He was the first Minister of Health in the former eastern region of Nigeria, and a member of the National Parliament in the lead up to independence. He then pursued an academic career and became one of the first indigenous lecturers at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

. Princess Fifi's mother, the Obonganwan Ekpa Una, was also educated in England. Princess Fifi attended

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

. She further studied Architecture at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

, a private design college in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. In 1983, she graduated from Pratt, becoming the first black African woman to be awarded a B.Arch. from the institute. After graduating, Fifi took courses at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

before she went on to work at a private firm in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Fifi then returned to Pratt Institute to get her Masters in Urban Planning after which she returned to Nigeria. On her return to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, Ejindu started the Starcrest Group of companies. The company started in 1995, and comprises Starcrest Investment Ltd., Starcrest Associates Ltd. and Starcrest Industries Ltd, all involved in real estate, oil and gas, and building construction. In 2013, she was awarded the African Achievers African Arts and Fashion Lifetime Achievement award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejindu, Fifi Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Businesspeople from Ibadan Queen's College, Lagos alumni Pratt Institute alumni Nigerian fashion businesspeople Nigerian real estate businesspeople Nigerian philanthropists Nigerian socialites Nigerian princesses 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian expatriates in the United States Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Nigerian women company founders Nigerian businesspeople in the oil industry Nigerian women architects People of Efik descent 20th-century Nigerian architects 21st-century Nigerian architects 20th-century Nigerian businesswomen 21st-century Nigerian businesswomen 1962 births

Biography

See also

References