Nigeria and Jamaica have lost a distinguished matriarch with the passing of Her Royal Highness, Mrs. Barbara Okoye, the revered Queen Mother of the Royal Family of Eze Dunu I of Ifite Dunu in Dunukofia, Anambra State. Originally born in Jamaica, she became a cherished figure in Nigeria and the beloved mother of Dr. Nicky Okoye, a notable voice in the nation’s investment and digital asset sectors..
Barbara Okoye died on Tuesday the 11th of November 2025, to a brief illness while being treated at a London UK hospital.
She was aged 92, and she is survived by several other children and grandchildren, including Prince Chinedu Okoye, one time Regent of Ifite Dunu, and Princess Augustina Okoye in whose care her highness was when she left the World, among many other children and grandchildren.
Her Highness Barbara Okoye was married to His Royal Majesty Igwe Augustine Ezechi Okoye, the Eze Dunu 1 of Ifite Dunu, Dunukofia LGA, Anambra State of blessed memory, who joined his ancestors of the Royal Clan of Ifite Dunu DunuKofia Anambra State in December of 2003.
Mrs Barbara Okoye was best known for her professional nursing career, in the medical and healthcare industries for which her professionalism served three continents across the World including the United States in North America, the United Kingdom in Europe and Nigeria in Africa.
In addition, she started and operated successfully, several entrepreneurial ventures which included the Clayton Lounge Hotel and the Gannet Concorde Hotel both hospitality properties in Enugu, an institution of higher learning, as well as her “Mothercare” stories which provided nursing mothers, across eastern Nigeria, with all their unique branded baby needs and Mothercare needs as well as mother friendly home equipment.
Dr Nicky Okoye, who is the last son of Mrs Barbara Okoye, is best known for his role as the Chief Strategy Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (now Nigerian Exchange Group), Co-Founder and first Group Executive Director Operations of Transcorp Plc, and as a serial entrepreneur, founding several enterprises including but not limited to, Chairman of ANABEL Group, founder/CEO ANABEL MOBILE, Africa’s first manufacturer of smart mobile devices, CEO ANABEL Capital, founder of the Global Investment Advisory Community, driving the Digital Asset Markets for Nigeria and Africa and President of the African Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Institute.
The funeral arrangements will be announced by the family in due course.
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