Julie Coker

Early life and education

Coker's father was from Abeokuta while her mother is itsekiri from Warri area.^[1] She grew up in Lagos with her mother and step-father and attended St Mary's Convent primary school, founded by Catholic missionaries and managed by nuns of Our Lady of Apostles. At school, Julie found interest in the choir and performance art, an interest that was nurtured by the nuns. She later gained admission into Holy Child College. When she was fourteen years old, her mother fell sick and went to her village to recuperate, Coker stayed with her step-father's family who lived in a communal compound. But after a year, without a letter or note from her mother, she risked the waterways and strangers to go and search for her in the Sapele area of present Delta State. Coker spoke Yoruba and did not speak Itsekiri, the language of her maternal family. When she landed in Sapele, she talked with strangers to describe what she knew about her mum's village and by nightfall, someone was able to assist and get her to her grandmother's place. A few days later and after much apprehension, she was taken to see her mother who was quite ill. She stayed with her until she was fairly strong. When she was ready to return to school, her mother had expended her savings. Coker asked family members for school fees but she could obtain the full payment. It was at this point in her life, her great aunt's tricked her into an early teenage marriage. She was briefly in the man's house until she escaped with the help of her aunt to Lagos. In Lagos, she earned a scholarship to continue at Holy Child College. In 1957, she represented her school in a festival of arts that was featured in the Daily Times Newspaper. After she left secondary studies, Coker began teaching at a convent in Warri, it was during this period she noticed as advertisement for a Miss Western Nigeria competition. Coker entered and won the competition in 1958,^[2] that same year, she was a runner-up at the Miss Nigeria contest.

Career

Coker's uncle, Justice Ighodaro was well connected with many administrators in the Western region, when Coker wanted to work in broadcasting, he was able to get her an audience with a T.V. station manager. In 1959, she became part of the team of WNTV, she initially worked as a receptionist but when Anike Agbaje-Williams was pregnant and wanted to go on maternal leave continue, Coker was brought in as a replacement.^[3] Coker became one of the earliest well known television broadcasters in Nigeria. After Western Nigeria Television started operation as the first T.V. station in Nigeria, Coker was the second female announcer but unlike Anike Agbaje-Williams who worked as producer and programme director, Coker had long career as a familiar face seen on t.v. broadcasts.

Apart from television, Coker released three albums under E.M.I. Music Nigeria and was an actress in the film, Dinner with the Devil.^[4]