Born on August 1, 1900, in Amanagwu
Arochukwu, in present-day
Abia State, he was educated at Arochukwu Government Primary School from 1911 to 1914. From 1915 to 1920, he attended Hope Waddell College,
Calabar where he was a student under James Emmanuel Aggrey and was classmates with
Akanu Ibiam and Eyo Eyo Esua. In 1920, he received his first teaching appointment with the
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria and the
Church of Scotland at Itigidi. Two years later, he became a senior tutor at St. Paul's Teachers' Training College, Awka,
Anambra State. While teaching at Awka, Ikoku earned his
University of London degree in Philosophy in 1928
through its external program. In 1932, Ikoku established a Co-Educational Secondary School in
West Africa: the
Aggrey Memorial Secondary School, located in
Arochukwu and named after his mentor
James E.K. Aggrey, an eminent
Ghanaian educationist. In 1946, after several constitutional changes allowing more Nigerians in the legislative chambers, he was nominated to the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly and assigned to the ministry of education. In 1947, he became part of the Legislative Council in Lagos as one of three representatives of the Eastern Region. Ikoku fostered considerable government interest in the
Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), becoming instrumental in the Legislative Council's acceptance of 44 NUT proposals amending various educational ordinances. He did encounter resistance through much of the 1950s, when the Colonial Government repeatedly rejected his NUT recommendations to introduce uniform education in Nigeria. After national independence, Ikoku and his union were vindicated, when these recommendations became the basis for education policy in the new nation. In 1962, he called for an 'Education Bill of Rights' for primary school education to be free for six years nationwide in Nigeria. This was later accepted by the Federal Military Government as from 1976. Today free education to all primary school has been granted. Dr Ikoku still remains a great icon in Nigerian academic and educational development and one of the most outstanding educationists ever had in Nigeria. Upon retiring from government politics, Ikoku served on various educational bodies in the country. He was a member of the
West African Educational Council (WAEC) and the Council of the
University of Ibadan as well as Chairman, Board of Governors of the Aviation Training Centre. ==Honours==