104-Year-Old Nigerian Teacher Bags NUT Lifetime Award

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Lagos State wing, has honoured the oldest known living teacher in Nigeria, Madam Agatha Taiwo Adebiyi, with a Lifetime Teacher’s Award.

Madam Adebiyi is 104-year-old, and she personally received the award at an event organised by the union to commemorate this year’s World Teachers’ Day held at the NUT Pavilion in Ikeja on Saturday, October 5.

The centenarian was accompanied to the event by the last of her child, Mrs Omowunmi Agunbiade, an insurance broker.

Madam Adebiyi taught last at the Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Lagos, after she officially retired from active service of the state government.

Speaking at the event, the Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, eulogised the contribution of Madam Adebiyi while in service to the education development of Lagos State, praying God to grant her many more years.

The governor, however, congratulated teachers in Lagos state generally on the occasion of the World Teachers’ Day.

He commended their efforts in imparting knowledge and skills as well as moral values on students, saying their contributions to the production of quality manpower for the state’s economy and that of the world at large are unquantifiable.

He promised that the state government will not only continue to prioritise their welfare and capacity development, and conducive environment would also make teaching jobs more rewarding for them.

He therefore urged them to work harder so that the state will continue to be a model for other states in the country.

In his lecture at the event on the theme, ‘Valuing Teachers’ Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education,’ the guest speaker, Professor Oyekunle Oyelami from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka, also stressed the importance of teachers in nation’s building.

According to him, teachers anywhere across the world are moulders of future leaders and that is why their roles are critical to national development.

He pointed out that education is a fundamental right of citizens to enjoy and that any country that denies citizens of such a right by way of commercialising and taking it out of the reach of the masses is doing so at its own peril.

Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the state’s NUT chairman, Mr Hassan Akintoye, expressed delight on the occasion of Teachers’ Day and for God to have granted them the grace to be alive and well to witness the event.

While commending the state government for the robust relationship with the teachers in the state, including prompt payment of their salaries and allowances among other benefits, he said there are still lots of their unmet needs.

According to him, we want the state government to continue with our annual teachers’ merit awards which served as a good motivation platform for us.

“We also want the government to monetise the two work-free days per week for us and the non-teaching staff to be in conformity with other state government workers since teachers must be in schools while other workers work from home.

“Additionally, we want the government to, without further delay, approve and start implementing the 65 years old (or 40 years in service) new retirement age policy, and also employ more teachers and provide vehicles to education secretaries to ease their movement for official assignments among other needs.”

The chairman, however, promised that the teachers would continue to strive harder alongside other education stakeholders to lift the state›s education sector to a greater height.

Many other top functionaries in attendance included the Chairman, Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Mrs. Victoria Peregrino; Mrs Adenike Adekanye(Tutor-general\ Perm Sec, Education District V); Dr Shereefat Yusuf( Tutor- General\Perm Sec, Education District V1); Prince Basir Adebowale(Tutor-General\ Perm Sec, Education District 1); Dr Olufunke Oyetola(Tutor-General\ Perm Sec, Education District 111); Mr Olusegun Osinaike, Tutor-General Perm Sec, Education District 1V); Mr. Olusanya Akogun, who represented the NUT President, Mr. Titus Amba; Mr. Gbenga Ayetoba, Lagos NUT Secretary, and the immediate past chairman of the state›s NUT, Mr. Adesina Adedoyin and so forth.