Honouring the Hands That Shape the Future: A Tribute to Teachers and the Legacy of Mrs. Anna Chinenye Udunze

By Blaise Udunze

Every year on October 5, the world pauses to celebrate World Teachers’ Day, which is a day to honour the men and women whose quiet labour builds the foundations of every great society. They are the custodians of knowledge, the gardeners of potential, and the silent architects of transformation. Long before the first brick of any nation’s progress is laid, teachers have already done their work by nurturing minds, refining values, and lighting the path of purpose.

In every thriving society, progress rests on the shoulders of its teachers. They shape the minds that build nations, innovate solutions, and drive economies. Yet, in Nigeria, these same nation-builders have become the forgotten heroes of development, with a neglected sector battling shortages, poor welfare, and dwindling morale. The implications of this systemic neglect go far beyond the walls of our schools; it strikes at the heart of the nation’s social and economic well-being.

Across the country, classrooms overflow while teachers dwindle. From urban schools in Lagos to rural communities across the country, the teacher-to-student ratio grows alarmingly worse. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends one teacher for every 35 pupils, yet Nigeria’s classrooms often see a single teacher struggling to manage 80 to 100 children. Some states have not recruited new teachers in years, even as retirements and resignations thin the ranks.

This crisis is not just about numbers; it is about neglect. Many teachers go months without salaries. Promotions stagnate for years. Training opportunities are rare or nonexistent. In an age where education systems are evolving globally, Nigerian teachers remain under-equipped, underpaid, and undervalued.

Worse still, the nation is now losing many of its finest educators to the brain drain sweeping across critical sectors. In search of better welfare, security, and dignity, a growing number of Nigerian teachers are migrating to countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. These are nations that understand the value of quality education and reward it accordingly. These countries are actively recruiting teachers from Africa, offering them decent pay, housing, and professional development opportunities that remain elusive back home.

The exodus is devastating. Every teacher who leaves represents not just a personal loss but also the erosion of institutional memory and mentorship for younger educators.

The result is a hollowing out of the education system, where classrooms are filled with children but starved of skilled instructors. If this trend continues unchecked, Nigeria may soon face a generational void, one where the brightest educators are abroad while those left behind struggle to do more with less.

The consequences are profound. The quality of education continues to decline as overcrowded and poorly resourced classrooms stifle both teachers and pupils. Literacy and numeracy rates fall, while dropout rates soar. Nigeria already bears the burden of having one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school children, over 10 million.

Beyond academics, the social fabric suffers. Education is not merely an academic exercise; it shapes civic values, tolerance, and productivity. When teachers are absent or ineffective, a generation grows without discipline, moral grounding, or employable skills. The result is evident in the rising wave of youth unemployment, crime, and moral decay. A society that fails to invest in teachers inevitably reaps a harvest of instability and ‘bundles of wahala.’

Economically, the neglect of teachers directly undermines growth. Nations like Japan, Finland, Singapore, and South Korea that thrive well did so by prioritizing education and elevating the teaching profession. In Nigeria, however, policymakers treat education as an afterthought, allocating N1.54 trillion, representing only 7.9 percent of the N19.54 trillion 2024 national budget, to the entire education sector. This figure falls far below the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of 15-20 percent, underscoring how little priority is given to building human capital.

Poorly educated citizens limit innovation and productivity, forcing industries to import expertise that local talent could have supplied if properly nurtured. The vicious cycle continues as poor education leads to weak human capital, which in turn hampers national competitiveness.

To reverse this decline, Nigeria must begin by restoring dignity to the teaching profession. Teachers deserve fair remuneration, timely payment, and continuous training. Recruitment must become a priority to fill the widening gap in public schools. States should adopt deliberate policies to attract bright young minds into teaching through incentives, scholarships, and professional development programs. Investment in digital teaching tools and curriculum reform is equally critical. A 21st-century nation cannot thrive on a 20th-century education model. Beyond policy, society must also renew its respect for teachers by celebrating them not only on World Teachers’ Day but every day, as the moral and intellectual engineers of our nation.

This year’s celebration holds a deeply personal resonance for me. It is a day to not only salute all teachers across the world but also to remember one whose life and service embodied the noblest ideals of the profession in the person of my late mother, Mrs. Anna Chinenye Udunze, a devoted and exemplary teacher who worked with the Lagos State Ministry of Education for 33 years.

For over three decades, she gave her heart and her strength to shaping young minds. Her students, many of whom are now professionals across Nigeria and beyond, remember her not only for her discipline and excellence but also for her compassion, her insistence on doing what is right, and her unwavering belief that education was the surest path to dignity and nation-building. To her, teaching was not just a job; it was a calling, and one she answered with grace, patience, and an undying sense of purpose.

Mrs. Udunze’s classroom was a place of transformation. She believed every child had a spark waiting to be discovered. She spent long hours preparing lessons, mentoring her pupils, and ensuring that even the least promising learner left her class with renewed confidence. Meanwhile, I was also once her student for a term of an academic year! Her legacy endures, not in monuments or titles, but in the countless lives she touched and the values she instilled.

Neglecting teachers is not merely an educational issue; it is a national emergency. When classrooms collapse, the future collapses with them. The strength of any nation lies in the quality of its teachers, for they shape every doctor, engineer, entrepreneur, and leader that society will ever know.

As we celebrate this year’s World Teachers’ Day, let us remember that teachers remain society’s moral compass and developmental backbone. They are the ones who keep the ideals of knowledge, integrity, and hard work alive in generations. Governments and communities owe them more than words of praise. We owe them the dignity, support, and recognition they so richly deserve.

Today, as the world celebrates its educators, I stand proud, proud of all teachers who remain steadfast in their mission and proud of a mother whose legacy continues to inspire. The life of Mrs. Anna Chinenye Udunze is a testament to the truth that while classrooms may be small, their influence stretches far beyond walls into the hearts of generations and the story of nations.

To all teachers, past and present, thank you. You are the hands that shape humanity, the voice that awakens dreams, and the light that no darkness can extinguish.

Blaise, a journalist and PR professional writes from Lagos, can be reached via: [email protected]

Shaping Tomorrow: The Power of Collective Action for Africa’s Future

By George O. Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

“Rethinking Leadership, Responsibility and the Role of Every African in Shaping the Future.”

Today Reflects Yesterday’s Promises.
Every generation inherits not only the dreams of its predecessors but also the unfinished tasks they left behind. The Africa we see today, its beauty, struggles, potential and paradoxes is a reflection of promises once made by those who led before us. The present we live in is the very “TOMORROW” that past leaders vowed to build for future generations. Yet as we look around, the reality before us often falls short of those hopeful assurances.

Broken promises echo loudly across the continent. They echo in the empty factories that once promised industrial revolutions; in the poorly equipped schools where the future sits on broken desks; in hospitals where hope runs thinner than medicine and in roads that lead nowhere because corruption consumed the budget halfway. These broken promises have become the architecture of unfulfilled dreams, forcing us to ask an uncomfortable but necessary question: IS THIS TRULY THE FUTURE WE ENVISIONED?

We Must Rise: Building the Future We Deserve.
When reality fails to meet aspiration, it is not enough to COMPLAIN or simply hope for CHANGE. Hope without action is a hollow prayer. If we want transformation, it must begin with COLLECTIVE DETERMINATION, MORAL COURAGE and an ACTIVE SENSE of RESPONSIBILITY.

Africa’s story cannot continue to be written by those who thrive on mediocrity and self-interest. The same poor leadership that failed to deliver YESTERDAY cannot be trusted to define TOMORROW. History teaches us that nations rise not merely on the shoulders of politicians but on the strength of citizens who refuse to settle for less than excellence.

Every generation must define its own role in SHAPING DESTINY. The torch of change has been passed to us, not by CEREMONY, but by NECESSITY. The time for passive observation is over. The time for active contribution has arrived. If we sit idly by, complaining on SOCIAL MEDIA while others make decisions that affect our future, then we become silent collaborators in our own decline.

Africa’s Future: A Shared Responsibility.
Development is not the exclusive duty of governments; it is a shared mission that demands the participation of all. Every TEACHER who inspires a STUDENT, every ENTREPRENEUR who creates a JOB, every FARMER who feeds a COMMUNITY and every ACTIVIST who speaks TRUTH to POWER is part of the architecture of progress.

When citizens retreat into apathy, corruption thrives. When we assume that progress is someone else’s job, stagnation takes over. TOMORROW’S regrets are born from TODAY’S silence and indifference. The transformation of Africa (its growth, prosperity and sustainability) requires all hands on deck.

True development is not imported; it is cultivated. It grows when citizens embrace ownership of their communities, when innovation replaces dependency and when integrity becomes a national culture rather than a rare virtue. Leadership may set the direction, but it is the people who build the path forward.

From Dependency to Responsibility.
For too long, AFRICA has waited for salvation from outside forces; international aid, foreign investors or multilateral agencies. While such partnerships can help, they cannot substitute for self-driven development. No nation was ever truly built by external benevolence. Japan rose from ashes through discipline and innovation. Singapore transformed from slums to skyscrapers through visionary leadership and citizen responsibility. Rwanda emerged from genocide to stability because its people decided to own their future.

AFRICA, too, possesses the human and natural resources to write a similar success story. What we lack is not potential, but UNITY of PURPOSE and CONSISTENCY in EXECUTION. Our minerals, talents and cultural wealth must be matched by governance that serves, citizens that participate and a shared determination to uplift the continent beyond rhetoric.

The Role of the Youth and Diaspora.
Africa’s young population (over 60% under the age of 25) is both a challenge and an opportunity. If this energy remains untapped, it becomes a ticking time bomb. Though, if harnessed through education, technology and entrepreneurship, it becomes the most powerful engine of transformation in the 21st century.

The African diaspora also plays a crucial role. Across Europe, America and Asia, millions of Africans are excelling in technology, medicine, academia and business. Their remittances already exceed foreign aid, but their skills and networks are even more valuable. A united diaspora, working with local institutions, can help transfer knowledge, mentor emerging leaders and finance COMMUNITY-DRIVEN projects that governments often ignore.

We must reimagine the relationship between the continent and its diaspora not as charity, but as strategic collaboration; a partnership for progress. The African dream will only thrive when Africans everywhere see themselves as CO-BUILDERS of one destiny.

Leadership Beyond Politics.
Leadership is not about occupying office; it is about influencing positive change. A leader without followers is merely taking a walk. When citizens rise with clarity of purpose, moral conviction and unity, even weak governments are forced to listen.

We must redefine what leadership means in our context. It begins at home; with parents teaching values of honesty and hard work. It extends to schools, where teachers instill curiosity and civic responsibility. It continues in businesses that prioritize ethics over exploitation and in communities where solidarity replaces selfishness. Every African can lead from where they stand.

As Nelson Mandela said, “It is in your hands to make a difference.” The greatness of Africa will not come from speeches but from service; not from slogans but from sacrifices made daily by ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

A Dose of Hope for a Better Future.
Despite the challenges, there is hope. Africa is rising in many areas; digital innovation in Kenya, renewable energy in Morocco, agriculture in Ghana, creative industries in Nigeria and governance reforms in Botswana. These are not isolated successes; they are signs of what is possible when vision meets collective will.

As we begin a new week, let us reflect deeply on our individual and collective roles in shaping the future. Let us dream bigger (ACT BOLDER) and work harder to create a legacy that generations yet unborn will celebrate. The Africa we desire is within reach; but only if we rise to the occasion.

Let us choose unity over division, innovation over imitation and courage over complacency. The continent’s destiny lies not in the hands of a few, but in the determination of many.

The time has come to rewrite the narrative of Africa, from a continent of POTENTIAL to a continent of PERFORMANCE. Together, we can build a future that surpasses the broken promises of yesterday and fulfills the dreams of tomorrow.

Eko Boys’ High School Old Boys Commend Federal College Of Agriculture’s Role In Advancing Organic Farming

BY ABU-SATAR HAMED

IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA – The Eko Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association has commended the Federal College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State, for its leading role in advancing organic farming and sustainable agriculture in Nigeria.

According to a release e-signed by Wilson Oyekemi, Head of the Public Relations Unit of the institution, the commendation was made by the Association’s President, Dr. Femi Olokodana, during a courtesy visit to the College.

Dr. Olokodana, who led a delegation including Vice President Prof. Babatunde Akinsanya and Secretary Mr. Wole Ogunnanwo, lauded the College for its contributions toward food security in Nigeria, noting that the visit had significantly deepened their understanding of organic and sustainable agricultural practices.

The delegation was warmly received by Dr. Ayanfeoluwa Olufemi, Head of the Organic Farm/Department, who conducted the team on a comprehensive tour of the institution.

During the tour, Dr. Ayanfeoluwa shared the rich history of the College, emphasizing its status as the first agricultural college in West Africa.

The visitors were shown key facilities, particularly the Organic Farm Unit, where they observed a wide range of thriving organic produce, including leafy greens, root vegetables, fruit-bearing plants, mango ginger, cucumbers, and tomatoes – all cultivated under eco-friendly conditions.

Dr. Ayanfeoluwa also educated the visitors on sustainable farming techniques, such as strategic crop rotation to enhance soil fertility and the innovative use of Dogoyaro leaves for natural pest control.

Furthermore, Dr. Ayanfeoluwa introduced the team to home gardening demonstrations, showcasing methods for cultivating crops indoors within residential spaces.

The tour concluded at the Screen House, where he explained how controlled environments help regulate weather conditions for optimal plant growth while reducing pesticide dependence.

An interactive session followed, during which the visitors engaged Dr. Ayanfeoluwa with questions that were thoroughly addressed.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Femi Olokodana expressed deep appreciation to the management and staff of the College for the warm reception and educational experience, describing the visit as an eye-opener to the institution’s impressive strides in promoting organic farming and food sustainability in Nigeria.