It’s #WorldTeachersDay today!, And I know many of us aren’t even aware of this special day. And those who do, probably do not see any reason to celebrate it. Sadly, such is life.
Everybody has grown big in their field of endeavors, they have become professional force to reckon with and now they are free to forget those who taught them what they know that has even earned them the fame and fortune they have today.
Teaching is amongst the oldest Professions that has remained unappreciated. In Nigeria today, Teachers are never given their due accolades while in and after service, and if we find any amongst them who have, the numbers will be few.
It is also the Profession none of us would gladly apply for. As it is considered the least rewarding and underpaid proffession in the country.
And like the popular cliché “Teachers rewards are in heaven” Personally, I consider such cliché a ridiculous way of giving someone a false hope. As though the inventor had been to heaven to know how handsomely teachers are being rewarded.
General opinion about anyone who introduces his or herself as a teacher in a gathering is that, he or she must be living below average or extremely poor. Hence, no one considers a teacher a well-off individual except for those who are lucky to earn through international teaching platforms.
Politicians and duty bearers of the state have always had their ways of using teachers to grab the powers during electioneering by giving them false hope of raising their monthly take home and by extension their standard of living if they would vote for them. Only to get to power and leave them to rot in their poverty stricken proffession.
Recent statistics have shown 80 out of 100 retired teachers in Nigeria died of hunger starvation before they access their pensions and retirement benefits.
Let’s Imagine, if the teacher who taught the current President, Governors and Senators of the countries of the world today never taught them right in school, what would have become of them today?
Everybody takes advantage of teachers by ignoring the values they have consistently added to the society we live in, since time immemorial.
Little did we know, that we are all teachers in one way or another in our various spaces. We forget that those who have families amongst us must constantly instil informal education in their wards and children. That’s equally teaching. Teaching is not only to be done in the confined four walls of classrooms as we often assume. It is an important part of human existence!
Today I celebrate every teacher who had impacted my life in one way or another. I celebrate my mother whom had served this country for years using her excellent teaching skills to build other Nigerian children. May all her good rewards never elude her. I celebrate my late father too for his incomparable contributions toward my upbringing. May his soul rest in peace.
Happy World Teachers Day!