Minister Tahir Mamman and Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, teachers deserve salary increase
Dear Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, it’s our pleasure to write to you in this critical moment in our country. The country is passing through a lot of difficulties, and we have been enduring, but recently, teachers in the country faced even more difficult experiences.
I mentioned Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi because he actually triggered the need for this campaign of mine. In the 2024 NECO exam paper, the registrar accepted a passage that ridiculed teachers and tried to convince us that teachers are paupers and professionals on a path of nothingness.
This is not a protest call. Rather, it’s our ability to initiate a change triggered by neglect.
Teachers are now speaking through this pen, and with time, there will be tactical agitation to change their narratives.
Teachers are now saying they don’t want to be paupers again. They don’t want to sustain on the path of nothingness as disclosed by Prof Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi. They now want to be respected and well paid for the job they do.
Teachers fell into trauma – an emotional state that emanated from ridicule and professional neglect from the state. Having depicted teachers as poor and teaching a profession that will yield nothing for teachers, it’s time to face the reality of the situation.
Teachers have families, and they suffer the impact of the country’s economic downturn. They feel everything wrong with the country, and they deserve more than they have been getting from the institution in all ramifications. They have been keeping quiet, but their passion was taken for granted, leading to abuse by the institution.
Since the economic situation of the country deteriorated, it has become a living hell for low salaries or low income earners in the country. The very place teachers are placed is in that bracket – low income earners, and that shouldn’t be the case. While you enjoy in the comfort of your home, these teachers suffer in the discomfort of their homes.
I know hunger protest is a concern for the government you are actively working for, but I plead you take your time and read carefully through the lines of my letter. I will also email and fax this note to make sure you are in receipt of it.
Nigerians are protesting because they can barely afford food to eat, this is to show the extent of the difficulties the country is facing.
When a country is hungry, it’s bound to be shaken. I pray that the protest will be of good purpose, and the government will hear the cry of the people and do something about the deteriorating state of the country’s economy.
But within the government, there are ministers and security agents tasked with overseeing this protest, I believe they will handle the matter well and everything settled amicably to preserve our country’s dignity, while you focus on this matter.
Sir, your primary concern is education in the country, and there is something worse than the protest going on in the country. Teachers are not only going hungry like other Nigerians in the country. They have been humiliated, abused, and ridiculed.
When you add it to the hunger they are facing with other Nigerians, you will know they are the most affected at this moment.
While NECO was setting exam question for students, it willfully captured the negative situation of Teachers in the country, taking absolute advantage of their passion for their profession.
The NECO exam question portrayed teachers as the most miserable of all professionals. For the millions that took the NECO exam, they wouldn’t want to be teachers in the future. That reality needs to change.
Unfortunately, those children and everyone who read the NECO passage didn’t know that teaching is a hallowed profession and a good paying profession in other parts of the world, especially in countries with stable leadership.
In a fair society, Teachers are well paid because their role in society can not be taken for granted. The role of teachers is as good as the role of parents. Parents are the primary shaper, while teachers are the secondary shapers.
They shape the future of society. So, I understand the good suffer immensely in a country where the bad rules.
The passion of teachers has become a thing of mockery. Just as the protest is going on, and Teachers pay rise is not included in the demand, you feel safe and believe no matter what Teachers pass through, you will not be deprived of sleep for a moment.
Nonetheless, it is time to consider the plight of teachers in the country and embrace the fact that the NECO passage has opened a wound that will not heal easily.
Teachers live at the mercy of the government, but change is constant, and before the wind of change that is blowing in the country reaches your doorstep, your ministry should do something on its own accord.
Teachers deserve a salary increase, and the reality depicted in the passage of 2024 NECO exam paper must change.
The view is a result of the enslavement of teachers in the country, where they work all day and get poor pay. When they put their sweat and blood on the line, the government make mockery of them.
The move is simple. It’s time to consult and come to terms with the reality that teachers need to step out and be celebrated for what they are. They need to feed and feed their families. They need to drive cars to school and live comfortably to be able to impact the knowledge they have.
It’s like a nursing mother who needs to feed well because her breasts are for the child. Whatsoever she eats, the baby takes all through breastfeeding, and that should be the mentality. The reality of teachers should start changing without further delay.
It is your duty as a minister overseeing the education sector of the country to meet the government and discuss the way to increase the salaries of teachers. It is when you find a reason or understand the need for teachers to be appreciated that this move can materialize.
