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For Mrs. Abosede Omotayo Odedairo, December 11, 2021, was a fulfilling day in her career as a teacher. It was the day her old pupils at Premier Grammar School, Lafenwa area of Abeokuta, gathered to honour the veteran Yoruba tutor along with some of her colleagues in appreciation of their roles in shaping their destinies and thus making them to now blaze, like stars on different firmaments of life barely 18 years down the line!
The appreciative former students, all established in successful and growing careers as lecturers, skilled artisans, businessmen and politicians included three local government legislators in Ogun State and Governor Dapo Abiodun’s Special Adviser on Inter-Ethnic Affairs, Hon. Hadi Sani.
They honoured Odedairo, now an official with the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with an award for her diligence and exemplary service as a teacher at a lavish reception held at Upright Hotel, Agbeloba, in the rocky city. The former pupils evoked memories of their days in class with Odedairo and extolled her virtues and talents as a teacher saying she taught with the love, patience and dedication of a mother!
Sani, in a tribute, said though his parents were from Sokoto, he grew up speaking Yoruba fluently, having been raised in Abeokuta where he had the opportunity of mixing freely with the indigenes. But he said with a sense of gratitude that his deep appreciation of the language, which, he confessed, had proven quite invaluable in his job of fostering peaceful co-existence and development between his ethnic group and the host community, was fostered by Mrs. Odedairo’s marvelous tutorship.
His words: “I will forever appreciate her. She took time to tutor us on the nitty-gritty, the deeper aspects of the language beyond the knowledge we acquired on the street and through socialization process. She was so detailed and explicit in her explanations; she gave us assignments on the culture and sometimes asked us to find out the interpretations or meaning of proverbs. I remember when I got home I would consult some elders to help with the interpretation.”
But more impressive about the old teacher, fondly called ‘Iya Yoruba’, Sani said, was her motherly style of imparting knowledge and discipline in her charges.
He said: “Some teachers have the mentality that they must be harsh in instilling knowledge and discipline, they beat the students and intimidate them to the extent that such children end up learning only to pass exams, instead of internalizing and using such knowledge to improve the world. Some of them could be so frustrated and angry at such teachers even if they see them today. But she (Odedairo) is the kind of person who is so blessed that she handled us without applying harsh discipline or embarrassing us.”
The Govenor’s aide, an Economics graduate of Ahmadu Bello University with a Master’s in Business Administration, said, he owed the impressive Credit pass grade in the subject in the Senior Secondary School Examination (Ordinary Level) to his former teacher’s brilliant teaching, remarking: “You know, you can’t know everything, you still have to learn some deeper aspects, even if the language is your mother tongue.”
An otherwise self-effacing Mrs. Odedairo said she was overwhelmed by the loving and appreciative gesture of her erstwhile pupils.
“Children are so wonderful and they do not forget what you do to them. Many of them I can’t even recognize again!” she said.
She expressed thanks for the honorary award the group bestowed on her, which, she noted, underscored the saying that: “Teaching is a noble profession!”
The occasion was graced by Mr. Ogunsina, also an ex-teacher in the school now a principal; Mr. Sonola, a non-academic staff member; and Mr. Azeez, an old student who also taught in the school!