A dedication forged from  furnace of rural hardship

“It was a pleasant surprise and I see it as something that is not personal to me. I see it as a clear affirmation that the teaching profession is important to Nigeria. I see it as a reminder that dedication in service still matters. I see it as a plus to the education industry in Nigeria. It suggests to me that teachers matter in the society. It appears to me that our governments have come to see teaching as a noble profession,” he said.

From the furnace of rural hardship

He is a teacher forged in the furnace of rural hardship. With 23 years in the classroom in public schools such as African Church School, Agberiodo in Imeko-Afon Local Government Area and St. James’s Roman Catholic Mission, Keesan-Orile in Abeokuta North Local Government, before his subsequent posting to Ansar-Ud-Deen Main School 1 Primary School, still a remote area, where he has spent eight years, it is a case of trudging on with passion.

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He recalled that 15 of his 23 years stint in the teaching profession were spent in the rural communities without electricity and with fluctuating telecom networks. His journey has been anything, but easy.  With the parents of his learners being largely rural farmers of low income, he has had to do more than the work of teaching to become voluntary caretaker for their wards and children. The parents would go to farm on week days and won’t return until 7pm each day.

He said:  “Sometimes, I have to leave home around 5a.m. before daylight to get to school. I struggled to get network to link with colleagues and family in the cities.

“But wherever I find myself, I look at the vicinity and see how I can improve it. Whenever I am posted to another place, I take it as the next place God wants me to go and make impact,” he said.

Many of his former pupils are now university graduates, National Youth Service Corps members, and undergraduates, who still return with gratitude.

 “I see them telling me: ‘You have changed the trajectory of our lives.’ That is my greatest motivation,” he said.

His community-focused educational interventions

Even before the award, Solanke said he was already implementing community-focused educational interventions aligned with the education-friendly policies of Abiodun.

During the last Children’s Day celebration, he organised career talks for learners in Abeokuta North Local Government Area, where he assembled professionals from diverse fields to guide pupils on informed career choices. He also distributed dictionaries to empower them academically.

He said he has visited schools across Abeokuta North to sensitise parents about the dangers of low self-esteem on children’s academic performance and the role families must play in building confidence.

He is looking forward to states and Federal Government equipping public schools with modern facilities, including artificial intelligence-enabled classrooms, especially the type recently introduced in Remo Secondary School (RSS), Sagamu by the Ogun State Government. He said such should be extended to primary schools, revealing that he envisions seeing similar digital tools in his own school.

 “We want digital tools in our classrooms too. It will complement our efforts. So, I want our government to improve when it comes to modern facilities. We want to have digital tools like the one our educational-friendly governor has launched at Remo Secondary School, Sagamu, artificial intelligent classroom. I also want it in my school, and I’m sure some other teachers will like it in their schools too. So, we want to digitalise classrooms too. You know, all these will go a long way to complement our efforts.

On motivation of teachers

He is also calling on the three tiers of government to prioritise motivation of teachers.

Anchoring his call on the philosophy that any grand transformation you want to see in a country begins not in government offices or corporate boardrooms, but in the classroom, he said national development is born in school where lessons are taught, questions are asked, and young minds are shaped.

He argued that those who will drive the nation’s growth and development tomorrow are sitting in classrooms today to learn values, skills, discipline, and critical thinking and that standing before them are also teachers—the builders of Nigeria’s tomorrow’s leaders.

Drawing inspiration from the empty cup analogy, he noted that nobody can pour from an empty cup. Explaining that when a cup is filled, pouring becomes natural and generous. In the same way, when teachers are motivated, supported, and valued, they give their best willingly. They teach with passion, motivate and go the extra mile to inspire nation’s champions and leaders.

He said: “Any transformation you want to see in the country begins from the classroom. When we are talking of national development, it begins in the classroom, because those that will contribute to the national development tomorrow are today in the classroom. We are the teachers that are working on them.

“So, teachers must be motivated. As you know, nobody can pour from an empty cup. It is not possible. If there is something in the cup, you will gladly pour. You will put in your best. You will be encouraged. You will be motivated. And at the same time, society too must respect teachers. Parents must not be coming to harass teacher. Society must respect the importance of teachers in the education system.

“Government should pay teachers remuneration that will compete side-by-side with our colleagues in the medical world. We attended the same university. We live in the same society. We buy from the same market. We send our children to school. Our pay must reflect the reality of time,” he said.

Beyond salary, Solanke emphasised mental health support, respect for teachers, and opportunities for continuous professional development.

“The motivation must not only be in terms of salary, but also when it comes to mental health. They must be looking towards mental well-being and psychological health of teachers and create opportunities for their continuous professional development.

“Parents must not harass teachers. Society must respect the importance of teachers in the education system. You know, when teachers are motivated, when they are recognised, the better it is for us and the society,” he added.

For Taiwo, the recognition has brought renewed energy—and a bigger vision for the future. He made his next frontier clear - expanding streams of impact beyond traditional boundaries and preparing his learners for a rapidly evolving world.

His focus

His focus now, he pointed out, includes strengthening critical thinking skills and advancing digital literacy to prepare pupils for digital citizenship.

He said: “Obviously being given an award or recognition is not the end. For me, I see it as a call to greater responsibility. My next agenda is how to expand the frontier of my impact beyond the school, beyond what I have been doing. So, I want to scale up my impact. Before these rewards came, I have been carrying out some interventions that complement the laudable efforts of education-friendly Governor Dupo Abiodun.

“Even in my school I have put up hanging library in classes. I organised a programme for parents, sensitising them about the United Nations sustainable development goal, which says that before year 2030, every nation, every country should have been able to sensitise its people about sustainable development goals. I have been able to carry out a comprehensive sensitization on this; sensitising parents, informing them. This I have been able to do before the rewards came. Now that the rewards have come, I’ll be energised to do more, to scale up my impact, multiply my streams of impact.

“So, for me, I look forward to initiating programmes that will improve learners’ critical thinking and bring out the best in them when it comes to learning digital literacy that will make them digital citizens.”