Hardwork pays and is only the foolish that
would like to take shortcuts in life. Roseline Nkemdilim Obi prior before now was
an unknown secondary school teacher at FGGC Onitsha. She came to limelight
recently when she was celebrated having won the maiden edition of the Maltina
teacher of the year award.
In an event marking in honour of Obi, who
teaches Mathematics and Chemistry at the Federal Government Girl College,
Onitsha, Nigerian Breweries Plc donated a block of staff quarters to the
school.
Days after the Minister of Education,
Professor Anthony Anwukah, led other important dignitaries to commission the
staff quarters in a grand ceremony at the school located on the outskirt of
Onitsha, in Anambra North Local Council of the state, the excitement and the
emotion of the event still reverberates around the area.
Obi, who beat nine other finalists to the
coveted prize last year, also got a N1million cash prize plus another one
million Naira to be paid to her annually for five years. The building of the
quarters in her school was part of the prize for emerging as the 2015 Maltina
Teacher- of –the-Year.
The emotional teacher described the day as
her day of success and an end to her wilderness journey of 14 years. She
revealed that the award has opened a lot of doors for her and that she had
resisted several attempts by many corporate organizations to pull her out of
the teaching profession.
She praised Nigerian Breweries for the
gesture, adding that it takes a greater sacrifice on the part of the company to
appreciate the great sacrifice and contribution of teachers to the development
of the nation.
On her part, the principal of the school,
Mrs. Margaret Enonuya, expressed great appreciation and thanked the company for
what she described as an unparalleled support for the cause of education in the
country.
“Rarely indeed has any Secondary School in
Nigeria been so honoured as today to be awarded the gift of a twin
three-bedroom bungalow for producing a national icon, the Maltina Teacher of
the Year by Nigerian Breweries Plc. We feel proud of what Nigerian
Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund has done,” she said.
Chief Chukwuemeka Oseneman, who represented
the Obi of Onitsha at the event, gave kudos to the winner for adding another
feather to the cap of Onitsha and Anambra State. She also praised the company
for counting Onitsha worth of the initiative.
Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries,
Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, who was represented on the occasion by Mr. Kufre Ekanem,
the Corporate Affairs Adviser, explained that the idea of the school-based
project was to ensure that when a teacher won, the community where he/she
teaches also wins.
“In 1994, our company decided to take a
more active role in its commitment to the development of education in Nigeria
when it established the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund
with a take-off value of N100 million. Since then, the fund has impacted over
20, 000 students across Nigeria,” he said.
Students of the school staged various
cultural shows in appreciation of the gesture, while parents and teachers also
thumbed up NBL for the initiative, which they described as a pacesetter.
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