News
Adeeko Wins 2020 AU Continental Teacher Prize
A teacher at Baptist Boys’ High School in Ogun State, Olalekan Adeeko, has won the African Union Continental Teacher Prize 2020 for his work and dedication to the teaching profession.
He is the first Nigerian to win the prestigious award at the virtual event held in Addis Ababa on December 21, 2020.
Olalekan said, yesterday, that he dedicated it to all inspirational teachers in Nigeria and on the African Continent.
For the 2020 edition of the African Union Continental Teacher Awards, prizes of $10, 000 each were awarded to top African teachers at the secondary school level.
The AU Teacher Prize has been established as a means for demonstrating respect for teachers and the teaching profession, by encouraging and celebrating the committed teachers in Africa.
The prize raises the status of teaching, facilitates sharing of best practices in teacher excellence, and inspires the best possible candidates to join the teaching profession.
Furthermore, the AU Teacher Prize is meant to serve as a catalyst for similar programmes at regional and national levels.
Through a competitive process, the winning teachers were selected for engaging in quality teaching which results in high standards of student achievement; encouraging desirable behaviour among students through positive feedback and other methods; positive engagement with fellow teachers encouraging mutual learning.
Olalekan, who was the 1st runner up at the 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year, winner of Inspirational Educator of the Year in 2019, and 1st runner up the President’s Teachers & Schools Excellence Award in 2019, has been involved in several educational projects and interventions in Ogun State and Nigeria in the last 15 years.
A Microsoft Certified Educator and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Adeeko, was awarded a Teaching Excellence & Achievement Fellowship in Washington DC in 2015 by United States Department of States and International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).
He was awarded Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Dubai in 2015, Singapore in 2018, and became a fellow in Paris, 2019.
He is specialist in Education Technology and 21st Century Learning Design.
All these, he has achieved through persistent pursuit of his goals and relentless hard work.
His new found love is Data Science with a special interest in how to use data and Artificial Intelligence to promote UN Sustainable Goal 4 – Quality Education.
During the lockdown, he played an important role in the OgunDigiClass project of the Ogun State Government, and also helped several schools transit to remote learning.
Olalekan has trained over 10,000 teachers in 19 states in Nigeria, and represented the state and country at international programmes and competition in Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Dubai, Singapore, France and United States in the last 10 years.
He won the 1st Prize Union Bank Edtech Challenge with the development of Edubox; a device that brings online educational contents to communities without internet access to bridge education divide and promote inclusive and equitable quality education.
He is the co-founder of Tedprime hub, an edtech social enterprise with projects like Codeliners, Edo Girls Can Code, Teach Right and STEM HER, all to advocate for 21st century teaching and learning and promote STEM/coding in schools.
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has tasked troops of Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD to dominate the battlespace and intensify offensive operations against kidnappers, bandits and other criminal elements in the North Central region.
Shaibu gave the directive yesterday during his maiden operational visit to the Headquarters, Joint Task Force North Central (JTF-NC), at Sobi Barracks, Ilorin.
This is contained in a statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Appolonia Anele, in Abuja, yesterday.
Shaibu said the Nigerian Army would remain resolute in its constitutional responsibility of safeguarding lives and property, stressing that troops must sustain pressure to decisively deny criminal elements freedom of action.
He assured personnel of continued deployment of combat enablers and operational resources to enhance clearance operations and dismantle criminal hideouts across Kwara and Niger states.
The COAS reaffirmed his commitment to troop welfare, noting that improved welfare remained critical to sustaining morale, operational effectiveness and combat readiness.
He urged the troops to remain disciplined, professional and loyal to the Constitution and the democratically elected government.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander, JTF-NC Operation SAVANNAH SHIELD, Maj.-Gen. Yakubu Yahaya, commended the COAS for his strategic leadership and support.
Yahaya assured that troops would remain committed and steadfast in restoring peace and stability in the region.
The Nigerian Navy says it is expanding training and infrastructure to address emerging security threats and strengthen operational efficiency across formations and units nationwide.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, spoke during the inauguration of projects at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School (NNBTS) in Onne, Rivers as part of activities marking the Nigerian Navy’s 70th anniversary.
Abbas, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Rear Adm. Ebiobowei Zipele, said the projects reflected significant progress made by the navy since its establishment in 1956 from the British Royal Navy.
“Training and infrastructure have improved significantly to meet contemporary security challenges and fulfil the navy’s constitutional responsibilities.”
According to him, the anniversary provides the navy an opportunity to reflect on its achievements and contributions over the past seven decades.
Projects inaugurated included a remodelled female trainees’ hostel accommodating more than 500 occupants and an expanded golf course upgraded from one to nine holes.
Others were the NNBTS fuel dump, Chief Boatswain’s Mate House, renovated pharmacy department and a new theatre block at the Naval Medical Centre, Onne.
Abbas described the new theatre as a major milestone for the navy’s medical services.
“Previously, injured personnel requiring surgeries were referred outside the facility.
“With this theatre, surgeries can now be conducted within the base.’’
He added that a 30KVA inverter had also been installed to guarantee uninterrupted electricity supply at the training school.
The naval chief assured officers, ratings and trainees that the navy leadership remained committed to their welfare and wellbeing.
“These infrastructure upgrades show the commitment of the Chief of Naval Staff to addressing operational and welfare challenges promptly,” he said.
In addition, NAVTRAC distributed educational materials to pupils of Community Primary Schools One and Two, Ogale, in Ebubu-Eleme area of Rivers.
Items distributed included exercise books, school bags and other writing materials as part of the navy’s civil-military engagement initiative.
Zipele said the outreach was designed to strengthen relations between the navy and host communities while supporting children’s education.
“Education remains critical to national growth and youth empowerment. Some of these pupils may eventually serve in the Nigerian Navy,” he said.
He noted that the initiative demonstrated the navy’s commitment to educational development, peace, security and sustainable community relations.
Zipele urged the pupils to remain disciplined, focused and committed to their studies while embracing patriotism, integrity and hard work.
He thanked the Ebubu community for its continued support for the naval training command headquarters and the navy.
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