Mr. Felix Udochukwu Ariguzo, a teacher with Mastercare
International School, Asaba, Delta State, has emerged the Maltina Teacher of
the Year for 2017 in the highpoint of the competition’s grand finale held in
Lagos on Thursday.
For the feat, Ariguzo was rewarded with N1 million in
addition to N500,000 he received as Delta State champion. He will also receive
N1 million every year for five years, a training programme abroad and a block
of six classrooms built at his school.
Ariguzo, a Biology and Chemistry teacher, revealed that he
draws inspiration for teaching from his love for service and knowledge
building. He thanked Nigerian Breweries for the gesture and enjoined other
corporate organisations to follow the worthy example. Today, I am very happy
and proud that Nigerian Breweries has shown that teachers’ rewards are both in
heaven and on earth,” he said.
The 38 year old son of a teacher maintained that teaching is
not about earning a living, but giving life a meaning and that a strong passion
and emotional stability are vital in the teaching profession.
On the night, Mrs. Chika Ume-Ezeoke, a Biology teacher with
Our Lady of Apostle, Yaba, Lagos State, emerged the first runner-up, while Mr.
Samuel Emochuaogu an English teacher with Winners International Academy,
Agudama-Epie, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State clinched the second runner-up position.
Each of the 27 State Champions received Five Hundred
Thousand Naira (N500, 000) while the1st and 2nd runners-up got an additional
One Million Naira (N1, 000, 000) and Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira
(N750, 000) respectively.
While welcoming guests at the event, the Managing Director,
Nigerian Breweries Plc., Mr. Johan Doyer explained that In line with its
philosophy of Winning with Nigeria, the company resolved in 1994, to play a
more active role in the development of education in Nigeria when it established
the Nigerian Breweries – Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund with a
commencement capital of N100 million naira.
The fund, according to him, has impacted over 25,000
students across the country, built 31 classroom blocks and 30 libraries equipped
with furniture and books in both primary and secondary schools across various
He added that in 2015, the company’s intervention in
education was expanded to include teachers when the Maltina Teacher of the Year
initiative was launched. The initiative he said, was hinged on the realization
that teachers hardly get the recognition they deserve in spite of the pivotal
role they play in determining the quality of education and the future of our
“Today’s grand finale
gives us an opportunity to share happiness with our teachers and I hope that
this initiative reminds everyone to support and encourage our teachers always,”
He equally thanked the stakeholders in the education sector
for their support especially the Federal Ministry of Education, the ministries
of education in all the states across the country, the Nigerian Union of
Teachers, the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools
(ANCOPSS), the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, amongst several
In her remarks, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr.
Idiat Oluranti Adebule, who was represented by Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, a Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Education, described teachers as the most critical
asset of the nation and thanked Nigerian Breweries for the initiative she
described as a big boost to teachers and the teaching profession.
The Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative has so far,
produced 69 State Champions and three overall winners. In 2015, Mrs. Rose Nkemdilim Obi from the
Federal Government Girls College, Onitsha,Anambra State emerged as the Maltina
Teacher of the Year at the maiden edition while Mr. Imoh Enoh Essien, a teacher
at the Special Education Center for Exceptional Children, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State won