THE BILLIONAIRE TEACHER MANUAL

In the 90s, one of the most heart-wrenching statements I ever encountered was written on the walls of buildings on the streets of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria: “House for rent but not for teachers.” As the child of a dedicated primary school English teacher, this statement hit me hard.

My mother was a diligent and committed teacher. She would bring her lesson notes home to write and always had notebooks to mark. Her hard work, tenacity, and meticulous commitment to her job inspired me deeply. By 4:50 a.m., my mom was already up preparing for work, and by 6 a.m., she was on her way, always arriving at work before 7 a.m. Her students were proud of her, and their excitement whenever we encountered them was palpable. Yet, despite her dedication, society and the government didn’t truly value teachers. They were poorly paid, and some weren’t even paid for months, leaving families unable to afford to send their children to school.