Mrs Rachael Folake Alamu, Principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, was overcome with emotion as teachers gathered to honour her for surviving one of the most traumatic experiences to befall an education worker in the state.
At a special Teachers’ Day award ceremony organised by the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Alamu struggled to hold back tears as she was recognised for her courage, resilience and commitment to her pupils during the 56 days she spent in captivity with other teachers and schoolchildren.
Her recognition came months after armed kidnappers invaded schools in the Ahoro-Esiele area on May 15, abducting teachers and pupils and plunging families, the teaching community and residents of Oriire into weeks of uncertainty.
Alamu was among the victims taken into the forest during the attack. She eventually regained her freedom alongside other captives after 56 days in captivity following a coordinated security operation.
The ordeal, however, came at a devastating cost. Two teachers were killed while the victims were in captivity, according to Alamu’s subsequent account of what happened in the kidnappers’ hideout.
Speaking after her rescue in July, Alamu described the experience as harrowing, recalling how the abductors repeatedly moved the captives through dense forests whenever they suspected that security forces were approaching.
She said the victims were sometimes forced to begin walking at about 7pm or 8pm and trek for three to four hours through difficult terrain.
The situation was particularly difficult for the children, some of whom had to walk long distances despite exhaustion, while older pupils helped carry younger ones. Alamu said the youngest children were occasionally carried by the kidnappers.
The principal also recounted how the captives spent much of their time exposed to the sun and rain in the forest, with little protection from the elements.
“We were in the forest, in the open most of the time, under the sun and under the rain with the children,” she recalled after her release.
For Alamu, therefore, the Teachers’ Day recognition represented more than an award.
It was a moment in which colleagues acknowledged a teacher whose professional responsibility placed her directly in the path of danger while carrying out her duty in a rural community.
Her tears at the ceremony reflected the weight of an experience that has continued to shape her view of teaching and school safety.
After spending nearly three decades in the profession, Alamu admitted following her release that returning to a remote school environment would be difficult.
She said she had about four years left in her teaching career but would need time to recover from the experience before considering a return to a similarly remote location.
The development has renewed attention to the risks faced by teachers working in rural and vulnerable communities, particularly in areas where schools may be far from immediate security support.
The May attack did not affect only one school. Several schools in the Oriire area were targeted, with pupils and teachers among those abducted.
The incident also exposed the vulnerability of children and education workers who continue to report to classrooms even when security conditions around their communities remain uncertain.
For the Oyo NUT, Alamu’s recognition on Teachers’ Day was therefore also a reminder that appreciation for teachers must go beyond ceremonies and awards.
Teachers who work in difficult locations require safe school environments, functional security arrangements, emergency response systems and institutional support when they become victims of violence.
The psychological consequences of such incidents are equally significant. The rescued victims underwent medical evaluation and counselling after their release, while the state government said the pupils and teachers would remain under observation before being reunited with their families.
Alamu’s experience also places the conversation around teacher welfare in a broader context.
A teacher may enter a classroom intending to teach, supervise examinations, manage students and perform administrative duties, but in communities affected by insecurity, the responsibilities can suddenly extend to protecting children during an armed attack or surviving captivity.
That reality has implications for teacher retention, especially in rural schools where experienced educators may become reluctant to accept or return to postings perceived as unsafe.
The emotional scene at the Teachers’ Day ceremony was therefore not simply about celebrating one teacher.
It brought back the memory of a school attack that shook Oyo’s education system and placed a human face on the risks teachers can encounter while performing their duties.
For Alamu, the applause from fellow teachers represented recognition after months of fear, loss and uncertainty.
For the wider education community, her story carries another message: celebrating teachers must also mean protecting them.
A teacher cannot effectively shape the future of children while constantly worrying about whether the road to school, the classroom or the community around the school is safe.
As Oyo State and other parts of Nigeria mark Teachers’ Day, the story of Rachael Alamu and her colleagues offers a sobering reminder that teacher appreciation is incomplete without serious attention to the safety, welfare and psychological wellbeing of those entrusted with educating the next generation.
