Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Dr Mary Oluwaseun Adebayo, a teacher at Nawair-Ud-Deen Grammar School (Senior), Obantoko, Abeokuta, Ogun State, has emerged as Nigeria’s Overall Best Teacher for 2026 at the Federal Government’s President’s Teachers’ and Schools’ Excellence Awards, receiving a brand-new car as the star prize during the 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration in Abuja.
Adebayo won the Best Public Senior Secondary School Teacher category before being named the overall best teacher in the country. She received the national recognition during the celebration held under the theme, “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing the Status and Shaping Our Future.” The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, presented the awards on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commending the recipients and urging greater commitment to educating the younger generation.
Speaking after receiving the car, Adebayo expressed gratitude for the recognition, saying she had continued teaching without knowing that her efforts would earn her such a reward. “I started this work in a private school. I kept doing the work, I did not know the Lord will reward me this way,” she said. Her words captured the quiet dedication that has defined her career and the unexpected nature of the national honour that has now placed her at the pinnacle of the teaching profession in Nigeria.
The Nawair-Ud-Deen Grammar School Old Students Association issued a congratulatory statement on Friday, describing her achievement as a source of pride for the school and its community. The association said her recognition reflected her commitment to teaching and the advancement of education in Nigeria. “NUDGOSA is particularly proud that one of our own has risen to the pinnacle of the teaching profession in Nigeria,” the statement said. The association described the award as an inspiration to current students, teachers, alumni and the wider school community, noting that it demonstrated how dedication and commitment to service could earn national recognition. Its National President, Hon. Fasiu Bakenne, congratulated Adebayo, the school’s management and staff, and the Ogun State Teaching Service Commission.
Lawmaker Nasir Gboyega Isiaka also congratulated Adebayo, describing her emergence as a source of pride for Afon, Imeko-Afon and the wider constituency. In a message titled “Celebrating Excellence: Congratulations to Nigeria’s Best Teacher,” Isiaka described Adebayo as an illustrious daughter of Afon and said her achievement demonstrated the level of excellence within local communities. “Dr Adebayo’s achievement therefore resonates deeply with the work we have continued to pursue in strengthening education and supporting those who dedicate their lives to it,” he said, wishing her greater success in her professional service and future endeavours.
The 2026 awards were dominated by Anambra and Ogun states, with nine of the 14 recipients from Anambra and four from Ogun. Gloria Nkolika Odionu of Awada Primary School IV, Obosi, Anambra State, emerged as the overall best administrator and received a car, while Federal Government College, Otobi, won a bus as the overall best school. Abraham Nnaluka Ngobir of Federal Government College, Enugu, received a car as the best Unity School teacher.
The awards ceremony was not without its demands. The President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Titus Amba, represented by his deputy, Kizito Kalu, said recognition must be matched with decent remuneration, safe workplaces, adequate teaching resources and continuous professional development. He renewed the union’s call for the implementation of a special salary scale for basic and secondary school teachers, which was approved in 2022 but has not been implemented four years later. He warned that overcrowded classrooms, poor infrastructure and inadequate instructional materials undermined teachers’ performance, and called for the recruitment of professionally qualified teachers, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
Adebayo’s victory places her in a distinguished line of Nigerian teachers honoured at the national level. Earlier in 2026, Solanke Francis Taiwo, a primary school teacher from Ogun State, was named Nigeria’s Overall Best Teacher at the National Teachers’ Summit in Abuja, receiving a N50 million cash prize, a car donated by the Governor of Borno State, and a two-bedroom bungalow pledged by Governor Dapo Abiodun. Ogun State has now produced two national best teachers within the same year, a distinction that the state’s education authorities have described as evidence of the quality of teaching in its public schools.
For Adebayo, the recognition represents both a personal milestone and a testament to the values she has upheld throughout her career. For Nawair-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Obantoko, it is a moment of institutional pride. For Ogun State, it is further validation of its education system. And for Nigerian teachers, it is a reminder that excellence in the classroom, however quiet, can earn national recognition.
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