A report from the United States–based organisation Education for All Genders (E4AG), which promotes global access to education for all genders and works to address educational barriers in Africa; has recognized Dr. Otuu Obinna Ogbonnia as the first individual to organize and personally sponsor a teachers’ celebration programme in Nigeria dedicated specifically to honouring teachers.

Dr. Obinna, a UK-based educationist and researcher, and the first African to win the prestigious ACM SIGCHI Best Research Paper Award, organised the Ebonyi Teachers’ Celebration in Nigeria, where he distributed laptops and monetary gifts to teachers. The oldest teacher in the state received a cash award of ₦1,000,000.

According to E4AG’s Director, Dr. Allen Dickson, “Africa should celebrate people like Obinna. He is a rare gem for doing what he did, as shown in the videos we saw online. What he must have been thinking while planning such a significant programme remains astounding, and it shows that someone can genuinely wake up thinking about the advancement of education in Africa.”

Dr. Dickson further encouraged other Nigerians to emulate Obinna’s example in supporting teachers, whom he described as the backbone of education: “Many wealthy Africans engage in various forms of philanthropy, but very few focus on teachers, who are the true drivers of education. The mere thought of such an initiative shows how unique Obinna is.”