Initiative Unveils Plans to Mobilise 200,000 Teachers Nationwide

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Initiative for Let There be Teachers Foundation has unveiled plans to mobilise a teachers movement with 200,000 teaching professionals nationwide.

Taking five teachers from each of the 36 states of the federation and 20 from the Federal Capital Territory, the initiative says it is repositioning itself and calling it a national movement to reform Nigeria’s education system.

In a press briefing yesterday in Abuja to announce The Let There Be Teachers Conference 2026, and the formal unveiling of the movement, the convener, Oluwaseyi Anifowose, said the conference builds on last year’s Guinness World Record gathering, while noting that, “That moment was never the destination, but the start of a journey.”

Speaking under the theme, ‘From Record to Reform: A National HOPE Attempt for Teachers’, Anifowose revealed that the conference seeks to spotlight the daily work of educators often done without fanfare with or cameras, no applause or recognition, but just responsibility. 

“This is a movement that will mobilise at least 200,000 teachers across Nigeria — 5,000 in every state and 20,000 here in the FCT.

“This year, we’re moving from record to reform. From success to significance. From applause to accountability.” I’m a teacher by choice, not by chance,” he said. 

Anifowose said the initiative has secured backing from the Federal Ministry of Education, following post-conference engagement last year, and a major 2026 will be a coordinated pledge by teachers nationwide and the launch of two flagship programmes. 

He added that the initiative is a declaration that teachers matter, reforms is possible and Nigeria is ready, to upturn the situation of its teachers to make it an attractive profession for young people.

“Teachers across the nation will take a National Teachers’ Professional Pledge, not as a routine, but as a responsibility. A responsibility to grow, to improve, to take ownership, and to give the best to every child that we teach.

“At the conference, we will also unveil the Happy Teacher app to address welfare. We’re going to be mediating between teachers and corporate organisations.

“A struggling teacher cannot thrive in the classroom. An emotionally unstable teacher cannot produce emotionally stable students. We’re going to be having vendors on that platform — organisations that sell devices, cars, real estate — so that teachers can be supported.”

Executive Director of Let There be Teachers, Sola Adeola Amudipe, re-affirmed that teachers matter and as  their voices count, so is the future of the nation.

Amudipe said the press conference marks the start of a bold national movement aimed at reversing years of neglect and tied the urgency of the movement directly to national development goals.

“We are here because the Nigerian teacher has been overlooked for far too long — and that must change. Education cannot rise above the quality, visibility, and dignity of its teachers.

 “If we are serious about national development, then we must be serious about those who stand at the front of our classrooms every single day,” she said. 

She described Let There Be Teachers 2026 as “a movement designed not just to gather teachers, but to recognise them, amplify their voices, and drive real reform across our education system.”