About me

I started working with youths eighteen years ago, precisely on the 29th of September, 1990, when I gained employment as a teacher with the then Post Primary Schools’ Management Board (PPSMB), but now, Secondary Education Board (SEB) of the Government of Cross River State of Nigeria. Presently, I teach at the West African People’s Institute (WAPI), Calabar and hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education/English (BA Ed) from the University of Calabar, Calabar – Nigeria. As a teacher of English, I have worked with youths both within and outside the classroom and have affected their lives positively and in diverse ways.
I attended a “Population and Family Life Education Course” organized by the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), in conjunction with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) held at Unical Hotel, University of Calabar, from 17th – 28th March, 1996.
Apart from the normal business of imparting knowledge to young learners of English Language, I have engaged them in extra-curricula activities such as drama, debates and quiz competitions. I possess enough experience in the use of ICT in areas such as office applications, basic maintenance, networking and web design. My knowledge of ICT afforded me the opportunity of being selected as one of the five teachers to be specially trained to man and train both students and teachers in the use of ICT in education by Schoolnet (Nigeria), an affiliate of Schoolnet (South Africa), whose goal is to make Nigerian youths computer literate. To realize this goal, they have set up state-of-the-art computer laboratories across the country, with my school as a beneficiary.
By this arrangement, I have helped to train over one thousand students and teachers in the use of ICT in WAPI alone. To keep me abreast of current trends in information technology, I have attended local, national and international workshops, conferences and seminars organized by both the state and federal governments Schoolnet and other Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), notably among these, is the iearn international teachers’ workshop held in Abuja-Nigeria, from the 9th-10th of March, 2006. As a member of iearn teachers’ network, I receive weekly newsletters on global issues as well as joining discussion forums among members online.
My involvement with Takingitglobal (TIG) started with my participation in the 2nd international workshop on debate education which was held in Calabar – Nigeria from 29th May – 1st June, 2006, under Marcin Zaleski from Poland as Director of Training (IDEA) and Jerry C. Nwigwe from Nigeria as Director/Coordinator (NIDEM/DEDERC). The international debate association (IDEA) is aimed at educating the youths the world over, on debate related issues and how to inculcate the spirit of critical thinking and expression in them. After the training, we, the participants in Calabar have come together to set up a local debate league known as Cross River Debate Club (CROSDEC) with the aim of coordinating and promoting intra and inter schools’ debating activities in the state by adopting the Carl Popper debating format. I am the interim President of CROSDEC.
My first ever direct involvement with TIG came up when twenty students were selected from my CLCWA school for ICT training and subsequent participation in a 3-day national interactive workshop on from the 12th – 14th of October, 2007, at the West African People’s Institute’s assembly hall. As a participant, I gained experience on how to create local connections.
I also led a group of students from my school to participate in a road work on the theme, “Stand up and Speak out against poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals” of the United Nations from the 16th – 17th October, 2007 in Calabar. My school has on several occasions, with my assistance been used as venue for different TIG activities in Calabar.
I am currently, the centre coordinator of the Multichoice Resource Centre of my school. This is a pet project of Multichoice (Nigeria), which is targeted at introducing television-based teaching and learning resources via the DStv digital satellite television platform. I attended a 5-day workshop from the 3rd – 7th September, 2007 at the Multichoice Resource Centre, Government Secondary School, State Housing Estate, Calabar, on how to manage the resource. I have in turn trained all the teachers in my school on how to use the facility by integrating the education bouquet to enhance teaching and learning in schools.
I am also undergoing a distance learning course for the continuing professional development of English Language Teacher Trainers of the British Council in conjunction with the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) of Nigeria. It is expected that the ten of us selected as pioneer teacher trainers for this project at the end of the programme, would train three hundred other teachers each, across Africa. I was selected among lecturers from the universities by virtue of my role as a course tutor of English with the National Teachers’ Institute of Nigeria. The National Teachers’ Institute is an educational body charged with the responsibility of teacher education in Nigeria, especially at the Teachers’ Grade II (TCII) and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) levels of education. It has trained more teachers than any other educational body in Nigeria.
The task of educating the youths is quite enormous and challenging, more so due to inadequate facilities and abject poverty. Most of the youths have lost focus, but I hope that with the right support their potentials can be harnessed to the fullest.

I started working with youths eighteen years ago, precisely on the 29th of September, 1990, when I gained employment as a teacher with the then Post Primary Schools’ Management Board (PPSMB), but now, Secondary Education Board (SEB) of the... (more)