1,500 Osun sacked teachers beg Adeleke to speak on their fate

…‘We are dying in silence’

…Call on well meaning Osun citizens to intervene

By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo

Over 1,500 teachers, whose appointments were nullified by the Osun State Government, have on Monday called on stakeholders and well meaning citizens of the State to intervene on their matter.

It would be recalled that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke had sacked primary and secondary teachers employed by the immediate past Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

Armed with placards with various inscription such as; “1500 Newly Recruited Teachers Urged Mr Governor,” “We Followed Due Process, Please Don’t Send Us Back To The Streets,” “We Lost Four Colleagues Consider Our Plight,” “Osun State Students/Pupils Need Us,” “Please Rescue Us” among others, the sacked teachers urged the stakeholders in the State to come to their aid.

Speaking,  one of the protesting sacked teachers, Adedeji Olufemi Emmanuel said they were professionally qualified to take up the job after they had undergone vigorous screening during the recruitment exercise.

Emmanuel who said he was posted to Ife-East Local Government Area of the State further said that many of the newly recruited had graduated for about 10-15 years without doing anything before they got employed by the immediate past Governor.

He sought the intervention of all stakeholders and well-meaning citizens of the State to help them to plead with the Governor to reconsider them.

According to him, “I am one of the 1,500 newly recruited teachers for both primary and secondary schools in Osun. I was given an appointment letter in September 30th, 2022 and the process for this recruitment began in the year 2020 and all through till the year 2022 when we were told to pick up our appointment letters. And immediately we were given an appointment letters we all reported to our primary places of assignments.

“We have been dutiful patriotic citizens of this State and upon resumption in all these places of our assignment, we were gladly received by the teachers, students, and Parents and Teachers Association.

“We work for about four months now no reward for our work until the new government under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke who ordered review of our appointment for a while, but since then we made all efforts to call Mr Governor’s attention to please for mercy and then since we have not received any response from him.

“We are here this morning to plead for Mercy.

“We are pleading with our Governor and all stakeholders and well-meaning citizens of the State to plead with Governor to reconsider us and give us a positive response. We are dying in silence,” he added.

Echoing a similar view, another sacked teacher, Ishola Yunusi, urged Governor Ademola not to send them back to the streets over their employment review.

Yunusi said they have no place to go any longer as they have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders.

According to her, “We are here to plead with Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke to have mercy on us concerning our appointment as  teachers in the State.

“We have tried all our best to get his attention to talk to us to know what our faith is concerning this employment. But haven’t been able to get his response. True be told, we are dying of depression.

“Right now we have nowhere to go and we have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Many of us are mothers and fathers and some have aged and younger ones to cater for,” he added.