By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia
FOR NEARLY three decades, the journey was as much a part of Mrs. Rachael Alamu’s job as the classroom itself.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that every weekday, she travelled from Ogbomoso to Esiele, determined to lead a rural school despite the distance, the poor roads and the physical strain.
It was a sacrifice she had accepted as part of her 28 eight years calling as an educator.
But the recent abduction at the school has changed everything.
Now, with just four years left before retirement after 28 years in the profession, the veteran principal is questioning whether she can continue making the journey that once symbolised her commitment to educating children in underserved communities.
“I’m no longer sure I can return to the village,” she says, reflecting on an ordeal that has left emotional scars deeper than the kilometres she travelled each day.
She said that her uncertainty is more than a personal dilemma.
It mirrors a growing concern across Nigeria, where insecurity is increasingly forcing experienced educators to reconsider serving in rural communities.
She added that as attacks on schools and the threat of kidnapping persist, many teachers are weighing their passion for education against the need to protect their lives and families.
Before the abduction, she recalled that the daily commute between Ogbomoso and Esiele had already become physically and emotionally draining.
Yet she persevered, believing the children deserved quality education regardless of where they lived.
The attack, however, transformed an exhausting routine into one overshadowed by fear.
She noted that with her retirement now within sight, Mrs. Alamu says the experience has left her wondering whether returning to the school is a risk she can still afford to take.
She said her story also raises difficult questions for policymakers such as who will teach in rural communities if insecurity continues to drive experienced educators away?
How can governments encourage teachers to remain in vulnerable areas without addressing their safety? And what becomes of children whose access to education depends on professionals willing to make extraordinary sacrifices, she also asked?
For Mrs. Alamu, those questions are no longer abstract policy debates. They are deeply personal.
After 28 years in the classroom, the greatest challenge of her career is no longer teaching, it is deciding whether she can safely return to do what she has spent a lifetime doing, she reasoned.
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