Nigeria Union of Teachers is a major trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. It was formed to create a united front for practitioners of the teaching profession in the country. Major objectives of the union covers the improvement in economic conditions of teachers, an avenue for bringing forth ideas about the educational development of the country from the perspectives of teachers and general economic security for teachers in the country.

History

The union was formally inaugurated in 1931, it came about partly as a result of vulnerabilities exposed by the great depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, which led to cuts in teachers salaries and a seemingly lack job security.

The use of irregular and unpredictable educational codes for teachers and salary cuts led to an increase in teachers associations mushrooming in various southern Nigerian cities, particularly in Calabar

Calabar

Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....

, Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

, and Abeokuta

Abeokuta

Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....

. The various associations, however, realized that harmonizing the objectives of the groups to bring about a united front will create a powerful vocal union for the interest of the teachers. On July 8, 1931, the teachers associations of Lagos, Agege, Abeokuta, Ibadan

Ibadan

Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...

, Calabar and Ijebu-Ode joined together to form the Nigeria Union of Teachers. The first president of the group and chairman of the July, 1931 meeting was the late Oladotun Ransome Kuti, the husband of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti ,, born Francis Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas to Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas and Lucretia Phyllis Omoyeni Adeosolu, was a teacher, political campaigner, Women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat...

 and father of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. On May 27, 1972, the union merged with the Northern State Teachers Union, an association founded by Aminu Kano

Aminu Kano

Aminu Kano was a Muslim politician from Nigeria. In the 1940s he led an Islamic movement in the north of the country in opposition to British rule...

and a few northern Nigerian teachers in 1948.