Her story was like that of Jonah who tried to evade God’s call to Nineveh but was eventually delivered there in the belly of a fish. From nearly becoming a medical doctor to discovering her true calling in the classroom, Mrs Loveth Odume’s journey into teaching is anything but ordinary. What started with academic rejections and professional near-misses slowly unfolded into a fulfilling mission to educate and uplift.
In this interview with Rita Oyiboka, she shares how an unshakeable dream, sheer grit, and divine redirection led her from Biochemistry labs and oil company interviews to becoming a beloved Chemistry teacher and the founder of a life-changing educational foundation.
Let’s meet you.
My name is Mrs Loveth Odume. I am a Chemistry teacher at Government Model Secondary School in Asaba, Delta State, and the founder of the Charity Educational Foundation. I’ve been in the teaching profession for 18 years.
How did you get into the teaching sector? Were you always passionate about teaching?
No. After secondary school, my ambition was to study Medicine because I was very intelligent. I finished at St. Brigid’s Girls’ Grammar School, Asaba, Delta State. But on the night I bought my JAMB form, I had a dream where I saw myself teaching. When I woke up, I fasted and prayed, trying to bind the dream. I told myself, “I cannot go to a College of Education,” therefore, I chose Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
What happened after that initial attempt to study Medicine?
When the result came out, I scored 250, but the cut-off mark for UNN was 260. I had a professor uncle who was trying to help me secure the admission, but he got an appointment in the United States and could not assist anymore.
Hence, the university offered me Veterinary Medicine, which I declined. I went back home and wrote another JAMB. Afterwards, I did a Pre-Science programme at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), but they took only the top 10 students for Medicine. I was told to study Entomology and Parasitology, which I started, but I said to myself, “No, I can’t do this.” I was already registered as a student, everything was set, but my heart was not in that course.
What did you do at that point when Medicine kept slipping through your fingers?
I had written JAMB again and was waiting for the result. I was on my way to a lecture when I overheard people discussing that Ebonyi State University was admitting people into the medical department. I abandoned the lecture and went straight to Ebonyi State, without my parents’ knowledge.
On getting there, they told me they had just taken the last person for Medicine from Delta State. The only option was to study Biochemistry, and I was assured that after completing the first year, I would be given a spot in Medicine. As a naïve little girl, I didn’t tell my parents. I used the little money I had saved to pay for the registration and abandoned UNIZIK.
After that first year, I did well, scoring more than a 4.5 CGPA. So, I went to see if I could switch to Medicine. I went to the faculty and was referred to the registrar, where I collected my results. In my 200L, I began following medical students to take medical courses, like Anatomy, Physiology, and the rest. It was about two weeks before the exam for the first semester that I discovered my name wasn’t published, and I could not sit for the exams in the Medical Sciences.
I cried and went back to the Biochemistry department to catch up on what they had done in 200L. Fortunately, I passed and studied the course for four years. I graduated as one of the best students in the faculty of Natural Sciences.
After graduating, what were your next steps?
I started hustling for a job after my National Youth Service. I did interviews with Chevron, Total, and Shell. Teaching didn’t even cross my mind. I would pass all the interviews, but they wouldn’t give me the job because I didn’t have a connection.
How did you end up in the teaching profession?
One day, I was preparing for an interview with Total when I got a call. They asked me to go to the Post Primary Education Board (PPEB) to pick up your employment letter. I said, “Education? I didn’t study education. I don’t intend to teach.” They said, “Please, just come.”
A church member had referred me because I was very good at the sciences. When I saw the appointment letter, my salary was ₦27,000. I thought to myself, “I’ve gone for interviews in Lagos, at Guinness and other places, and they were offering me better packages.”
My father was a Secretarial Studies teacher and life wasn’t easy as a teacher’s children. Even after collecting my employment letter and being posted to the then-Asaba Girls Grammar School (AGGS), I was still looking for better opportunities. I was even doing things deliberately so they’d sack me.
The week I resumed duty, monitoring officers came. They were surprised to see a young girl like me teaching so well. In the end, they asked for my lesson notes, but they (notes) were rough, with no proper headings, objectives, evaluations, or steps.
Still, they said, “Wow, you teach very well. Who employed you?” I said, “The Board (PPEB), and I don’t want to teach.” They asked, “Did you study education?” I said, “No.” They said, “Okay, don’t worry. Come to our office. We’ll teach you how to write lesson notes. You’re a very good teacher. We won’t sack you.”
So when I went to their office, they taught me how to write a lesson note and told me to enrol for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) immediately. I did. During the programme, I fell in love with the profession. One day, I told myself, “This was my true path all along.” Back then, I had filled out my JAMB form wrongly. I was headed the wrong way. I even did my Masters in Education.
Teaching became a hobby. I couldn’t let it go. I would miss my students. Once it’s teaching, I don’t get tired.
Can you share one of your most memorable student experiences?
That would be when I was posted to Ugbolu Secondary School. There was this girl, Blessing, in SS1, who scored 60/60 in my subject. That had never happened since I started teaching. Everyone was talking about her excellent results, even in subjects I didn’t teach.
When I found her, I discovered she had no support. I followed up with her. She lived in a rough area with no electricity, and no one to help.
During WAEC registration, the exam officer said everyone else had registered, but she hadn’t. With my encouragement, everyone contributed, and we registered her for the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Then I registered her for NECO.
She didn’t even know what JAMB was before she applied. They lived in a hamlet. There was no light in her house. I wondered how she read, but she expressed her dream to be a nurse. It was on the last day for JAMB registration, right inside the JAMB office, where we completed and submitted her form. When the result came out, I was surprised, she passed.
She then wrote Post-UTME (Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination).
When she got the admission, we didn’t know. I was in Ugbolu Market when she ran to me, hugged me, and said, “Mummy, is this what I’ll do for life?” She was selling pumpkin leaves. That night, she checked her portal; she’d been admitted to study Nursing at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
The next issue was money. I gave her my last ₦5,000. At UBTH, they told her she was first on the list and needed ₦30,000 for the acceptance fee. I called friends. One of them, the wife of Edo’s former deputy governor, Maryann Philip-Shaibu, turned back from the airport, abandoning a flight to a conference, just to ensure her school fees were paid.
Accommodation was next. I told her to sleep at St. Albert Catholic Church on campus. A Revd Sister found her sleeping with her bag as a pillow and adopted her. She had arrived in a torn skirt and bathroom slippers, and other students laughed at her. The nuns got her new clothes, a bag, and shoes.
She’s now in her third year, on track for a First Class. And she’s just one of many that the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is supporting.
Tell us about your NGO and what inspired it.
The Charity Educational Foundation is named after my late mother, Charity. She was a cleaner with an intense love for learning. Despite having little formal education, coming from a polygamous home and dropping out early, she valued schooling deeply. She even returned to school later in life, enrolling in adult education and reaching JSS3 before she passed on. Her dream was to become a lawyer. Her passion inspired me to start this foundation.
What exactly does the foundation do?
One major objective is to organise regular science competitions in public secondary schools. We also offer free lessons to students, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. Over time, I’ve seen students who hardly study end up with top WAEC results. I know what it truly takes to earn an ‘A’, and it’s disheartening to see how widespread and easily accessible malpractice has become. That’s why we place a strong emphasis on building a solid academic foundation and nurturing real understanding.
The idea started during a long holiday. I was exhausted from private tutoring gigs and thought to myself, “Why not just teach for free?” I decided to use my church as a venue and went from house to house, inviting children to attend. My siblings chipped in by helping with whiteboards, and a few friends joined to support the effort. Gradually, teachers started catching the vision and volunteering, too.
What challenges do you face running it?
Finance is a big issue. I’d love to manage this full-time and expand it, but we need consistent support. We’re currently using St. James Catholic Church, Asaba, as our venue, which helps a lot. Still, more students keep coming, and we need more materials and teachers.
What are your hopes for the future of the foundation?
I want to inspire a love for science and tech, stir curiosity, and help students build confidence. It’s not about grades you can’t defend, it’s about true learning. If individuals, organisations, and governments invest in children now, they’ll become the leaders we dream of tomorrow.
