A twin event, public lecture and a book launch targeted at stimulating sustained socioeconomic democratic improvement and proffering solutions to the myriads of problems hindering development of education in the country is set to hold in Abuja.
Scheduled to hold on Thursday, March 21st, 2024, the Public Lecture is in honour of Professor Emeritus Benedicta Egbo under the theme: “RECLAIMING NIGERIA’S FUTURE: STRATEGIC FRAMEWORKS FOR ACHIEVING TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE”.
It will be followed up with the unveiling and presentation to the general public, Professor Benedicta Egbo’s seminal and critically acclaimed book entitled “EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA”.
Unfolding the events slated at the NAF Conference Center, during a press conference Monday, the Chairman of the Planning Committee Dr. Chiakor Alfred, explained that current realities requires a patriotic duty to to contribute to the processes of articulating choices in promoting the ideals of nation building, socio-economic progress and transformative change at this critical time of the national consciousness.
According to him, “The intensity of pressures and challenges facing the nation, makes it imperative to promote robust nation building endeavours and discourse such as this public lecture, which as we envisage, will provide us the opportunity to proffer suggestions and practical strategies that will lead to positive and transformative change for the common good.
“The Public Lecture is therefore an initiative that aims to deepen democracy and advocacy; promote sustainable development as well as the prioritization of national goals and value orientation. The public lecture is a call to collaborative action and strategic partnership that will move the country forward.
“With an impressive assembly of scholars, public intellectuals, technocrats, political actors, etc, and robust interface with various Stakeholders both at home and in the diaspora, it is expected that discussions at the forum will provide important roadmap to the levers of governance as well for achieving the Nigeria of our dreams.”
The Public Lecture is set to be delivered by Prof L. Adele Jinadu – Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow, Centre for Democracy and Development.
The book covers a wide range of topics on education and sustainable development within the context of a competitive 21st Century global arena that demands innovation, creativity, adaptive skills, multiple literacies, environmental stewardship and responsibility.
Dr. Alfred examined and proffered practical strategies for addressing the myriad challenges facing education in Nigeria as well as Africa in general while simultaneously emphasizing the interrelationship between education, society and sustainable development.
“The overarching message of the book is that engendering sustainable development in Nigeria requires significant overhaul and transformation of the country’s education system through visionary, innovative and pragmatic policies that are dialectically aligned with the country’s development goals, within the context of a complex and competitive globalized 21st century world”, he stated.
The Honouree, Professor Benedicta Egbo is Professor Emeritus of education at the University of Windsor, Canada. She is also a former Director of the Joint PhD in Educational Studies Program which is jointly offered by a consortium of three Canadian Universities.
A globally renowned scholar and researcher, Professor Egbo has contributed enormously to education and development nationally and internationally.
