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Economic Hardship: Obaseki At Oxford University, Explains How He Grew Edo GDP To $26bn

Published

1 year ago

May 26, 2024

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has narrated how he grew the state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to over $26bn in the last seven years.

The governor made this known during his keynote address at the Oxford University Conference 2024, themed, “Charting Africa’s Path Forward: A Journey of Possibilities.”

The conference was organised by the Oxford University Africa Society, at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Speaking on the economic hardships bedeviling Nigeria, Obaseki noted that it was necessary for the government of Nigeria to step back and advance critical policies that would enable people to create wealth.

Speaking on the sub-theme, “Unlocking Africa’s Potential: The power of public-private partnership,” the governor said he undertook radical changes that have transformed the state’s economy.

According to Obaseki, any government that intends to grow the economy needs to step back and advance policies that would allow the people the opportunity to create wealth.

He said , “How did we grow our economy? We focused on institutions. We focused on governance because that would help us organize ourselves. We reformed our civil service. We cleaned up our processes and digitized the way the government does business. Today, right on my desktop, I have most data on the government available at the click of a button.

“More importantly, we have worked on the human capital – the civil service. We have given them a sense of pride and made them respected. We have ensured that they are well remunerated. A few weeks ago, I announced the highest minimum wage in the country, even that is inadequate.”

He added: “We have focused on the bureaucracy. This is not for the benefit of the bureaucracy itself, but to ensure that it helps people realise their potential. Government is supposed to work for us as citizens. To do that, we need to have clarity. Government’s role is not to build the economy. Its role is to help citizens achieve their goals.”

Obaseki noted that his administration placed emphasis on creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state

He, noted: “We deployed seamless means of collecting fair taxes from the citizenry. We also undertook the task of repositioning the government to carry out its principal function, which is regulation.

“Government needs to understand that it needs to step back and create opportunities for people to create wealth and make money.”

The governor, while noting that there was a lot of emphasis on human capital development, he said: “It is people that make things happen; the government’s responsibility is to focus on the people and key to this is education.

“When we came into government in Edo State, we understood that it was not all about schooling. Education is not just about schooling, but learning. So we focused deliberately on foundational literacy and numeracy. If I have $100 to spend on education, I will spend $40 on basic education. We have focused on basic education in the last seven years and you can see the transformation in the kids. The children in Edo today learn 70 to 80 percent as much as their peers in Britain or America.

“Usually, everyone got an education for the certificates or to be employed. But we felt that was not right. Our people need to get educated to make them useful to themselves and the society. They need to be able to employ and sustain themselves.”

The governor also said his administration focused on remediation of the vocational education system, which had been broken and that as at January 2017, the rot had led to an exodus of over 30,000 youths who were waiting in Libya to cross over to Europe, according to data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“It was a humanitarian crisis. Young people wanted to stay anywhere else but home. They had to travel. As a result, we were top of the list in human trafficking and irregular migration. That was a signal. We had to support them and get the data on why they were leaving. The data showed that the education system had been broken and had to be fixed, which is what we have done,” he added.

The governor also said that he had to focus on providing key infrastructure to drive growth, focusing on roads and bridges, energy and digital infrastructure, which were critical to expanding the state’s economy.

According to him, “We are right at the centre of the country. We are the cheapest location to generate electricity because we have both the transmission and gas grids running through the State. Today, we supply close to 13 percent of the total electricity in Nigeria. Most importantly, we have onshore gas and have attracted investment in electricity generation.

“We have Independent Power Plants (IPPs) running in the State. Also, in the last three years, we have built almost 2000km of fibre optic cable infrastructure running through the State. We are currently building an additional 300km of fibre optic cable infrastructure to connect schools and primary healthcare centres.”

News

Police Urge Bauchi Residents To Remain Calm Amidst Soldier’s Death In Bauchi

Published

37 minutes ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

The Police in Bauchi state has called on all the residents of the state to remain calm after a soldier was shot dead by a police officer in the state.

CSP Ahmed Wakil, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) made the call on behalf of the Commissioner of Police in the state, Sani Omolori-Aliyu.

According to him, Inter-agency security forces have initiated a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident which led to the death of the soldier.

The PPRO recalled how a blogger narrated the incident that a member of the Nigerian Army attached to 33 Artillery Brigade was fatally shot while attempting to intercept a truck suspected of transporting solid minerals from an illegal mining site in Futuk, Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state by a mobile police Inspector on illegal duty.

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How Becoming Bank Manager At 27 Changed My Life, Tony Elumelu Urges Trust In Africa’s Youths

Published

1 hour ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Prominent African businessman and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, has reflected on the defining moment of his early career when he was appointed a bank branch manager at just 27 years old.

In a post shared on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday, Elumelu recounted how his appointment at AllStates Trust Bank changed the trajectory of his life and shaped his passion for empowering young people.

“When I was 27, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime: I became a branch manager at AllStates Trust Bank, a young bank in Nigeria.

“Banking was beginning to change the country, it was the sector to be in, ripe for transformation, ready for disruption, for democratisation.

“At that time, few believed a 27-year-old could successfully lead a bank branch. But that opportunity changed the entire course of my life.

“It gave me confidence. It gave me a platform. Most importantly, it gave me perspective,” he wrote.

Elumelu, who is the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and chairs Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa, noted that his journey began not with financial capital but with trust.

His post continued, “That’s why today, I am passionate about giving young people the same chance I was given. Because I know what’s possible when someone believes in you early.

“This belief is at the heart of everything we do at The Tony Elumelu Foundation. It’s why we invest in young African entrepreneurs – because someone once invested in me.

“My journey didn’t begin with capital. It began with trust. Let’s keep believing in Africa’s youth. They are ready to lead, grow and transform our continent.”

In a follow-up post on X on Friday, the business leader further highlighted three lessons from his experience as a young bank manager.

“Shared recently on my LinkedIn page how I became a bank manager at just 27. I got a lot of questions. One stood out: How could someone so young handle such responsibility?

“Many doubted a young man could lead a bank branch. That chance changed the entire course of my life,” he wrote.

Outlining the lessons from his journey, Elumelu wrote, “Lesson 1: Age is not a barrier. If you can execute, are hungry to learn, and committed to results — you can lead at any age. Leadership is about clarity of vision and that discipline to execute.

“Lesson 2: The most powerful capital is trust. My journey didn’t start with money — it started with trust. Trust was the seed that propelled everything else. Give young people trust, and they will surprise you. I was trusted, I repaid that trust.”

In the third lesson, Elumelu explained why perspective matters in leadership.

He wrote, “Leadership is not about doing everything yourself. It is about empowering, setting direction, and providing clarity. The sooner you learn this, the faster you grow.

“That’s why today, I am passionate about giving young people the same chance I was given. Cascading luck. Catalysing opportunity.”

Elumelu said these principles continue to drive his commitment to youth empowerment through his foundation.

“It is the reason we invest in Africa’s youths at the #TonyElumeluFDN, because someone once invested in me,” he wrote.

“My story is proof that when we trust in our youths, they are ready to lead, grow, and transform our continent. Let’s keep believing in Africa’s youths,” he concluded.

News

Lawyer Sues Sanwo-Olu For Blocking Him On X

Published

2 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, has filed a lawsuit against Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which was shared by Ogun on Friday via his facebook page, he said the governor’s decision to block him since 2021 was triggered by his “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” over the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.

“In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre,” Ogun wrote.

According to him, being blocked has deprived him of access to vital information.

“Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference,” he said.

In his originating summons cited by The PUNCH, the lawyer asked the court to declare the action unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.

According to the lawsuit, Ogun said he sought “a declaration that, as a democratically-elected public office holder in Nigeria, the Respondent (@jidesanwoolu)’s blocking of the Applicant (@mrfestusogun), a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Lagos State, on X (formerly ‘Twitter’) is wrongful, unconstitutional, arbitrary and constitutes a gross.”

He further prayed the court to compel Sanwo-Olu to unblock him, issue a public apology, and stop targeting critics online.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondent, his agents, privies or any other person or entity acting through or on his behalf, from further blocking the Applicant on X or any other social media platform,” the suit read.

Ogun, who described himself as “haunted, traumatised and emotionally disturbed,” stressed that the matter went beyond his personal grievance. “This suit is not just about me. I have filed this lawsuit in furtherance of public interest and with the hope that it sets a precedent in our digital rights jurisprudence,” he said.

The lawyer also invited the court to take guidance from a 2019 ruling in the United States.

“I invited the Nigerian court to be persuaded by the decision of the US District Court in Knight First Amendment Institute v Trump where President Trump was found to be in violation of the 1st Amendment when he blocked US citizens for criticising him on Twitter,” he stated.

Ogun argued that intolerance to opposing views undermines democracy. “Intolerance to criticism and accountability is unconstitutional and undemocratic. Nigerian authorities continue to crack down on dissents, critics, journalists, bloggers and vocal citizens on social media using arrests, detention, surveillance, collusion with big techs and outright blocking, as weapons. That narrative must stop,” he warned.