By Simon Ebegbulem & Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN— GOVERNOR Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has said the billions of naira spent by Nigerians to educate their wards and children in universities abroad do not add value to the country’s economic growth either in the short or long term.

This came as he urged Nigerians to   embrace change and come up with innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing the way they think for the country to move out of recession.

He spoke, weekend, at Okada, Ovia North East Local Government,  during the 14th convocation of Igbinedion University, Okada.

Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki

According to him, recent developments in Nigeria had shown that the educational policy had reduced the quality of output of the educational system, noting that Nigerians could not continue to work at the level of the current economic challenges and expect solutions that could turn around its fortunes.

The Edo governor, who disclosed that his administration would be driven by knowledge, data and established base lines, said he was committed to reforming the educational sector of the state with a view to creating knowledge-driven economy where Edo people could unlock their potentials.

He said: “One of the key midterm strategies to return Nigeria to the path of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development is to reform our educational sector in such a manner that can unlock the creative potentials of our youths.  We must embrace change. We must come up with innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing the way we think and work.

One of the imperatives of my administration is to ensure that governance is driven by knowledge, data and established base lines.  Nigeria as a country cannot afford to continue to import human resources from foreign countries while we spend billions of naira to educate our youths outside the country that do not add value to our economic growth in the short and medium terms.”