Press Releases

Innovation Key To Nation's Development – Fashola
…As Lagos Governor delivers 40th Convocation Lecture of UNN

Feb 24, 2011 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Thursday delivered the 40th Convocation lecture of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State charging every Nigerian to recapture or amplify the spirit of youth and explore their surroundings with fresh and positive binoculars.

Governor Fashola who spoke at the main Campus of the University on the topic, "Nigeria and its Abundance of Possibilities" also urged all Nigerians to adopt the attitude that nothing is impossible, "an attitude that resolves to create everything even when there is nothing".

"That is the attitude that has made the telephone possible, air travel a reality, electricity a reality and so many of the innovations that now improve the quality of our life. The inventors of these life changing facilities simply refused to accept defeat", the Governor said.

According to Governor Fashola, "A person in his youth would have only one rival, that is his own potentialities; and he will have only one failure, that is, failing to live up to his own possibilities. The second factual basis for hope is that every problem of Nigeria is an opportunity, not only for our vibrant population of youths but also for others of like mind!"

The Governor said "in further exploring the theme of the lecture, the best place to start is the rather astounding report of massive unemployment in Nigeria which is very curious because if ever there was a country of immeasurable employment opportunities, it is Nigeria".

"More than any other nation of its population and size, we have houses, roads and bridges to build. Looking around us, it cannot be hard to see that we urgently require engineers, technicians and artisans in their hundreds of thousands", the Governor said.

Governor Fashola noted that "With acres and acres of land to farm, Nigeria needs trained Agricultural Scientists and semi-skilled farm workers, pointing out that with such a vast network of inland waterways and contiguity to the sea, the country could do with men skilled in modern methods of fishing and fish farming.

"Indeed for a country of 150 million people, we have such an enormous amount of work to do, and we have such alarming shortages of all kinds of professionals-teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, firemen, waste management personnel and administrators who are ready, able and willing to work. It is therefore a worrisome contradiction that in a country with so much to do and build we can talk of unemployment".

Describing Nigeria as a country that imports virtually everything including footwear, bags, and leather products of all types; clothing materials sewn or unsewn, fruits, vegetables, poultry, canned beef and sardines, new and used cars, buses, trucks, trailers and motorcycles, the Governor observed that most of the audience at the lecture were putting on imported clothes, shoes, bags, wristwatches and caps than made in Nigeria goods.

The Governor noted that the imported items were not donated as free gifts to Nigerians but were got from resources which originated from Nigeria, saying: "The million naira question is-if we can find money to keep foreign manufacturers and suppliers gainfully employed, why can't we find the resources to put our own people to work?".

He explained that with a population of 150 million and growth rate of 2.27percent which is almost double the world average of 1.17percent, if the country does not begin to create goods and services for themselves, it may never be able to resolve the quandary of unemployment.

Governor Fashola identified part of the problem as that of a past of misplaced priorities, saying once this is confronted and repair work commenced, it would not be long before the nation gets out of the problem.

"The inescapable reality is that for so long we have neglected the needful. In tertiary education we have left our inherited curricular virtually unchanged. As a result, we have not trained our graduates in tandem with the requirements of our communities. We have produced graduates in the areas where our economy makes no demand for them".

The Governor said innovation can drive Nigeria's development if more of its universities participate in capital formation projects, such as technology parks, business incubator facilities, introduce entrepreneurial training and internships into their curricular and encourage students to take research from the University to commercial and industrial firms.

He said creating links between knowledge generation and enterprise development is one of the greatest challenges facing developing countries like Nigeria adding that Nigeria must urgently begin the process of harnessing her many potentials not just to create employment for youths but to develop the society as a whole.

"I am certain that as you listen to me you must be wondering that if these possibilities exist, why have things not changed? The answer is very simple. We have not tried hard enough; and in sufficient numbers to create the critical mass that will give credibility to the possibility of change", he added.

The Governor told the audience that in Lagos, the administration has resolved to engage in less talk and more work which according to him "represents the surest way to demonstrate that the possibilities are real and within the peoples reach."

He said one of the things his administration discovered was that the ability to lay bricks, tiles and stones or to carry out electrical and plumbing works were gradually becoming a rare skill in Nigeria adding that Government has therefore paid close attention to technical education, providing more funds, retraining the teachers, acquiring equipment and reviewing the curricular to ensure availability of training in the more contemporary areas of need"

The Lagos State helmsman said his Government realized that the problem is not limited to technical and vocational education "because to function optimally in the real world, all graduates of tertiary institutions must possess skills that match the business goals of employers."

He expressed surprised that with the remarkable success of the Nigerian film industry, Nigerian Universities are yet to diversify away from the traditional discipline of Theatre Arts "when availability of training in such areas as cinematography, script writing, film production and other subjects will surely do more to improve the output of the film industry."

We are therefore reviewing the academic programmes of the Lagos State University with a view to opening new faculties in areas of need or new subjects of emerging relevance in existing faculties", the Governor said.

According to him "One of these is the recently introduced Faculty of Transport Studies. For a Megacity which has enormous transportation challenges and is trying to build not only mass transit bus system, but also a network of railways and ferry routes, we considered this Faculty a matter of urgent importance."

"We have also adopted a policy of proper and continuous maintenance in all public facilities, including hospitals, court complexes, Schools, roads, in Lagos State, all of which create more employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled manpower", the Governor said.

He reiterated that in farming, unbounded opportunities have been discovered despite the fact that Lagos has the smallest land space among all the states in Nigeria, adding that the Lagos State Agriculture Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric YES) offers intensive and hands on training opportunities for youths at a farm settlement, subsequent to which successful graduates are formed into a cooperative societies, settled in farm estates and given seed loans by the State Micro Finance Institution to start their own farming enterprises.

The Governor said to correct the mismatch between available job opportunities and the qualifications of many unemployed youths, short conversion courses either run within or outside the University system will help.

He said the model adopted by Lagos is the Lagos Ignite Programme which according to him "bridges the gap between the products of the Nigerian educational system and the needs of employers of labour while the Ignite programme prepares youths who are established or intending business owners to meet the demands of the business environment."

He said this is achieved by equipping them with the unique set of skills required for identifying business opportunities and transforming them into successful enterprises and also providing a conversion programme for arts and science graduates who want to be employed as teachers or healthcare workers.

He emphasized that it is very surprising that the Federal Government would even venture to adopt any policy that directly frustrates local entrepreneur, job creators and job seekers through its new policy lifting the ban placed on importation of textile materials, furniture, toothpicks and cassava products.

"The wealth creation model now being promoted by the Federal Government i.e import and export, buying and selling or if you are better connected, simply obtaining and disposing of oil blocks and similar concessions is certainly not the one that will take Nigeria to the desired station", the Governor added.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Profesor Bartho Okolo commended Governor Fashola for honouring the invitation of the University at the 40th Convocation lecture.

He described Governor Fashola as a leader who is very much in touch with the needs of his people adding that this accounts for why he was chosen as the lecturer

Governor Fashola was accompanied on the trip by some members of the State Executive Council including the Special Adviser on Education, Dr Elijah Adewale and his Revenue and taxation counterpart, Mr. Ade Ipaiye.