His Excellency Godwin Nogheghase OBASEKIExecutive Governor of Edo State, Nigeria From the Editor-in-Chief EDITORIAL TEAM PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF y first encounter with HE. Godwin Obase- KUNLE ADEREMI ki, was when I hosted a webinar, titled, Edo MANAGING EDITOR State, Striving & Surviving beyond Covid-19 pandemic, in May 2020. Despite joining the JUSTIN MWHALE webinar a bit late because he had to attend toM other state engagements, he profusely apologized for his late- STAFF WRITERS ness and quickly settled into his role as Key Speaker. You could SANDRA MOHAMMED easily know this is an intelligent, very honest, pro- active and MQ KHUMALO forward -thinking leader, who wants the very best for his peo- TATENDA CORNELIUS ple. BONGIWE TUTU Over the next couple of months, I closely followed his activities as I had grown to admire his honesty, hardwork and loyalty to RESEARCH his people, again, perhaps I took more interest, as I feel I have a KEMI ALONGE stake in Edo State ( my late Mum was born to a Benin man, Late SPECIAL PROJECTS Pa Osawe). PRISCA KYEI-SAKYI HE, Governor Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, has taken a pri- vate sector mindset into a public office and has been working DESIGN & PRODUCTION assiduously hard to change for the better, the lot of Edo State. NASIR OLUMIDE From Indstrialisation, which is the bedrock of any developmen- PHOTOGRAPHY tal progress, to healthcare, construction, electricity, social con- REYNOLDS QUARSHIE tracts, agticulture, SMEs, he has with his team given Edo State and her people, a sense of purpose and the can-do attitude, of anything and everything is possible, if you strategically focus into achieving it. The last four years of his administration, has been all about laying solid foundations for a progressive Edo State, whilst the Correspondence Address next four years, aptly titled M.E.G.A Manifesto, will be to con- solidate on the achievements of the last four years and ensure a UK: InvestAfrica Magazine, The Square, Unit 14. 112- very bright future for Edo State. 114 Broad Street, Birmingham. B15 1AS Edo State is lucky to have a solid technocrat with people- ori- +44 7411194645 ented vision, to serve them in the last four years and for the next [email protected] four years. Here is to happy cheers to our Governor, Godwin Obaseki and www.investafricamedia.co.uk the people of Edo State, for making the right decision to return him for another four years to serve them. Kelvin Uwaibi Head, ESIPO From Office of Head, ESIPO. ndustrialising Edo is in the heart of Governor transformation, innovation, and growth in key priority Godwin Obaseki led administration and will be and productive sectors based on the State’s comparative a priority as the Governor and his deputy will be advantage, competitive advantage, technological inno- sworn in come 12th November 2020 for another vation, industrial linkages, and regional development four years. Experience from successful econo- considerations. miesI has shown, a well-articulated industrialization plan is a prerequisite to fast-track industrial develop- We can only achieve the aforementioned lofty goals ment in any location. Hence Edo State has its ongoing with the collaboration of partners and stakeholders, 30 years development plan that captures well thought hence the Godwin Obaseki led administration will out policies and strategies to leapfrog the state’s econ- continue to engage and listen to partners both in the omy. private and public space. We also realize that creating an enabling business environment will attract both The COVID-19 pandemic has affected economies in no domestic and foreign investors to the state. Hence we small way which has made governments begin to think are strengthening our Service Level Agreement(SLA) differently in proferring alternatives to mitigate the through the ongoing civil service reforms. economic effect of the pandemic. Edo State is open for business. Edo State has taken bold steps by focusing on key sectors that will bounce the economy to recovery. The Agriculture and Service sector are in focus. The gov- ernment is also focused on the provision of key infra- Kelvin Uwaibi structures to increase production capacity which will place the State on a more equitable and labor absorp- Head, ESIPO tive growth path. The goal; long-term diversification, industrialising Edo State 1 OBASEKI - DRIVING INDUSTRIALISATION IN EDO STATE he drive by the Edo State govern- pace for future growth and massive industriali- ment to industrialise the state is sation. While the state’s industrialisation is yet a testament to the vision to see to boom, the governor is already nurturing and beyond the present and build for training the skilled manpower required for the Tthe future later hay days. Despite what seem an unending political hul- This explains why the governor is leveraging labaloo to outlanders in Edo State, an indubita- on technical education to prepare Edo indi- ble facet that has kept the Edo State Governor, genes for the industrial revolution and tech- Mr. Godwin Obaseki endeared to the people, nological switch-over that his administration is how visionary leadership acumen, especial- is strategically repositioning the state for. As- ly his ability to see, plan and build beyond the siduously, the State Government has wittingly present. invigorated technical and vocational education with the revamp of the Government Science This is in addition to his transformational and Technical College (GSTC), formerly Benin and developmental achievements in the state, Technical College. which have continued to earn him accolades and recognitions. The project, funded by World Bank, which is as a leading model hub for Technical and Vo- Unperturbed by the distractions, the gover- cation Education and Training (TVET) in Edo nor in his first term in office, has not only repo- State, officially opened its improved facility to sitioned Edo State economy to be viable and students in the 2019/2020 academic session. globally competitive, but has been able to set a Several other models are currently still being industrialising Edo State 2 developed for the state’s TVET programme and power, attract investors, and create the enabling will be replicated in other sectors. Already, the environment for everyone to work harmoniously new look of the college has caused Edo residents with the right policy framework. to take interest in the school, causing student en- rolment to spike. In Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki, a con- summate investment banker by profession, has Public sector led investment drive in Nigeri- his eyes on the ball. With a daunting vision to an economic space is often fraught with uncer- recast the state as an industrial hub in Nigeria, tainties due to both human capital elements and he is pulling every string available to attract in- quality of leadership. vestors, build local capacity and create wealth for the state and its people. These two key factors are, however, primed in Edo state as the current leadership drives up its Obaseki’s vision for driving industrial growth industrialisation programme. and development revolves around the belief that local capacity development is essential. This con- In a case where the focus is to ramp up man- viction informed his prioritisation of Technical ufacturing, it is only logical to groom the man- and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), industrialising Edo State 3 which according to him is the bedrock of the vi- and teachers at the college. For Governor Obase- sion to transform Edo into an industrial hub. ki, the need to develop a robust, well-modelled, well organised, adequately monitored and qual- To achieve this, the state government has em- ity technical and vocational education and train- barked on the construction of workshops, class- ing with appropriate national and international rooms, laboratories, resource centers and pur- certifications will go a long way in building a sol- chase of top-of-the-range equipment for the id foundation that will drive industrial growth in Government Science and Technical College the state. (GSTC), in Benin City, formerly known as Benin Technical College. The Edo Automotive Industry Investment Fo- rum is part of efforts by the Godwin Obaseki-led The reconstruction work will equip the college administration to link the vast economic op- with requisite equipment for world-class tech- portunities in the global auto industry with the nical and vocational education and training. The state’s economic diversification strategy, in ad- redesigning of the college is aimed at developing dition to the $500 million auto assembly plant local capacity for the companies that are setting deal between Edo state government and Chinese up in the state. investors. As part of the state’s industrialisation drive, the In attendance at the maiden forum were 36 chief rehabilitation of the college will provide a facility executive officers of leading global auto brands for model technical education to produce critical and component suppliers. These include those of technical manpower for industries making in- BMW, NISSAN, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Bosch, roads into the state, in the wake of a spike in in- Jaguar, and Deloitte, a consulting company, and vestments by manufacturing companies, among Uber. others. Others were representatives of the global auto As part of the reconstruction work, nine existing makers, including Graffiti SA, Nissan, Toyota, buildings will be refurbished, while four class- Deloitte, Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agen- room blocks, two workshops, a specialist train- cy (GIFA), Automotive Industry Development ing center as well as general site for works and Center, DataDot Technology, Standard Bank of services, will be constructed. South Africa, International Finance Corporation and Afropulse Group. The college will be fitted with equipment that would enable students obtain skills and knowl- The high-profile meeting between the Edo State edge in various aspects of vocational education government and chief executives of German, Jap- to enable them act as drivers of the industrialisa- anese, American, British and other European car tion policy in the state in line with global trends.