By Bukola Kayode, Abuja
A book written by Professor Benedicta Egbo, Professor Emeritus of education with the tittle, “Education And Sustainable Development In 21st Century Nigeria”, is scheduled to be presented to the public in Abuja on Monday 18th March.
Plans for the presentation of the book and a public lecture with the theme: “Reclaiming Nigeria’s Future: Strategic Frameworks For Achieving Transformative Change” was announced at a press conference held in Abuja on Monday.
Chairman of the planning committee for the book presentation and public lecture, Dr. Chiakor Alfred disclosed that the lecture will be delivered by Prof L. Adele Jinadu – Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow, Centre for Democracy and Development.
Alfred noted that the Nigeria’s many developmental challenges requires that knowledgeable and tested technocrats such as the professors share ideas as well as their researched solutions to the nation’s problems. According to him, the scheduled book launch and public lecture will serve as a platform for sharing ideas.
He said: “The Public Lecture is 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”.
Speaking on the book Alfred said: “Written from an interdisciplinary perspective, this exciting 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 (including knowledge of ICTs), environmental stewardship and responsibility. It does so by examining and then, proffering practical strategies for addressing the myriad challenges facing education in Nigeria (and Africa more generally) while simultaneously emphasizing the interrelationship between education, society and sustainable development. Importantly, the theme of inclusive and environmentally responsive socio-economic development cuts across all nine chapters of the book.
“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”.
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. Throughout her illustrious and distinguished career, she has constructively engaged in the development of the talents, skills and intellectual powers of professionals and aspiring scholars through her intellectual work, teaching and publications. Not surprisingly, her books, articles and other publications which appear in prestigious journals are used in universities world-wide including in countries like Canada, the United States, the UK, Australia, South Africa etc. In addition to her publications, she has delivered countless conference papers, keynote addresses and invited talks in various parts of the world.
Prof. Egbo is a member of numerous professional organizations and associations. A philanthropist, Professor Egbo is the founder of African Winds International Foundation (AWIF), a non-profit organization which, among a host of other projects, provides scholarships to indigent students in Nigeria. As part of her educational philanthropy, she has donated copies of one of her books to several universities in Nigeria. In recognition of her scholarly/intellectual achievements, and her contributions to education, social development and humanity, the erudite scholar, author and technocrat has received awards and honours both nationally and internationally. In 2010, she was named (and received an award) as one of the top fifty US/Canada based Nigerians. More recently (2023), she received the prestigious Independent Newspapers Award as the “Outstanding Female Politician of the Year”. In furtherance of her contributions to transformative change and development in Nigeria, an annual colloquium, the “Professor Benedicta Egbo Annual Lecture” has been established in her honour.
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