Nelson Mandela said, "education is the most powerful weapon which can change the world." A nation can’t thrive without true investment in education. To work towards the development of strengthening the educational structures in Nigeria, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum recently brought in Ebenezer, Leo the Great.
His unique name was derived due to his religion as a Catholic. He was born on November 10th and that was the feast day of Saint Leo the Great. Leo’s parents who are devout Catholics looked at the calendar and then decided to baptize and name their son after the saint.
Therefore, when you call the name: Leo the Great, you are referring to a great man in Catholic History, Saint Leo the Great. Leo says that though he did not become a priest, within the academic and social setting, he embodies the significance of what his name is.
Background: (Education & Career)?
I studied Education and Political Science at the University of Ibadan. My school was an affiliate, so I had to come down to Rivers State College of Education which is now called the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt. I’ve been a lecturer for more than 12 years. I have lectured at the Federal College of Education (Technical) as a Senior Lecturer.
Then, I was an affiliate lecturer at the University of Nsukka. In addition to research, I’ve published a lot of books, articles, and journals both here and abroad thanks to the Green Publishers, a publishing house in Germany. I was the pioneer Project Coordinator for the Global Coalition Against Exam malpractice in Africa.
Why did you choose to work at Nigeria Governors’ Forum?
NGF is a dream come true. It gives me the opportunity to coordinate and contribute to educational development across the federation.
What do you hope to bring to the NGF?
The challenge of education is what the sub-nationals would need to do more to resolve when it comes to the primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. Through the NGF, we have an opportunity to engage with stakeholders.
This is the right platform to create more synergy. We would engage and collaborate with stakeholders, the federal ministry of education, the respective states, the national assembly, and state houses of assembly and MDAs.
Furthermore, another challenge would be the capacity of states to fund and provide infrastructure to universities that are not even.