Lagos State is to leverage inputs from Nigerians in diaspora to further strengthen and grow its economy.
With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $136 billion, and an average monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N34, Lagos is not just the biggest sub-national economy in Nigeria, it is also the only state that can survive without the monthly hand-outs from the Federation Account.
In the last one decade, the state had relied over 75 percent on IGR to fund its annual budgets.
The governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says his administration looks to making the economy bigger and better by tapping the brains of Nigerian professionals outside the country.
Sanwo-Olu spoke on Monday while declaring open a 2-day training programme for teachers, in Surulere, organised by the Association of Nigerian Academics in United Kingdom (UK).
Represented by Jermaine Sanwo-Olu, his senior special assistant on diaspora affairs, the governor indicated that the involvement of the diasporan Nigerians would be in the area of capacity building, development of the workforce and youth empowerment.
According to him, the state will rely on the knowledge, intellect, exposure and experiences of Nigerians around the world. “I believe that the diaspora will hasten the development of Lagos; so in moving forward we are going to be bringing in doctors, nurses, teachers and others from around the world to impact the state voluntarily.
“This is the season of change, we are bringing the world to Lagos so that we can have world best practices”, he said.
He expressed the belief that the diaspora was the wheel of progress for Nigeria as a whole, adding that “nations like Israel, India and China utilise the power of the diaspora to bring about changes in their respective nations.”
“So we see this UK group coming to impart knowledge and build capacity of the teachers who are custodians of knowledge and trainers of the future leaders”.
According to Sanwo-Olu, education and technology is at the heart of the governor’s ‘THEME’ programme, adding that “you can’t have education without being digitalised in technology information.
“You need to digitalise, leverage on the power of technology to make your work better, more efficient, be IT and computer savvy, use the newest technology so that you can appeal to the various learning styles of young people,” he said.
JOSHUA BASSEY
