The Lagos Business School (LBS) and GAMSU Foundation have launched a facility aimed to promote quality research and management studies across Africa. The facility is called Gamaliel and Susan International Management Research Centre.
The over N1 billion research centre was funded by the GAMSU Foundation alongside other donors in a collaborative effort towards improving the standard of education in Nigeria.
Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, noted at the commissioning event that the centre represents the impact the late Gamaliel Onosode had on management.
The governor who was represented at the event by Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, the Secretary to the State Government, said, “Today’s theme, ‘The Role of Research in Shaping Africa’s Landscape’ speaks to the transformative power that thoughtful and rigorous research can have on a people.
The Lagos Business School, through this state-of-the-art research centre, will expand its commitment to contributing significantly to the intellectual work that will shape the future of Africa and impact our developmental strides.”
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He noted that research is the bedrock upon which development is built, hoping that the centre would represent another giant leap to advancing knowledge that is uniquely relevant.
According to him, through research, people can chart a brighter course for the development of Lagos State and Nigeria by extension, pointing out that research illuminates new pathways, challenges existing paradigms and provides the insights needed to address the complex challenges facing our society.
“In the context of management, research becomes a compass guiding businesses, policymakers and institutions towards sustainable and impactful decisions,” the governor said.
Chris Ogbechie, a Professor and Dean of the Lagos Business School, had in his welcome address, thanked the Foundation for their benevolence in funding the erection of the building which cost well over N1 billion to construct, hoping that the centre would become a vibrant hub for cutting edge research that will enable the institution to positively impact the society.
“This project was conceived to provide the platform for research and management education that will have a significant impact on our society. If you check leadership, ethics and sustainability very well, you will see that these are values that Gamaliel Onosode stood for in his lifetime.
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“So, he must be pleased that we are doing this today because the various centres that are housed in this magnificent building will do a lot in ensuring that we have a better society,” Ogbechie noted.
On his part, the chairman of the Board of Trustees at GAMSU Foundation, Moyo Ajekigbe, described the commissioning of the project as a thing of immense pride, adding that the choice of citing the project at Lagos Business School was premised on the strength of the brand and its passion for excellence.
“Onosode had a passion for quality education. He believed that his contributions to the development of education in Nigeria should be continuous and should outlive him. The International Management Research Centre that we are commissioning today is a testament to that,” he said.
Bismarck Rewane, the chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives, delivered a keynote address on the theme ‘The Role of Research in Shaping Africa’s Management Landscape’ at the event.
