Nigeria’s prominent thought leaders headline Lagos Summit as Ehingbeti begins

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new director-general of the World Trade Organisation, will join other thought leaders and leading global figures as Ehingbeti, the Lagos State Economic Summit, starts Tuesday.

Ehingbeti, reputed as Nigeria’s first institutionalised state-level economic forum, seeks to set an implementable agenda for Lagos State towards the next decade.

Goodwill messages are to be delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, and Catriona Laing, British High Commissioner to Nigeria. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State governor, will give the Summit opening address while his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat and Mudashiru Obasa, speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, will lead the session on strengthening Governance, Institution and Legislation.

The public-private sector roundtable, which started as a collaborative effort between the Lagos State government and Business Club Ikeja in the year 2000, has evolved over the past 20 years into a practical planning tool, coordinated by the Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG) for the socio-economic and infrastructural advancement of the state.

Since its commencement, the highly influential summit, according to organisers, has gained useful insights and inputs from innumerable businesses and political leaders, renowned economists, notable development experts and outstanding scholars into the Lagos State Development Plan.

Speakers expected at the three-day summit themed ‘For a Greater Lagos: Setting The Tone For The Next Decade,’ include Mo Ibrahim, founder and chair of Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, DG, WTO; Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank (AfDB); Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing. Others are Ben Akabueze, DG, Budget Office of the Federation, Jordi Borrut Bel, managing director, Nigerian Breweries, Pat Utomi, founder, Centre for Values in Leadership, Yinka David-West, academic director, Lagos Business School, and Mohammed Yahaya, UNDP resident representative.

Ayoola Olukanni, DG, NACCIMA; Muda Yusuf, DG, Lagos Chamber of Commerce AND Industry (LCCI), Mo Abudu, founder, Ebony Life TV, Bolanle Austen-Peters, founder, Terra Culture, Ojoma Ochai, director, Creative Arts (West Africa), British Africa, are also among the line-up of prominent speakers.

The summit, which is structured into segments, will have subject experts speak on specific themes such as “Destination Lagos: Becoming the World’s Best Investment Destination”; “Eko to the World: Shaping the Future of Trade and Economic Independence”; “Lagos, the Industrial Hub”; “Made in Lagos: Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment, Culture and Tourism”; “Security, Law and Order (Balancing Regulation and Economic Growth)” and; “Citizens Participation in Governance.”

Others are “The Role of Transparency, Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability in Governance”, “4th Industrial Revolution: The imperatives and prospects for Digital Economy”, “Digital Transformation for Smart Cities”, “Unleashing Disruptive Innovation for Development,” Shaping the Future of Governance with Technology” and Roadmap to Shared Prosperity – Ensuring Inclusive Human Development.

“Our realities from 2000 when the first Ehingbeti held, exactly 20 years ago, have significantly changed. As a state, we now have to cater to the infrastructural needs of more than 22million population and ensure that Lagos remains on the path of continuous growth” said Sam Egube, Lagos state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget and Co-Chair of Ehingbeti.

“These considerations are the groundwork of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration THEMES Agenda, but translating the agenda to benefits for our people will require collaborations amongst stakeholders, and a determination to deepen the foundation for sustainable development and growth of our society. So, Ehingbeti 2020 offers us a platform to address all these,” said Egube.