… festival showcases govt’s efforts at developing skills, talents
At the opening of the second edition of the Edo International Book and Arts Festival last Wednesday, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki said the festival will showcase efforts by his government in the last seven and a half years to develop the skills, talents and creative minds of young people in the state.
Obaseki, who spoke with children and students across various schools in the state as well as international guests and other stakeholders at the event’s opening ceremony at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub, Benin City, said the event is about literacy, knowledge, and expression through arts and poetry.
The festival scheduled to run between June 5 and 8, 2024, showcased the successes recorded by this administration in developing the skills, talents, and creative minds of young people in Edo State as part of efforts to make them globally competitive and contribute effectively to the state’s development.
Other dignitaries at the event with the theme, “Every Child, a Reading Champion,” include Deputy Governor of Edo State, Engr. Marvelous Omobayo Godwins, and the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, among other international guests, joined the governor to inspect the exhibition of the book stands.
Obaseki noted, “This festival is about Edo children. This is the second edition and it has come to stay. When we came to office about eight years ago, we told you that our purpose of being in government is about you and we have no regrets making all the investments we made in education.
“The festival is all about literacy, reading, and knowledge. What we are doing is not new to us in Edo State. Throughout our history, we expressed ourselves very creatively through our arts and poetry and were able to build an empire that lasted centuries.
“You can be creative just like our ancestors; Edo children are genetically designed for creativity. As a government, we have done everything possible to revamp our educational system. From an early age in life, our children know how to read and write. I am not surprised that today, with what we have done with our education system in the State, especially in foundational education, you compare favourably with your peers in the world in terms of reading and numerative skills.”
He said, “This festival has been put together to showcase what we have done in our education system in the last eight years which is the emphasis we have been putting in developing the talents and skills of our young ones. You are here to see the exhibition done by people like you and to relate with authors and people who write books.”
Earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe said the festival is about literacy and appreciating learners in both private and public schools across the state.
“We have over 60 exhibitors here and the majority of them are book publishers and authors,” she said.
Dr. Osa-Oviawe stated that the reforms entrenched in the education sector by the present administration have formed the road map of providing quality and effective education to children in Edo State, noting that the Ministry of Education aims to continue to make progress in the literacy target.
According to Dr. Osa-Oviawe, “The progress we have made in literacy and numeracy in Edo State was the reason Edo State is now considered globally accelerated at par with countries like Brazil, Pakistan, Ecuador, Rwanda Kenyan and Mozambique.”
The Education Commissioner called on stakeholders in the education sector to embrace the ongoing Education Week as it provides a veritable platform to share ideas on ways to move education forward in the country.
In his welcome remarks, Efosa Egharevba, Director, Edo State Library Board, stated that Godwin Obaseki is building a state-of-the-art digital library at the Edo State Education Hub with modern facilities that will connect all State government libraries and give access to over fifty million ebooks at the click of the button.
Egharevba while commending the leadership role of the Commissioner of Education in the education ecosystem in driving the state’s education transformation process, emphasised the festival’s importance in promoting literacy and artistic appreciation among youths.
