In one of the many business and career oriented speeches by Brian Tracy, he admits that no one should compete when they don’t know what their comparative advantage is. It is no news to say that Edo State has its cultural heritage and creativity as one of its best selling point. I often go to Igun Street to intrigue myself with the cultural profundities of my people. I also visit the delightful Ekehuan Campus – a compound full of fond memories – to show my regards for the works of art and statutes therein.
I recall the Dubai story in moments like this. Sheikh Rashid had a vision to turn Dubai to a world class mega city. He drew out the vision. Therefore oil was discovered. But he desired to use the oil money to further invest in his vision to build a global city which would attract an endless stream of tourists, developers and investors, and this was soon brought to reality. Today this once tiny fishing village in the United Arab Emirates is a big tourist attraction site. Dubai leveraged its advantage to attain the enviable heights of self-sufficiency. Just as I think of people, I often think of cities having their own peculiar personalities, their own habits. We have God-given talents and so do cities. I think of the lesson of the parable of the talents as well. If we use our gifts wisely to reposition ourselves, we will naturally take our place in the world. No one will own our heritage and legacy for us. Our reputation is ours to create and conserve.
We must capitalize on our collective strength as cultural innovators and custodians and see past our helpless dependency on fossil fuels. Human capital is the key to the future. Our creativity is our greatest strength. We have individually began pushing Edo To The World, we must be prepared when The World Starts Trooping Into Edo.
