The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, National Universities Commission (NUC), and other stakeholders are set to gather in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on October 15 for the fifth edition of the For the Love of the Country (FLOC) conference and symposium. The event, themed 'Building a Prosperous Future: Re-Engineering Education and Driving Industrialisation for Innovation, Productivity and Jobs', aims to bring together policymakers, academics, business leaders, and development experts to discuss practical strategies for building a more productive and prosperous Nigeria.
The convener of FLOC, Atinuke Odjenima, stated that the 2026 edition of the symposium is designed to shift the national conversation from identifying Nigeria's challenges to building the capabilities required to address them. The symposium will focus on developing an education system capable of producing the skills required by industries, transforming those skills into productive enterprises and quality jobs, and strengthening institutions to sustain innovation and productivity.
According to Odjenima, the choice of Ogun State as the host of symposium 5.0 was deliberate due to the state's combination of educational institutions and industrial activities. Universities, polytechnics, and technical institutions in the state operate alongside manufacturing plants, agro-processing hubs, and other industrial developments, creating an opportunity to examine how education and industry can work more closely together.
Odjenima emphasized that Nigeria must move from discussing the future to building the capabilities needed to deliver it, stressing that education, industry, and institutions have complementary roles to play in the process. She noted that education must produce relevant skills, industry must create opportunities for those skills, and institutions must provide the foundation for productivity and innovation.
The symposium will bring together stakeholders from various sectors, including education and industry, to examine practical strategies for building a more productive and prosperous Nigeria. The event aims to provide a platform for policymakers, academics, and business leaders to discuss and develop solutions to Nigeria's education and industrial challenges.
Odjenima highlighted that the future Nigeria wants will not be built by slogans, but by people with the right skills, productive industries, and institutions that work. She emphasized the need for Nigeria to move beyond conversations about what is wrong and focus more deliberately on building the capabilities required to change its reality.
The FLOC 5.0 symposium is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to interrogate how Nigeria can develop an education system capable of producing the skills required by industries, transform those skills into productive enterprises and quality jobs, and strengthen institutions to sustain innovation and productivity.
Key points
- The symposium aims to shift the national conversation from identifying Nigeria's challenges to building the capabilities required to address them.
- The event will bring together policymakers, academics, business leaders, and development experts to discuss practical strategies for building a more productive and prosperous Nigeria.
- The choice of Ogun State as the host of symposium 5.0 was deliberate due to the state's combination of educational institutions and industrial activities.
