The former Governor of Edo State and Visiting Researcher, School of African Studies, Boston University, United States, Godwin Obaseki, has warned that Africa’s projected population growth of about 2.82 billion by 2060 could trigger a severe socioeconomic crisis unless governments at all levels rethink education, skills development, and employment systems.

Delivering a keynote at the Third Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ICESCO) Dialogue, in London, United Kingdom, Obaseki noted that Africa is entering a decisive period in which nearly two billion additional people would require education, employment, and integration into productive economies over the next three decades, warning that the continent’s current systems are not adequately prepared to meet the demands.

Obaseki stressed that over 89 per cent of children in Sub-Saharan Africa are already in “learning poverty,” while millions remain out of school entirely, including an estimated 15 million children in Nigeria alone. He argued that without urgent investment in foundational learning, the continent risks producing a large but under-skilled workforce.

The summit convened ministers, policymakers, education experts and development partners to examine how countries can move beyond rhetoric and achieve practical gains in K-12 education systems. Central to the discussions was the growing recognition that foundational education remains the bedrock of economic growth, social stability and long-term national development.

The Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme, initiated by Obaseki to transform basic education through technology, again took centre stage at the forum as ICESCO member States explored it as a model to drive education transformation, improve foundational learning, and tackle learning poverty across its 1.7 billion population.

Obaseki at the event shared a success story and insight on how the EdoBESTprogramme, which was set up to tackle the decay in Edo’s basic education system and tackle learning poverty, evolved into a large-scale education reform programme that produced tangible classroom results, gaining global recognition, including from the World Bank, among others.

In his address, “From Political Commitment to Classroom Results: Lessons from Edo State,” Obaseki, in narrating how the programme progressed from political declarations to practical implementation, noted that successful education reforms begin with leadership making education the government’s most visible and consistent priority, rather than merely one item among competing agendas.

Noting that the migration crisis, which saw more than 30,000 Edo youths stranded in Libya, pushed his administration to make education reform its top priority upon assuming office in 2016, Obaseki restated that the EdoBESTprogramme raised teacher attendance to 82 per cent and expanded structured learning to more than 400,000 pupils across the State.

Noting that a reform without a budget is a press release, the former governor noted: “Every naira we put into EdoBEST could have been put into something visible – roads, hospitals, and ceremonies. We chose long-horizon investment over short-horizon spectacle. That choice has to be defended every single budget cycle.”