Education, skills empowerment dominate discussion at Agbaja Summit in Enugu

The need for education that empowers youths with skills to take control of their society, took center discussions at the two days 2025 Agbaja Summit that took off in Enugu, on Wednesday.

Agbaja is a group of culturally related people found in Udi, Ezeagu, and parts of Enugu North, Enugu south and Igboetiti local government areas of Enugu State.

With the summit theme, " Empowerment for the future," the summit drew wide range of the Agbaja people such as former Governor Sullivan Chime, the former Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo; Senator Osita Ngwu of Enugu West Senatorial district, Rep Sunday Umeh of Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency and Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Uche Ugwu; 

Others include, fiery Catholic Priest, Monsignor Prof Obiora Ike; Prof Chike Anibeze, Surveyor Ugo Chime, Prof Agu Gab Agu, Dr. Ferdinand Anikwe, Dr. Festus Uzoh, Chief Laureta Aniagolu, Mr. Onochie Anibeze, Hon. Vitalis Ndu, Ekene Ozobu, among others.

Declaring the summit open, Governor Peter Mbah, who was represented by the state commissioner for Environment, Prof Sam Ugwu, disclosed the huge tourism potential of Agbaja communities and commended their efforts at rejuvenating their identity and shared heritage.

Governor Mbah noted that the Summit was not merely an event, but a movement in pursuit of excellence, identity, and collective progress.

The Governor told that summit that prospering nations of the world are not because of their mineral wealth, but because they invest in human capital, technology, and innovation and commended their drive for education and skills empowerment. 

"Knowledge has become the new currency of power. Skills have become the new economic passport. In Enugu State, we have committed ourselves to this global reality. That is why we are building: 260 Smart Schools, one in every ward, with world-class digital classrooms and laboratories.

"A reformed curriculum that moves our children from memorization to coding, robotics, critical thinking, and problem-solving. A network of skill acceleration centres that prepare our youth for the modern economy. Our vision is simple but ambitious: to make Enugu State the skills capital of Nigeria," Governor Mbah stated.

The Patron Agbaja Leaders of Thought and former Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sullivan Chime noted that the summit addresses education empowerment which he said remains the cornerstone of the the future of Agbaja people.

"The pursuit of Education and Empowerment actually underlines and enunciates the driving philosophy and innate attributes of the Agbaja people. It is actually, in our DNA, to create, produce, reform and advance society. The transformational contributions of Agbaja- born leaders of yore remind us that today’s realities demand renewed investment in education and skills development across Agbaja land," Chime said.

He emphasized that in preaching and working towards the development of Agbajaland, they are not being provincial nor promoting divisions or rivalry with other sections of the state, but only making their own contribution, telling their own story and lending their own support to efforts that have been made and being made to revive or adopt policies, actions, thoughts or ideas that are necessary for the rapid and sustainable development or advancement of the whole society.

The Chairman of the summit planning committee, Prof Chike Anibeze, stated that the Coal City of Enugu came alive again as they gathered to celebrate their identity, strengthen bonds and chart a visionary path for their collective future.

Anibeze stated that Agbaja is uniquely bound by history, culture, and an enduring spirit of kinship, recalling that when the Agbaja Leaders of Thought, under the guidance Prof Chinedu Nebo, conceived the maiden Summit in 2022, it was out of a deep desire to reconnect a people whose unity appear to have been weakened by modern boundaries. 

"That maiden Summit was a turning point. Beyond the colourful displays of the Economic and Investment Forum and the unforgettable Cultural Carnival, it gifted us something far more important: a renewed sense of purpose and the spirit of collective endeavour."

He stated that the purpose emerged the Agbaja Development Blueprint — a 12-point agenda addressing education, healthcare, agriculture, youth empowerment and entrepreneurship, inspiring countless philanthropic and collective educational development agenda leading to the 2023 Agbaja Declaration that ensured that no Agbaja child goes to school without sandals and a bag. 

"These steps, though modest, reaffirmed our shared responsibility and communal pride. It inspired in countless of us the need to spread their efforts beyond the boundaries of their immediate families," Anibeze said.

The colloquium featured donations for the launch of Agbaja center of Excellence, a proposed skills acquisition center and awards for deserving sons and daughters.