The Captain-General of Brain Wealth Projects Utvecklingsbolag and The Enterprise, Nigeria and Africa, Professor Clerk Julius Brandon (av Oddstrom), has said any community or nation that lacks the capacity to produce basic educational skills would inevitably depend on foreign supplies — a situation that perpetuates underdevelopment, poverty and dependency.
Professor Brandon, who also serves as the Head of Business Actions on Functional Education, Food Security, Economic Growth, and Strong Institutions for Nigeria and Africa, disclosed this on Sunday in a virtual press conference organized by the Ekiti State Controller of the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Pastor Samson Ibitoye. The briefing was held in preparation for a two-day workshop scheduled for October 30 and 31, 2025.
Speaking about the initiative, Professor Brandon explained that Brain Wealth’s flagship programme in Nigeria — the Strategic Knowledge-Based Advancement Programme (SKBAP) — is a transformative educational framework aimed at strengthening the quality, relevance, and functionality of education in Nigeria and other developing nations.
He noted that the programme seeks to prepare children and youths in Africa to compete favourably with their global peers by equipping them with cutting-edge industrial and technological skills necessary to exploit and transform raw materials into valuable finished products.
According to him, “The programme is designed to build a generation of problem-solvers capable of transforming the abundant natural resources in their countries into goods and services that meet domestic needs and respond to global demands. Development is driven by people, not by aid — and that is the philosophy behind this project.
Professor Brandon disclosed that the Strategic Knowledge-Based Advancement Programme will run for 25 years and requires an investment of $502 billion, reflecting its comprehensive and sustainable approach to educational transformation.
The initiative will begin with a sub-national workshop for school administrators and private school owners, which will also serve as the formal flag-off of the programme in Ekiti State. This workshop focuses on one of the 23 identified priority areas in Nigeria’s education system — supporting school administrators and strengthening school management as a foundation for systemic improvement.
He stressed that school leaders must recognize that every school is a unit of the national education system, and as such, they share a collective responsibility to ensure that learning outcomes are not limited to academic success, but also geared toward functional expertise, creativity, and productive capability.
Professor Brandon emphasized that the current education system in many African nations is overly focused on credentialism — producing graduates who possess certificates but lack the industrial and problem-solving skills to transform their societies.
He said the partnership between Brain Wealth Projects and AFED seeks to correct this by shifting focus from rote learning and examination success to functionality, innovation, and productivity.
“We want students to develop real-life solutions to the different challenges facing education systems and the economy. Our goal is to elevate the quality and effectiveness of Nigeria’s knowledge system to the level of the world’s most prosperous nations,” he stated.
Professor Brandon further remarked that Nigeria has all it takes to become as prosperous as nations in Europe, Asia, or North America, provided it effectively harnesses its human and material resources.
He envisioned a nation where every citizen is empowered to fulfill their potential, where education produces innovators and builders capable of transforming local resources into wealth-generating industries.
According to him, “A prosperous Nigeria is one where life is as fulfilling and rewarding as in any developed nation — where people live happily and productively, equipped with the knowledge and capabilities to meet their needs, create jobs, generate wealth, and lift communities out of poverty.”
He added that the project’s ultimate aim is to drive Nigeria’s transition from a consumption-based to a production-based economy, ensuring that “everything needed to sustain and advance the country — products, services, and infrastructure — is created locally.”
In his remarks, AFED State Controller, Pastor Samson Ibitoye, appreciated members of the press, particularly the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other journalists present, for their support and commitment to public enlightenment.
He noted that partnering with the media is essential for creating awareness about the programme, as effective dissemination of information will help schools, communities, and government institutions understand and adopt the functional education model being introduced.
Pastor Ibitoye reaffirmed that AFED, established in 1999 and operational in Ekiti State for the past three years, remains dedicated to improving educational standards, building strong values, and empowering schools to make tangible impacts on society.