The Federal Government has identified human capital deficit as a major challenge confronting the nation, calling on stakeholders to find solution to the problem.
The Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Media and Communication, Mr. Paul Ella Abechi said the Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, made the call in a statement weekend in which she said the urgent call for action requires all Nigerians to work tirelessly toward building the Human Capital base for a prosperous and peaceful Nigeria.
According to her the stakeholders include community service organizations, the private sector, traditional leaders and development partners, whom she said would foster a national dialogue and work together with Government to find country-led solutions to the challenges
[penci_blockquote style=”style-2″ align=”none” author=””] She said the meeting offered an opportunity for government leaders and the development community to call for accountable leadership and strategic interventions that will harness the power of Nigeria’s greatest assets for economic growth – its people, especially youth and women.[/penci_blockquote]
She identified some of the challenges as demography, stunting growth and education saying, “we can do better because we have done better and we have to do it for the sake of our children”.
Ahmed however noted that years of under-investment in Human Capital cannot be addressed through policies and plans alone stressing that more must be done because the key to success is devising strategies for effective implementation of high-impact interventions.
The minister disclosed that the federal government’s concern for the situation, compelled the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by the Vice President and comprising Federal Ministers and State Governors to meet in a special session on March 22, 2018, to look at the role of Human Capital Investment in supporting pro poor programmes and long term economic growth.
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She said the meeting offered an opportunity for government leaders and the development community to call for accountable leadership and strategic interventions that will harness the power of Nigeria’s greatest assets for economic growth – its people, especially youth and women.
“In the immediate future the Government of Nigeria will focus on high-impact policies and interventions to make dramatic progress in improving human capital. For example, Nigeria is on the course of eradicating polio. This would be an important accomplishment as the last polio cases were found in the conflict-stricken North-East states of Borno and Yobe.
“Other more complex human capital challenges including demography, out-of-school children, learning quality, under-five child mortality, youth employment and women empowerment will require sustained long-term efforts,” she said.