By Chesa Chesa
The most important objectives for Nigeria and other governments, particularly in West Africa, should be the improvement of the quality of life, living standards and livelihoods of its people, who are the greatest asset for any nation, says Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
He stated this Thursday in Abuja, at the launch of the Integrated Regional Human Capital Development Strategy documents of the Human Capital Development -HCD-Programmes for both ECOWAS and Nigeria, by the Core Working Group on Human Capital Development of the National Economic Council (NEC).
At the event which held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, the Vice-President was joined by the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Mr Nuno Gomes Nabiam; representatives of the Vice Presidents of Sierra Leone and Senegal; and the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Finda Koroma. There were also several State Governors, Deputy Governors and members of the Federal Executive Council.
In his speech, Osinbajo emphasised that “nothing is as important as “the happiness, security and general welfare of our populations.”
Highlighting the importance of investing in Human Capital Development in any nation, the VP stated that “our people are central to all that governments, private sector and civil society partners do.
“The most important pieces of work that we can do are on planning and investing in human capital development, healthcare, nutrition, quality education, skills, and jobs.”
Butressing the reasons why government should make more investments on its Human Capital Development, including in areas of Health, Education, nutrition, the Vice President noted for instance that “inadequate nourishment results in suboptimal learning outcomes and a lifetime of disadvantage especially in what is becoming a fiercely competitive Knowledge economy.”
“Also because idle, youthful populations portend an increased risk of social instability; we must invest in relevant skills as we provide good paying jobs and opportunities.”
According to the VP, “the effective use of scarce resources is the thin line between demographic dividend and a demographic disaster.”
Whether those resources are judiciously use or used in a manner “that best benefit our people or whether those resources are squandered is what will mean the difference in the dividends we expect for our population or just misery and disaster,” the VP added.
Speaking further, Osinbajo stated that investments in HCD is more crucial at a time when the African continent has the youngest and growing population at about double the rate compared to the rest of the world.
“By 2050 West Africa will have 650 million people. Almost 400m will be young people. And we will have to provide quality basic education and healthcare for them and nutrition,” the VP noted.
Observing that Nigeria and other African countries are in a race against time, Osinbajo further observed that “all these mean that Governments face huge public expenditures, and these expenditures grow as our populations increase daily.”
However, despite local and global macroeconomic challenges, there are also opportunities for African governments to harness the potential of its people for further development, Osinbajo emphasised.
