The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to human capital development as a central pillar for economic growth, saying long-term investments in health, education, skills and livelihoods are critical to transforming Nigeria’s economy.
The reaffirmation was made during a media engagement in Abuja on Monday organised to keep journalists abreast of developments under the Human Capital Development Programme (HCD) 2.0 and deepen public understanding of its role in national development.
National Coordinator of the Human Capital Development 2.0 Programme, Rukayya El-Rufai, said Nigeria’s economic future depends on deliberate and sustained investment in its people.
“Nigeria’s future depends on its people. If we do not invest in them, we cannot grow our economy. There’s a lot of investment going into infrastructure, but if you do not invest in human capital, you are not simply going to be able to grow your economy as much,” he said.
El-Rufai explained that HCD 2.0 builds on the earlier version introduced under former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, which focused on health, education and labour force participation.
According to her, the new iteration expands the scope to include skills development and livelihoods, to address poverty, underemployment and learning poverty.
She said the programme is evidence-led and tracks under-five mortality, immunisation coverage, stunting, out-of-school rates, learning poverty and youth employment as six priority indicators.
“The one that worries me and scares me is that learning poverty is so high – about 70 percent,” she said. “When kids are in school, what they’re learning is not sufficient.”
According to her, the programme is embedded within the National Economic Council to ensure integration with productivity and resource allocation decisions.
El-Rufai noted that while the framework is national, states are expected to adapt it to their peculiar developmental challenges, stressing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
“Each state is now developing its own HCD plan, guided by its unique challenges,” she said.
She cited ongoing state-level innovations, including Imo State’s “One Child, One Business” initiative, Nasarawa State’s gender mainstreaming in its HCD plan, and Anambra State’s digital skills training and startup grants for youths.
On sustainability, she said the Federal Government is advocating for political parties to sign a compact that treats human capital investment as a sovereign imperative that transcends administrations.
Project Manager for the HCD Programme, Doossur Zasha, urged the media to sustain public conversation around human capital development and translate policy concepts into everyday realities.
“The media can take conversations from abstract language to things people can relate to daily. We invite you to keep HCD at the core of national conversations,” she said.
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