ABSTRACT
This article examined the centrality of human capital development as a way of achieving Nigeria’s vision 202020 development program. The paper argued that human beings are the greatest wealth and resources of a nation, which will coordinate all other resources to achieve development, therefore any country, which fails to lay the foundation of its development on its human resources, will also fail to achieve development.
The author described human capital development as the totality of efforts aimed at developing and grooming of human beings so as to present them fit and qualified to be productive to themselves, in particular, and the society, in general. The study also looked at the concept of vision 202020, which is aimed at making Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020. It established that Nigeria state has not demonstrated serious commitment to human capital development since its independence in 1960. Indeed, the state has consistently under-funded education, research, and health care. Globally, Nigeria is ranked 158 out of 182 countries assessed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2007 in the area of human development index. The paper argued that it was serious commitment to human capital development that brought the East Asian countries (popularly called the “Asian Tigers”), to the limelight in world development profiling. Consequently, the researcher recommended, among other things, that the Nigerian state should embark on proper manpower planning, drastically increase budgetary allocations to education and health care, and ensure that funds that are allocated and released must produce intended results.
Keywords: Human capital development, vision 202020, national development, socio-economic development, commitment, lip-services, centrality.
This article examined the centrality of human capital development as a way of achieving Nigeria’s vision 202020 development program. The paper argued that human beings are the greatest wealth and resources of a nation, which will coordinate all other resources to achieve development, therefore any country, which fails to lay the foundation of its development on its human resources, will also fail to achieve development.
The author described human capital development as the totality of efforts aimed at developing and grooming of human beings so as to present them fit and qualified to be productive to themselves, in particular, and the society, in general. The study also looked at the concept of vision 202020, which is aimed at making Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020. It established that Nigeria state has not demonstrated serious commitment to human capital development since its independence in 1960. Indeed, the state has consistently under-funded education, research, and health care. Globally, Nigeria is ranked 158 out of 182 countries assessed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2007 in the area of human development index. The paper argued that it was serious commitment to human capital development that brought the East Asian countries (popularly called the “Asian Tigers”), to the limelight in world development profiling. Consequently, the researcher recommended, among other things, that the Nigerian state should embark on proper manpower planning, drastically increase budgetary allocations to education and health care, and ensure that funds that are allocated and released must produce intended results.
Keywords: Human capital development, vision 202020, national development, socio-economic development, commitment, lip-services, centrality.
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