What Human Capital Development Is

Introduction

With a population of 148 million, making 47 per cent of West Africa’s population, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa. The second largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, it accounts for 41 per cent of the region’s Gross Domestic Product. Nigeria continues to be a leading player in the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) but a 35-page report published by the National Planning Commission titled "A Review of Official Development Assistance to Nigeria: 1999 to 2007" has shown that Nigeria received $6billion as Development Assistance from 1999 to 2007 (Abdulhamid, 2008). (It however stated that only about 50 per cent of the pledged $6billion has been disbursed.) The report, stating that Nigeria is yet to see the fruits of the vast sums spent, described it as "an aid orphan".

Development difficulties and challenges remain disheartening as Nigeria is emerging from decades of corruption and mismanagement, particularly under military rule. The educational system is dysfunctional, as graduates of many institutions cannot meet the nation’s present needs. Unemployment and underemployment rate is estimated at over 15 per cent of the labour force, with a very high rate of that among university graduates. Adult illiteracy rate is around 50 per cent. About 76 per cent of children of primary school age attend school, falling to less than 30 per cent for those of secondary school age.

Amidst all these, on May the 29th, 2007, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sworn in as the third democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has committed his government to reform and his “7-Point Agenda” identifies the development of human capital; economic reforms; transport; power; rule of law; the Niger Delta and electoral reform as key priorities. The president stated that human capital development is critical to the successful implementation of his programme. He noted that if the nation’s universities were mired in confusion, crises, and a lack of institutional vision, there could be no meaningful human capital development.

Human Capital Development

Many early economic theories referring to human capital simply as labour, consider it homogeneous and easily interchangeable. Human capital was defined by Adam Smith (1723-1790) in his work “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book 2” as the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society. Human capital, avers Igun (2006), is the total stock of knowledge, skills, competencies and innovative abilities possessed by the population.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) stated that development is growth plus change which involves material, mental, psychological, physical, institutional and organisational innovations.

Alani (2008), giving a broad view of development, opines that it is a multi-dimensional process involving changes in structures, attitudes and institutions. Development, according to him, comprises rising per capita incomes, reduction of absolute poverty, lessening of income inequality, promotion of employment opportunities, self-esteem and freedom from servitude or freedom of choice.

This writer, considering these, concludes that human capital development, or HCD, is the multifaceted process which entails needed changes in the useful knowledge, skills and competencies embodied in people such that there is increasing evidence of innovations, rising per capita income, promotion of employment opportunities, a feeling of self-worth and freedom from slavery be it economic or social.

HCD is an index of and earns a nation significant industrial and economic growth and development which in turn increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) as the manufacturing sector no longer stays dominated by foreign content. Education and professional advancement are critical. One can not but agree with Adeyemo and Oni (2007) that improving HCD can be seen as improving: 

v     the quality of graduates being produced;

v     the quality of product of the manufacturing industries; and

v     the quality of experience gained and hence better professional development.  

What The Role Of International Agencies Is

Development partner coordination in Nigeria is strong. The World Bank Group and the Department for International Development (DFID) have prepared a joint Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) anchored on Nigeria’s home grown National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). In the last two years, the partnership was extended to include United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), European Union (EU) and African Development Bank (AfDB). International agencies, in general, have been relevant to Nigeria in their role as:

 a.         An Initiator

International organisations have been and still are eager initiators of the execution of programmes and the establishment of educational institutions of all levels and types in different parts of the country.

 b.         A Provider

This role is evident in the supply of teachers and experts to institutions of learning (like the supply of French teachers to a college of education in Ijebu-Ode by Alliance Française); the provision of loans and grants as exemplified in the World Bank loan of $120million to support education; and the supply of equipment and teaching materials such as the 1948 case when the British Council and other agencies gave the University of Ibadan its first set of books as well as another witnessed by this writer in 2006 when a foreign body sent a large number of textbooks to Queen’s College, Lagos.

 c.         A Supporter

Granting of scholarship and fellowship awards to students and staff of schools respectively; enabling of student and staff exchange programmes such as organised by Association Internationale des Étudiantes en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (AIESEC); sponsorship of research activities; and active support for programmes initiated by bodies like the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) fall here. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNESCO aided the FME when it conducted a nationwide achievement test for pupils, using the Monitoring of Learning Achievement measurement instrument, from 1995 to 1997 (Aderinoye, 2002). The MacArthur Foundation is currently working with the University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University, and University of Port Harcourt to strengthen them and bolster reforms, in conjunction with the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, which it launched in 2000 with the Carnegie Corporation and the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations. Mellon and Hewitt Foundations joined in 2005.

 d.         A Teacher

The training of local personnel in workshops, programmes, seminars and conferences is organised by bodies like the European Union and the World Bank. A good example can be cited from the regional conference held annually by UNESCO and the international experts it sends to share know-how in “train-the-trainers” programmes.

 e.         A Revitaliser

Alani (2000) mentions the sad fact that the emphasis placed on science, technical and vocational education is more on paper than in practise. Lamenting the dearth of science-oriented candidates in educational institutions, he points out that without adequate teachers to teach these subjects at all levels, the realisation of the present goals of education will be “an illusion”. UNESCO has stepped in to save the day with its Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) Revitalisation Project.

 f.          An Evaluator

They do extensive research in order to evaluate implemented programmes and government’s effort in HCD. UNDP does an annual ranking using human development index (HDI) and in 2002 Nigeria ranked 148th among 173 developing nations. In 2005, Nigeria’s HDI placed it 158th among 177. At the beginning of this millennium, UNICEF described the state of Nigerian children as “far from pleasant”. The evaluator role makes the nation constantly aware of its international standing.

Developing Nigeria’s Human Capital: Aids from International Agencies

International agencies have helped immensely to develop Nigeria’s human capital. Some of the aids given by five of these agencies will be addressed in this discourse.

 a.         United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

USAID supports human and institutional capacity development programs. From 2000 to 2006, the United States (U.S.) invested $22.7million in higher education partnerships between African and U.S. colleges and universities. In Nigeria, the U.S. government is supporting a collaborative effort (named University Strengthening for Improved Employability Project) between the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Kansas State University to improve business and management education in an effort to provide the talented individuals and leading management practices needed to support Nigeria's continued economic growth. USAID will work with partners, UNILAG students, workers and Nigerian private sector to:

v     align key curricula with the skill demanded by the Nigerian private sector;

v     foster a sense of obligation in tomorrow's leaders to play an active role in Nigeria's development; and

v     provide valuable and challenging internships to talented, high performing students and increase employment, incomes and productivity of UNILAG graduates through strengthened technology skills.

 b.         United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Created in December 1946 by the United Nations to provide assistance to European children facing famine and disease, UNICEF soon extended its mandate. In October 1953, the first basic agreement was signed with Nigeria and a UNICEF office opened in Lagos. In 1954, the UNICEF Executive Director recommended an apportionment of US$6,600 to Nigeria for the provision of 500 midwifery kits and training of personnel to encourage the expansion of domiciliary delivery. UNICEF still works in partnership with many stakeholders to achieve national and international goals instrumental in the fulfilment of children’s rights. It partners OLPC (One Lap Top Per Child) to implement the OLPNC project in Nigeria.

As reports revealed widespread malnutrition among children, UNICEF started providing skimmed milk to underfed children. Research was carried out to better understand its prevalence, causes and prevention. A Department of Food Science and Nutrition was established in the University of Ibadan in collaboration with the London University, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). UNICEF also focused on the education of mothers as another strategy to combat malnutrition and contribute to community development.

UNICEF has provided support for textbook production. Activities are related to adult education in the field of home improvement, sewing and embroidery, cooking, child care and income earning skills. At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, Heads of States and Governments adopted the Millennium Declaration and what is now known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) each of which is linked to the well-being of children. The current programme of cooperation between UNICEF and Nigeria is present Abuja and in at least three Local Government Areas in every state.

 c.         United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

UNESCO’s Section for Technical and Vocational Education, in cooperation with NBTE, is currently implementing a project that aims to better equip large numbers of young Nigerians for the world of work. Following the success in the first phase of the UNESCO-Nigeria Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) Revitalisation Project, NBTE and UNESCO, have commenced the second phase of the project. The project was unveiled at a five-day 'Train-the-Trainers Workshop for Core Team of Trainers for Staff Development Centres’, held at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos (in August, 2008), with the aim to, among others, support the training and development of TVE managers, review and update the TVE curricula for new disciplines and introduce Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education in all aspects of TVE. The project would also complement the efforts of the FME in enhancing Technical Education system to meet 21st century socio-economic needs of Nigeria (Abiri, 2007). Two qualified and widely experienced international consultants, Messrs. Philip Read and Williams Sutclife came from the United Kingdom to deliver the training which will be extended to staff of polytechnics and monotechnics so they can benefit from modern teaching and learning techniques. UNESCO plans to train at least 8,650 lecturers on the new curricula.

UNESCO National Education Support Strategy (UNESS) for Nigeria is developed as a long-term cooperation framework for supporting the implementation of Nigeria’s 10-year Education Sector Plan (2006-2015). To this end, intensive consultations were held in order to identify strategic areas for technical cooperation and requisite capacity building needed to achieve the education sector development and EFA goals in Nigeria. UNESCO has identified the following areas for cooperation in this period:

v     Building learning communities;

v     Developing competencies for quality human resources for youth and adults;

v     Strengthening institutional capacity for ownership and sustainability; and

v     Advocacy, development coordination and resource mobilization.

d.         International Labour Organisation (ILO)

In 2003, the ILO initiated a technical cooperation against human trafficking in Nigeria in response to growing regional and international concerns about its prevalence in West Africa, rooted in deep poverty and the pervasive desire of poor people to migrate in search for better opportunities within or outside the region. ILO estimates show that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been trafficked into exploitative and/or abusive employment. The ILO Action Programme against Forced Labour and Trafficking in West Africa (PATWA), implemented in Nigeria from October 2003 to June 2006, made a substantial contribution to the passage of Human Trafficking Act. ILO research provides new insights on the gender dimensions of trafficking and forced labour exploitation affecting men, women and children. A proposed project will build on the outcomes of PATWA particularly on working relationships with community leaders. Community-led activities are important prevention tools in any action against human trafficking. No sustainable progress can be made without these.

e.         The World Bank

Investing in people is at the centre of the Bank's work and one of its fastest growing areas of activities. Lending for human capital development has increased by more than fivefold since the early 1980s. Loans totalling $35billion have been extended to more than 100 countries for education, health, population, and nutrition programs since the first was approved in 1962. The World Bank is now the world's single largest provider of external financing for human capital development. Its activities have entailed analysis and synthesis of best practices on decentralization of the financing and implementation of Bank-supported rural development activities. The International Development Agency (IDA) is the Bank’s interest-free lending arm for the poorest countries. The Nigeria portfolio currently supports twenty-six IDA projects and total commitments of about US$3.4 billion. The Bank is the largest development partner in Nigeria and the country’s portfolio is the second largest in terms of projects in the Bank’s Africa Region.

The Bank has strengthened the policy dialogue, analytical and advisory assistance, as well as increased financial support to Nigeria. The strategy focuses on helping the government to achieve results in human development, non-oil growth and better governance. It has already approved projects Community Social Development (US$200 million) and Fadama III (US$250 million) for the fiscal year 2009. The chief executive of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Abubakar Lawal, hinted on a plan to establish a human development centre and another by the Kano State government to set up a tomato processing company with the aid of the Bank to enhance export activities, create job opportunities and increase income generation.

 

Conclusion

In 2003, the World Bank report classified Nigerian graduates as unemployable and the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities did not list any of its universities among the first 4,000. Mrs. Vivian Abii, Executive Director, Zinox Technologies expressed the opinion that this background provoked the launching of the University Strengthening for Improved Employability Project (referred to earlier in this paper). For UNILAG, honour came coasting home in March, 2008, when it took delivery of major projects that would enhance teaching and prepare students for future employment challenges. USAID, British American Tobacco (BAT), Microsoft Nigeria, Ocean Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Zinox Technologies came together in partnership with UNILAG in the interest of curricular development, capacity building and empowerment of the students for employable positions after graduation donating 362 personal computers for the faculty of Business Administration, and another 362 for the computer science department at the cost of about N34 million. They provided computer labs, modern lecture theatres, technical support and hands-on experience. Kansas State University representative, Danesi Jafar, sums it up aptly: "This represents a new era and a major milestone in the history of the University of Lagos. An event of this magnitude does not just happen without the vision and dedication of key individuals and organisations”.

References

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