Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said that a comprehensive investment in education and healthcare will prevent insecurity.
He spoke during a forum organised by the National Economic Council (NEC), tagged “Human Capital Development Communications Strategy Validation Meeting” at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Decrying the security situation, Governor El-Rufai stressed the need for political leader to chart the way forward through a robust investment strategy in education to address the menace of banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping, among other social ills prevailing in the northern part of the country.
“I represent the northwest zone in Human Capital Development Council and as you know our part of the country is afflicted with the highest numbers of out of school children, dome of the highest poverty rates and some of the highest drop-out rates in our schools.
“As if that is not enough, many of our schools are now closed due to the insecurity around our boarding schools. In most of the states of the Northwest, schools have been closed for a while as security operations are taking place, making our educational situation even worse.
“Our health statistics are not better. When you disaggregate the national data into zones and regions, it is clear that most of southern Nigeria have statistics that are better. While most of the Northwest have human development indices that are closer to those of Afghanistan, our region is in crisis.
“This is why you will notice that only the Northwest has the highest representation of governors or deputy governors here. My elder brother, the deputy governor of Katsina State is here. Because this subject is very, very important to us. It is what keeps us awake at night.
“We have the largest population of any geopolitical zone in the country. That is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing if we keep the population healthy and educate the children and give them skills for the future because if they’re not educated, they’re not healthy and they feel hopeless.
“This is what we’re seeing with our insecurity. Most of the bandits we arrest have never gone to school. They have no notion of religion, whether Christianity or Islam and they have no hope. If we don’t invest in education, health care, nutrition, our situation will just get worse”, he warned.
“Why are state governments not budgeting at least 25 per cent, 26 percent for education and for health care, as recommended by you the United Nations (UN) agencies. And when these monies are budgeted why are they not spent in the right available, that politicians have a four year election cycle. But it takes 30 years for the result of investment in education to show. But building roads, building secretatiats are clearly evident.
“Politicians tend to ignore education and healthcare….the results show long after you leave office. In my humble opinion, the most important target of this message is our political leaders. The strategy is clear, the communication can be improved.
El-Rufai, who stressed the need for political leaders “do the right thing”, said: “Because it’s all about political will, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve spoken here, there’s a clear strategy, all talk about implementation. If we all agree that human capital is so important, why are we so backwards”, he wondered.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was represented at the event by Deputy Chief of Staff, Dr Ade Ipaye.
He said the meeting was intended to ensure that stakeholders have a shared understanding of the Human Capital Development (HCD) programme objectives and its importance to Nigerians among others.
Osinbajo said the effects of human capital development efforts must be visible such that others would be inspired to join the initiative that required monitoring and evaluation, common understanding of success, and enhanced sense of ownership among others.
He said Human Capital Development (HCD) Communications Strategy Validation Meeting was important and commended the Governor of Kaduna State for his strong belief in the theory and practice of human capital development.
“The beneficiaries should also be aware of their entitlements. We don’t want one-sided communication strategy. All of the nuisances must be recognized and integrated into what we present to the public,” he said.
The coordinator of the HCD Core Working Group (CWG), Yosola Akinbi, said the programme started in 2018 when National Economic Council (NEC) stressed the need buckle up because Nigeria was not doing well in terms of human capital development.
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