In the long run, your human capital is your base of Competition. Your leading indicator of where you’re going to be 20 years from now is how well you’re doing in your education system.
– Bill Gates.
You can’t discount the place of skill, knowledge, experience, ability and capability on the ladder of success. These elements are the ingredients that determine direction in any setting; whether in public or private enterprise.
Attaining a reasonable level of competency requires sustained interest, commitment and efforts. This should be an attitude. Advanced economies know this truth. Leading organizations know this secret.
Nations that create the right environment for human capital development will naturally do better than the ones that are lagging behind in this aspect. This position is also true in private enterprises.
As a prominent player in the Knowledge Economy, experience has shown that organizations that invest in capability building of their workforce compete stronger in the marketplace. They are usually market leaders. You give what you have. You cannot give what you don’t have. Therefore, the more you know, the more you excel. This stance is irrefutable. This is why private Universities system seem to be doing better than their counterparts in the public Universities. One of the reasons for this disparity is funding. Private institutions get better funding. This is a fact. The Eight months strike by ASUU is still fresh in our minds. Funding is the main issue.
The candidates you will vote for must be in The Now. The world is moving so fast and we can’t afford to be left behind.
Managers of our wealth should be more creative.
If our oil wealth is equitably distributed within sectors and sections of the economy, then the solution is nearer.
One of the problems facing Nigeria as a Nation is overdependence on natural resources ( oil and gas). Our challenge in oil wealth is not just overdependence on oil; there’s also a major challenge in the distribution of the oil wealth. Sectors of the economy that should receive more are neglected because we don’t think in the future. We are Now Thinkers! This is why budgetary allocation for Education is usually not encouraging. Education budget from 2016 to 2022 shows that Education has not received the 15 – 20 percent of annual budget as recommended by UNESCO for developing Nations. How can a Nation grow when they don’t pay the right attention to Education.
ASUU may go back to strike in coming months or years if there’s no reasonable solution to their requests. They want improved quality of education, better motivation for lecturers and the University community. I am not sure they are asking for too much.
Federal and State Governments need to invest heavily in Education. This will have ripple effect on other sectors of the economy. No Nation will develop beyond the level of knowledge and information available to them. If you want to do more, you must know more. This is what The Law of The Lid teaches.
Today’s wealth is in the Brain! The world has moved to the environment of Knowledge Economy. Oil wealth is becoming old school! This is the bitter truth. Alternative sources of energy is gaining momentum. In the next two decades, countries like US, Netherland, and parts of Germany are planning to adopt electric vehicles and ban diesel and gas powered vehicles in efforts to tackle climate change. Tesla is doing a great job in this regard. This is Bad Market for Nigeria! This calls for diversification. It calls for heavy investment in Education, Industry, Agriculture and other sectors of the economy. Does your canddidate have the capacity to do this job?
I often talk about the law of the negotiation table. The thing that will make the difference on the table is the value you are bringing to the table.
The rule of the table states that the more value you come with, the more value you take. Therefore, if you want to take more from the table or from any environment, you need to create more value; and creating more value is a function of building your Capability and Competency reservoirs. This is the way to be outstanding. This is why Human Capital Development is key. This is why the next president must have the right capacity to get things done.
I don’t have issues with our oil wealth. My worry is that the oil money made the Nation to continue to think within a box! We must do better.
You must take a decision not to vote based on sentiments. Let merit be your guide. We must do things differently.
If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same result.
I think oil money created lazy Politicians. A lot of Politicians went into politics to get their share of the National Cake. Some of these folks have no second addresses. Many of them have not built any business or career in the past, present; or planning to build anyone in the nearest future. This is quite unfortunate! No Nation will grow this way. This is why we must vote wisely.
Your canddidates for 2023 election should be individuals who have created value in the past. They should have verifiable track records.
The time is always right to do the right thing. Imagine if we have done the right things in the last 62 years of independence; imagine how Nigeria would have taken the lead in science and technology, agro, industry, medicare, etc. Just imagine where we would have been.
Over dependent on oil money is a lazy approach to wealth creation.
I once watched an interview where a Prince from UAE expressed with confidence how his people started the same time with Nigeria, and how they have excelled more than us because of leadership style and diversification strategies. Dubai as we all know is an amazing destination for property development, luxury tourism, impressive hotels and world of technology. Dubai is today A Go-To Place in the world. This is a status you get when you have the right leaders. We can do it in Nigeria. Yes, it is possible if we elect the right leaders. Everything rises and falls on Leadership.
Failure sets in when people fail to think critically.
The ”lazy oil”money made successive authorities in Nigeria to limit their focus. They just think more about the world of oil! This unfortunate focus on oil limits focus in human capital development – which other competing Nations invested their oil money in. I think this attitude is peculiar to our country because other wealthy Oil Nations did well with their oil. Saudi Arabia comes to mind in this regard.
I read in ASUU journal how 10,500 professors in Nigeria earn N4.8bn, per annum, while 469 members of National Assembly are paid 128bn per annum. I know you will be worried when you see this type of numbers. I believe this is part of the reasons our youths are now complaining. We can do better as a nation. A Transformational leader is what we need now. No sentiments!
To move forward as a Nation, we must begin to develop long-range thinking capacity.
The oil wealth has caused unnecessary quest for immediate gratification in some quarters. This is quite unfortunate.
Human capital development begets a lot of advantages. You can’t go wrong when you are building capabilities in your people. When people get better, the society gets better.
Advanced economies of the world have gone far in science and technology.
When we are busy discussing how monkies and snakes swallowed money; advanced economies are busy discussing how to relocate to the moon!
The question I keep asking in this is: Where is the place of Nigeria in this equation? We expect and hope for a positive answer. But note that hope is never a strategy. We must take the right actions. We must vote for competent leaders.
Nigeria must wake up to take an enviable position in Africa. Giant of Africa slogan will work when we value Education and Human Capital Development. People develop a Nation. The right people advance the economy.
A New Nigeria is attainable if we change the way we do things.
If we keep doing the same things, we will keep getting the same results.
It’s time for a paradigm shift!
Move from Good to Better, then to Best.
Be Patrotic.
Vote For The Future Of Your Children.
Vote Wisely.
George O. Emetuche, is a Nigerian Writer who desires a Country that works for everyone.
