Amidst harsh policies by the Tinubu-led government and economic hardship contributing to unemployment, Kashim Shettima has stated that Nigeria’s high unemployment rate needs to be addressed
He made this commitment during the launch of the Nasarawa State Human Capital Development Strategy Document and Gender Transformative Human Capital Development Policy Framework in Lafia, the state capital, on Saturday.
Shettima emphasized that the administration’s goal is to equip Nigerians with globally competitive skills, enabling them to succeed both within the country and in the international job market.
He said, “Enough of the distressing data on our education system—whether it is the mean years of schooling, the high pupil-to-teacher ratios, or the staggering number of youths not in employment, education, or training. The unemployment rate, the growing informal sector, and low labour force participation must be reversed.
“This is the dystopia our Human Capital Development Programme is designed to avert, under the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For so long, at the National Economic Council, we have debated the ideal nation we wish to build and the pathways to achieve it.”
Shettima regrets what he described as the tragic reality of the ECOWAS region being ranked the lowest in the global Human Capital Development Index.
“Rather, it is an invitation for every country, and indeed sub-national entities, to rise to the challenge,” he added, pointing out emphatically that “every child must have access to quality education, equitable healthcare, even as the nation’s workforce must be equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in the 21st-century economy.”
shettima credited the launch of the strategy document and policy framework in Nasarawa to the leadership and vision of Governor Abdullahi Sule, describing it as a forward-thinking initiative that will make a significant impact.
He announced that the federal government has already moved beyond the first phase of the Human Capital Development (HCD) program by adapting strategies to current realities and shifting from theory to implementation. He also noted that Nasarawa’s involvement at this critical stage is a promising step toward progress.
Earlier, Governor Sule expressed gratitude to stakeholders for supporting the Human Capital Development program, highlighting that the Nasarawa State Investment and Development Agency was created to boost the state’s economy.
The governor also mentioned that the state’s youth would be actively involved in agriculture, health, and entrepreneurship, and assured that the strategic document on Human Capital Development would be thoroughly implemented to guide interventions across various sectors.
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