Shettima Calls for Stronger Investment in Human Capital to Transform Northern Nigeria

(Kashim Shettima. Photo by Leadership News)

Vice President Kashim Shettima has called for increased investment in education, healthcare, nutrition, and skills development to reverse declining human capital indicators in Northern Nigeria.

Speaking at the Summit on Enhancing Human Capital Development in Northern Nigeria in Abuja, Shettima said the region’s greatest challenge was not a lack of potential but inadequate investment in its people.

He was represented at the event by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia.

“The North is not poor in spirit, numbers or promise. It is poor in the investment that transforms population into prosperity,” he said.

Shettima described the Human Capital Development, HCD, 2.0 Strategy as the Tinubu administration’s roadmap for building a healthier, more educated, and productive population, with a target of raising Nigeria’s Human Capital Index score to 0.6 and placing the country among the top 80 globally by 2030.

He noted that the strategy is anchored on health, education, skills development, labour participation, and livelihoods, while also addressing nutrition, gender inclusion, digital innovation, and climate resilience.

The Vice President urged governors, policymakers, and development partners to focus on measurable outcomes rather than declarations, stressing that states bear primary responsibility for delivering quality education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities to their citizens.

He also warned that failure to invest in the region’s rapidly growing youth population could undermine future development and competitiveness, and called on stakeholders to ensure that commitments made at the summit translate into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.