Hajiya Hadiza Suleiman, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Nasarawa State Governor on Human Capital Development (HCD), says the state has adopted a private-sector approach to actualise the HCD agenda in the state.
Suleiman, who is also the state’s Focal person on HCD, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Friday.
NAN reports that HCD is a national agenda under the National Economic Council domiciled in the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo which seeks to accelerate growth and development through investment in people.
The National HCD has three thematic areas which are: Health, Education and the Workforce, but Nasarawa State has added three more to include: Social development of the youth, local government and community development.
According to Suleiman, the private-sector approach is the best strategy to implement the HCD agenda and achieve its goals in the state.
She said that the approach is result-oriented, time-conscious and produces optimal results that would lead to increased human capital development through acquisition of knowledge and skills for the development and economy of the state.
“The good thing for Nasarawa state is that the administration of Gov. Abdullahi Sule is an administration that is focused on this vision and very much determined to grow the people.
“The governor believes very much in the private sector and its approach. This is because in the private sector every minute counts. There is no time for redundancy. There is no time for laxity.
“That is the kind of approach we stand to bring to the public sector and which we believe will maximise the gains of the HCD agenda in the state.
“Moreover, the people in the private sector are key to HCD, because at the end of the day, they are the ones that will help us guide and set practical examples on how we can merge the two,” she said.
She explained that the private sector is one that often open doors for more knowledge, new skills, new innovations and always prioritises maximum human productivity.
Hence, the lure to embrace its approach in actualising the HCD’s six thematic areas adopted by the state.
Suleiman added that the private sector background of the state governor was another factor that led to the adoption of the private sector approach in actualising the HCD agenda in the state.
“The governor’s background and vast experience in the private sector and the fact that he is a leader who believes and understands the HCD was an added advantage.
“For instance, we have had interactive sessions with Commissioners, heads and officials of the state Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on how we can bring in the private-sector approach and how to domesticate the HCD agenda in each organisation.
“So, the political will is key,” she said.
Suleiman said the major challenge facing the agenda is lack of understanding of the concept of the HCD agenda by “a lot of people” in the state.
“That is why we embarked on a lot of enlightenment activities to let people understand what the HCD concept is and to get many people to key in into the agenda.
She then urged the Federal Government to prioritise HCD so as to reap many benefits from the millions of human potentials abound in the country.
“For Nigeria, we need to understand the concept, domesticate it and make it a priority.
“If the country can adopt it as a priority, it will go a long way in improving a lot of our indices. It is going to have a positive effect on the growth of the country both socially and economically,” she said.
The SSA also lauded the Chairman of the HCD Council in Nasarawa state, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, for his dedication, commitment and support to the HCD agenda in the state. (NAN)
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