By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE Federal Government has restated its resolve to position the nation among the top 80 countries on the global human capital index, HCI, by 2030.

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who stated this yesterday, said it could be achieved by enhancing the nation’s workforce capabilities and improving socio-economic outcomes.

Senator Shettima spoke in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, where he launched the state’s National Human Capital Development, HCD, Accelerator Project and the ARISE Human Capital Development Strategy.

Following the launch, the vice president inspected ongoing work at several ARISE HCD projects, including model primary schools and the ARISE Park, an innovative environmental reclamation project.

He commended the state government for becoming the first to implement the national blueprint across all local government areas, noting that successful policies must be rooted in grassroots implementation.

“Every policy or programme that intervenes in the life of our people can only succeed if it’s rooted in the grassroots. The true wealth of any nation lies in the certainty of its human capital – the education of its children, the health of its citizens and the productivity of its workforce,” Shettima said.

He explained that the federal government had already introduced a second phase of the National Human Capital Development Programme (HCD 2.0), built on previous efforts, with a greater focus on integration.

“At its core, HCD 2.0 is about integration and impact. It is built on the foundation of HCD 1.0 but goes further to incorporate cross-cutting themes. What Akwa Ibom State has shown us here isn’t just progress. It’s leadership,” he said.

The vice president emphasized the importance of data-driven policy implementation, announcing the launch of an HCD Dashboard to monitor key indicators with precision.

He stated further:  “We are deploying data not for reports, but for results. Because behind every number is a story, a child not vaccinated, a mother lost to childbirth, a youth with promise but no pathway.

‘’These are not mere statistics, they are realities. And we must confront them with urgency and compassion.”

Senator Shettima highlighted Akwa Ibom’s exceptional performance on several metrics, noting its achievements, compared to national averages.

“With an under-five mortality rate of 80, compared to the national average of 110, and with only 3.5% of primary-age children out of school—far below the national average of 25.6%—your state is not merely compliant with our national vision. You are ahead of the curve,” he added.

As part of the national strategy, the Federal Government also unveiled Project Fuuku, a clean cookstove initiative that expands on a successful pilot in Nasarawa State.

“This intervention is more than a public health measure. It is a gender-sensitive, climate-conscious strategy that saves lives, preserves forests and uplifts rural women burdened by indoor pollution and fuel scarcity,” Shettima explained.

To ensure the sustainability of these initiatives beyond political terms, Senator Shettima announced plans to institutionalise an HCD Fund.

He said:  “We are working to institutionalise the HCD Fund to ensure that no matter who occupies these offices tomorrow, the investments we make in people today will endure.

“If we must meet our target of reaching a Human Capital Index score of 0.6 and becoming a top-80 nation globally by 2030, we must act with boldness.

‘’Implementation must be swift. Data must guide us. Financing must be innovative. There’s no legacy that surpasses that of building our people. There’s no monument that would outlive the legacies of health, education, and opportunity.”

Earlier in his remarks, Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, said human capital development was the bedrock of sustainable development, assuring that the state would continue to invest and collaborate with the national coordinator of human capital development in Nigeria.

He disclosed that the state government would send an executive bill to the state House of Assembly to domesticate the human capital development programme and assured that the state would continue to work with the office of the vice president to ensure the programme scaled down to local government councils.

National Coordinator of Human Capital Development in Nigeria and Special Adviser to the President on NEC, Rukaiya El-Rufai, said Nigeria ranked 168 of 174 countries in the human capital development index.

On that basis, she recalled that an emergency National Economic Council, NEC, was held in 2018, with some key donors in attendance, where the council members, including all the state governors, made a firm commitment to the development of a human capital programme.

El-Rufai commended Vice President Shettima and the governor of Akwa Ibom for continuing with the initiative which, she said, had a very long-term result framework, emphasising that continuity was, indeed, very important.

“Human capital development also improves health and well-being of the people, such that when they are born, they have the best of schooling, effective healthcare and, thereby, can achieve their fullest potential,” she explained.

Also, Dr Nathaniel Adiakpan, Special Adviser to the Governor and Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Human Capital Development Council, said the Arise human capital development strategic plan represented the state’s collective resolve to empower its citizens through education, skill development and opportunities that fostered innovation and creativity.

“Today, we gather to actualise a Renewed Hope in human capital through the collaborative effort of Arise HCD initiative that will undoubtedly reshape the landscape of human capital development in our state,” Adiakpan stated.