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Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has charged his colleagues piloting affairs of states across the country that investing in human capital development (HCD) is one of the smartest investments a country can make to break the cycle of poverty, address inequality and boost the productivity of labour.
Sanwo-Olu made this assertion while speaking at the Southwest Human Capital Development Regional Conference, with the theme, “From Plan to Action: Push for HCD,” held at Marriot Hotel, GRA. Ikeja, saying with such a vision, the government had an ineluctable responsibility to organize actions that would improve the socioeconomic development of the nation.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who spoke through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, stressed that the profound shift in the global economy was creating a sense of urgency for the government to prepare the people for the emerging and complex future, adding that it was imperative to invest in people by ensuring that they accumulate the knowledge and skills they needed to compete in a new world.
“As innovation continues to accelerate, it will be harder to catch up with the pace of development being witnessed in the developed world, if we fail to act decisively now. Our economies will fail further behind if we are not committed to meeting the targets of HCD. We have no time to lose as leaders; we must urgently invest in our people,” he said.
Speaking further, the governor highlighted that the state government was committed to ensuring that every child, man and woman in Lagos was not left behind and had the opportunity to live a full and productive life, adding that his administration made it clear from inception that no segment of the society would be left behind.
“Our administration has initiated laws, policies and institutions, including the passage of a Lagos Social Protection Policy which defines interventions targeting the poor and vulnerable, children, women, persons with disability and the elderly, carried out across our various ministries and agencies, and ensuring that the budgets are reflective of the aspirations,” the governor said.
He, therefore, urged the other Southwest governors to consistently encourage the private sector and civil society to support these efforts in achieving sustainable human capital development across the 3 thematic areas, which include Education, Health and Nutrition and Labour Force.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser (SA) to the Governor on Sustainable Developmental Goals and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond, noted that the conference was very apt, saying it had brought together different development stakeholders across the six Southwestern states aligned in a common goal of improving opportunities for all people to live well, be well and productively engage in the country.
The governor’s aide stated that in the last three years of Sanwo-Olu’s administration, priority had been given to the alignment of policies and initiatives backed by a tangible budget spent on critical human development areas, adding that priorities were ensured in driving human development outcomes in the three thematic areas, including Health and Nutrition, Education and Labour Force.
The Special Adviser disclosed that interventions and efforts put in place by the government were yielding results as, according to her, the state remains consistently among the highest-performing states in local and international assessments of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
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