Stakeholders from Northern Nigeria say expanding resource mobilisation efforts, strengthening community-led interventions, as well as promoting transparency and accountability through objective media reportage, are key to addressing the challenges of out-of-school children, poverty, and rising insecurity in the region.
The stakeholders made the submission at a one-day Summit on Enhancing Human Capital Development in Northern Nigeria, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in collaboration with the Northern Nigeria Governors Forum in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Vice President Kashim Shettima who chaired the summit, said the region’s greatest challenge is not a lack of potential but insufficient investment in education, healthcare, nutrition, and skills development.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, the Vice President described the Human Capital Development (HCD) 2.0 Strategy as Nigeria’s roadmap to achieving a Human Capital Index score of 0.6 and ranking among the top 80 countries globally by 2030.
“We must resolve that the northern child born this year will be healthier, better fed, and better taught than the one born before it not with grand declarations, but with budgets extended and funded, teachers deployed, and clinics equipped,” he said.
The Vice President noted that state governors and development partners must translate commitments into measurable results through sustained investments to improve the lives of citizens.
He expressed: “The North is not poor in spirit, nor in numbers, nor in promise. It is poor in the one investment that turns population into prosperity, and that single deficit has cost us more than any drought, any flood, or any season of insecurity ever has.”
Represented by the Emir of Kagara, the Sultan of Sokoto said the Almajiri system remains a major concern, stressing that inadequate funding and poor implementation continue to hinder progress. He called for collective action and strategic partnerships to ensure children receive quality education.
The theme of the summit is: Reversing the Decline, Unleashing Potential for Northern Nigeria.
