Investing in human development is one of the smartest reserves a country can make to break the cycle of poverty, address inequality, and boost productivity of labour,Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, has said.
He spoke at the Human Capital Development (HCD) Southwest Regional Conference with the theme; ‘From Plan to Action: Push for HCD’ in Lagos.
His deputy,Dr.Obafemi Hamzat,represented him at the event.
He said:“Africa will soon be home to more than 50 percent of the world’s youth and our region holds a dominant portion of this demography. We therefore owe our youths the opportunity to be productive members of the workforce that will contribute to the global economy.
“This will not happen if we don’t take informed decisions to tackle some challenges that are peculiar to this region through the HCD initiative. This is particularly critical in the light of the recently released Multidimensional Poverty in Nigeria (2022) report”
He said that the profound shift in the global economy is creating a sense of urgency for them as policy makers to prepare the people for the emerging and complex future, stating that the key is making the right investments in people – ensuring that they accumulate the knowledge and skills they will need to compete in a new world.
He added:“In a global world, we cannot afford for our people to not have the proper foundation in health, education and skills. As innovation continues to accelerate, it will be harder to catch up with the space of development being witnessed in the developed world, if we fail to act decisively now.
“Our economies will fall further behind if we are not committed to meeting targets of HCD. We have no time to lose as leaders, we must urgently invest in our people.It’s high time we turned our lens towards creating diverse opportunities for human development by leveraging evidence-based advocacy to mobilize ourselves and take actions to drive the accountability needed to deliver change at scale across communities and improve developmental outcomes for our citizens.
He noted that Lagos state is fully committed to ensuring every child, man and woman in Lagos is not left behind and has the opportunity to live a full and productive life.
