The significance of human capital to the growth and development of economies of the world cannot be overemphasized. Thus, government investment in health and education is imperative.

1. FINAL PROJECT
TOPIC 1: EXAMINING HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE CONTEXT OF NIGERIA
Having undergone this course (Future of Work: Prepared for Disruption) studiously, I have learned
so well, particularly on human capital. Thus, I develop interest to examine the subject matter in
the context of my community setting, focusing on Nigeria as a whole. Below are expository on
what I learned as well as my research on the topic- Human Capital:
According to World Bank Development Report (2019), Human capital consists of the knowledge,
skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives, enabling them to realize their potential
as productive members of society. The components of human capital include health and education.
It has been said that people are more productive when they are healthier. For individuals, an
additional year of school generates higher earnings on average.
In Nigeria context, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country having about 200 million people.
The population has grown from rate of 2.53% to 2.60% between 2000 and 2019 respectively.
Having such a great population, it is expected that the government would optimally tap into the
pool of human resources. However, the state of Nigeria human capital is disheartening. According
to UNESCO report, about 6 million of 36 million out-of-school girls in the world are Nigerians.
About 10.5 million children are out of school. In the classroom, about 58.3% pupils are not learning
and nearly 60% of primary 6 pupils cannot read at all. A third of school aged children are not
enrolled in school. There is an average of 49 pupils per primary school teacher. Nigeria faces the
biggest shortage of teachers in the world accounting for about 12% of the global total. Only 6% of
the Nigerian budget is allocated to Nigerian educational sector; hence, dearth or poor educational
infrastructure such as dilapidated classrooms and unconducive learning environment resulting to
unskilled graduates, amongst others.

2. In terms of health, WHO 2018 report reveals that maternal mortality ratio (per 100 000 live births)
is about 814.0. Life expectancy at birth is about 55.2 years compared to that of Ghana and Rwanda
which stand at 63 years and 67 years respectively. Relatedly, births attended by skilled health
personnel is about 35%. By implication, the selected Nigeria health indicators fall short the World
Health Organization expectation of less than 70 children, about 75years and 90% for maternal
mortality ratio (per 100 000 live births), life expectancy at birth and births attended by skilled
health personnel respectively.
The resultant effect of poor investment in education and health is low human capital. It is therefore
not surprising that Nigeria is ranked 152nd
position out of 154 countries on the Human Capital
Index list. As a result of this, large percentage of Nigerian population lack higher cognitive skills
as well as socio-behavioral skills needed to fit into the labor market; thus lead to low productivity,
high informality and poor economic growth and development.
In order for Nigeria to develop above low income level, it is imperative that human capital
development becomes her utmost priority. Various countries of the world such as Singapore,
Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Finland and others developed their economies through adopting

3. substantial and significant investment in health and education. Therefore, Nigerian government
need to imitate the above economies in the following strategies:
1. Reformation of educational and health policies to improve human capital.
2. Improvement in educational and health facilities.
3. Introduction of new technology and equipment to ensure efficient use of scarce resources.
4. Creating hygienic and clean working environment for safety.
5. Improvement in workers remuneration.
As we draw curtains on this course, I have learned that for an economy to attain development in
the changing nature of business world, it is imperative to make human capital her topmost priority;
in that, the combination of skilled workers and technology lead to more than proportionate increase
in productivity.