Human Capital Development: A Strategy for Moving Nigeria into the Knowledge Economy

Abstract

The driving force for a nation’s development and growth has shifted from natural endowment to knowledge economy. Countries without abundant resources have been excelling because of the emphasis on human capital that propels knowledge economy. This paper therefore, has emphasized the need for Nigeria to move her economy forward by not only embracing the “New economy” but also “Knowledge economy” via human capital development. She has not been serious with her human capacity building because she has not been treating education as a priority sector. UNESCO approved that this sector should be given 26% of the annual budget, but Nigeria gives only less than 8% for the past years. Nigeria has been spending much on governance while the critical infrastructure and education in particular have been treated with levity in the national budget. It iss estimated that our oil will finish by 2052 and Nigeria has to queue in into the New Economy by developing, training and appreciating her abundant human capital (The Economist, June 3, 2007: 106). The paper concludes by recommending effective training in ICT, decrease in current expenditure, official corruption, while maintaining the UNESCO’s 26% allocation to the education sector.

Keywords: Knowledge economy, New economy, Human capital, Strategy

International Journal of Development and Management Review (INJODEMAR) Vol. 7 June, 2012