By Racheal Abujah
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has urged Northern states to allocate at least 40 per cent of their budgets to human capital development, warning that failure to invest in education, health and skills development could undermine the region’s future prosperity.
He made the call in Abuja while delivering discussion framing remarks at the Northern Nigeria Human Capital Development Summit organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in collaboration with the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Prof. Pate said Northern Nigeria remained central to Nigeria’s human capital and economic future, noting that the region accounted for a significant share of the country’s poverty burden and development challenges.
According to him, about 65 per cent of Nigeria’s multidimensionally poor population lives in the North, while deficits in education, healthcare and nutrition continue to limit opportunities for millions of young people.
“If Northern Nigeria rises, Nigeria rises. If Northern Nigeria remains trapped in high poverty, high fertility, high malnutrition, low learning outcomes and weak employment prospects, then our national ambitions will remain constrained,” he said.
Pate warned that Northern Nigeria risked missing the demographic dividend associated with its large youthful population if investments in health, education, nutrition and skills development were not prioritised.
He explained that a youthful population only becomes an economic advantage when young people are healthy, educated, skilled and productively employed.
“It can translate into a demographic dividend, or it can become a huge missed opportunity, even a disaster.
“Without the right investments, a youth bulge can become a burden. If harnessed, however, it becomes a powerful engine for growth,” he said.
The minister noted that Northern Nigeria currently had high dependency ratios, with relatively few working-age adults supporting large numbers of dependants.
He said sustained investments in human capital would help reduce poverty, improve productivity and unlock economic gains associated with a larger and more productive workforce.
Pate said investments in health, education, nutrition, women’s empowerment, youth skills development and job creation should form the core of state development plans.
He stressed that the commitment must go beyond budgetary allocations to ensuring full implementation and measurable outcomes.
The minister expressed concern over the country’s education crisis, noting that Nigeria has nearly 20 million out-of-school children and about 70 per cent learning poverty among children who are enrolled.
He explained that learning poverty referred to the inability of many 10-year-olds to read and understand a simple paragraph.
According to him, the situation is worse in some Northern states, where poor learning outcomes continue to undermine human capital development.
Pate also highlighted severe teacher shortages in some schools, citing instances where a single teacher was responsible for about 700 pupils, while another school had only two teachers for approximately 1,400 pupils.
“What happens in such schools? The children arrive, spend the day engaged in various activities and leave without acquiring the basic skills they need.
“So, teacher quality matters. Teacher training matters. Teacher accountability matters,” he said.
The minister called on governors, legislators, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and communities to work together to prioritise human capital development.
According to him, long-term prosperity depends not only on physical infrastructure but also on investments that improve health outcomes, educational attainment and economic productivity.
Pate urged leaders in the region to use rising revenues to build the capabilities of young people, saying human capital development remained the surest path to sustainable growth and shared prosperity.
He added that Northern Nigeria possessed the greatest opportunity for transformational gains in human capital because of its youthful population, but warned that the opportunity could be lost without deliberate and sustained investments.
