The Impact of Investment in Human Resources on The Transformation of Nigerian Economy: Focus on the Nigerian University System

Abstract

This study centres on investment in human resources for the transformation of Nigerian economy with focus on the Nigerian Universities. Issues and problems relating to human resources development and planning are analyzed to ascertain the extent of its contribution to the transformation of the Nigerian economy. More to this was the examination of the issues surrounding the persistent yawning gap between highly skilled human labour developed at the Universities and the development of enabling economic infrastructure for Nigeria's transformation. In order to reach reasonable deductions in this research, seven research questions were posed along with a hypothesis to validate the data and abstraction of analysis. Seven prime objectives were identified to guide the fundamentals of achieving the goals of this research. The source of information for this study was derived from educational funding, gross domestic product, the labour force employed, gross capital formation, high level manpower from the university within the period 1970-2003. The method of data collection was based on secondary data and dialectical process. The data was analyzed using cointegration analysis and Granger causality test, simple percentages and dialectical analysis. Evidence from the data analysis revealed amongst other things that investment in human resources contributes to the transformation of Nigerian economy. There is inadequate investment resources allocated to education which has been responsible for the dysfunctional education provided at all levels , and this could not develop appropriate human resources to cope with the needs and aspirations of the development efforts of the Nigerianeconomy. The study however, revealed absence of coherent and comprehensive policy on developing appropriate human capital that can facilitate the transformation of the Nigerian economy. The findings also revealed that all the productive life of the Nigerian economy rely on human resources development and utilization for their transformation; and this has unfinished panacea. Therefore, investment in human resources accounts for a significant proportion of the unexplained aspect of economic transformation in Nigeria as revealed in our findings from the cointegration analysis. The study recommends that any policy on human resources that have premium for development in Nigeria, must strike a balance between available critical manpower and categories of new employment and opportunities available and to be created. This calls for investment, training and education to be redirected to the development and utilization of human capital in the productive life of the economy. The thesis concludes that in order to achieve this, the state machinery most be directed and targeted at actualizing all goals of critical human resource development and utilization in Nigeria.