Nigeria has enough manpower for national development — Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, said Nigeria has the requisite and sufficient manpower to spur development across all sectors of the economy.

“Who says that we do not have it as a country? Commitment to research and development; that high level of inquisitiveness, the manpower needed is here,” said Tinubu when he received a report titled, ‘Industrialisation, Energy Security, and Climate Change: Issues, Challenges and Prospects,’ submitted by the Senior Executive Course 45 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, at the State House, Abuja.

The President’s comments come on the heels of the  exodus of qualified professionals in the Nigeria’s workforce ranging from academics, healthcare practitioners, engineers, techies and lots more.

In a recent report by The PUNCH, officials at several Academic Staff Union of Universities chapters traced the exodus mainly to the pathetic work conditions in public universities and issues around the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System of the Federal Government.

More so, in 2022, the Nigeria Medical Association said at least 2,000 doctors left the country to practise overseas within two years even as more are set to leave.

Although the NMA has 80,000 doctors on its register, the organisation says only about 24,000 are working in the country currently.

But speaking on Friday, the President argued that the country still has sufficient human capital to power its developmental ambitions.

Tinubu who received a copy of the report by NIPSS assured graduands that his administration will review the document and integrate salient recommendations into ongoing policies and programmes within the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed this in a statement  titled ‘President Tinubu: Nigeria has sufficient manpower for economic, national development.’

Commending the report’s wealth of research and recommendations, he said: “I give you credit for a good job done. This report will be treated with all seriousness. You have fished out the issues.

“You have noted the challenges, and you have recommended very constructive solutions and showed the roadmap to achieve sustainable development goals for our country. Definitely, our hope is renewed.”

Earlier, the Director-General of the Institute, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, said during the ten months of the course, participants engaged in a series of lectures and seminars, brainstorming sessions, as well as study tours to 13 countries and seven states in Nigeria.

He said the Senior Executive Course 45 comprised of 97 participants drawn from federal and sub-national governments, security and intelligence agencies, civil society, private sector, and labour unions.

“As an apex institution for policy research and strategic studies in Nigeria, the National Institute is entrusted with a solemn duty of charting the course of our national development.

“Our mandate encompasses the rigorous analysis of complex policy issues, the formulation of forward-thinking strategies, and the cultivation of visionary leaders capable of steering Nigeria towards a prosperous and sustainable future,” Omotayo said.