Human capital is Nigeria’s greatest asset, says OGTAN

If properly harnessed, human capital development is capable of unlocking Nigeria’s potential, Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), has said.

According to the Association, there are nations without oil and gas and they are making lots of revolution in technology, hence the need to raise awareness on human capital is essential to Nigeria. President, OGTAN, Dr. Mayowa Afe, revealed this yesterday, while speaking on its forthcoming second yearly international conference and exhibition slated for April 15 to 16 in Lagos.

With the theme, ‘Human Capital Development: as a Driver for National Transformation’, Dr Afe said the conference is aimed at raising the consciousness of the country to know the fact that its greatest asset is not oil but its human capital. “We want to raise the consciousness of the nation that our educational system needs to be revisited. Technology is advancing, the whole world is moving and Nigeria needs to go along with them particularly in the oil and gas industry.

“We have been talking about technology, research and development and knowledge transfer through collaboration with other nations of the world, and we have been talking about also unlocking Nigeria’s potential through comprehensive handling of human capital development, particularly in the oil and gas industry.

“We should not be talking about expatriates coming to take positions of Nigerians now. There are opportunities in the oil and gas industry, but there are few qualified Nigerians. So we want to be able to change that kind of conversation.”

“We are working with institutions in Nigeria that are responsible for capacity development like Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and other International Oil Companies (IOCs). At the end of the day, we are going to put together a working tool that will ensure the realisation of all the outcomes of this conference,” he added.

OGTAN recognizes the link between the quality of a nation’s workforce and its economic growth, noting that an onslaught of complex and broad ranging socio-economic challenges including poor governance, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, outdated educational curriculum, poor funding of research centres, social unrest and increasing poverty, just to mention a few, have affected the Nigerian human capital over the years.