NATION BUILDING THROUGH EDUCATION AND SKILLS: THE CASE OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN NIGERIA

The need for human capital development as an essential component of nation building is getting wider attention with increasing globalization in the world economy and the increasing wave of unemployment among the youths especially in African countries due to the downturn in their various economies. Human capital development is considered to be one of the fundamental solutions to the challenges facing nation building in Africa. This paper therefore looks at the direct impacts human capital development has on nation building from various critical perspectives with a view to making necessary policy recommendations. It also examines why highly developed human capital will be the source of comparative advantage in the twenty-first century global economy and nation building. The paper concludes by arguing that Nigerian educational system should adopt rigorous academic standards, benchmarked against standards in developed countries as a strategic intervention that would permeate the entire human capital development system