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By Nasir Kura
The focus of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in the next four years would be to address the deficiencies in the quality of human resources caused by poor education and healthcare, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said on Monday.
Speaking at the University of Lagos where he delivered the Convocation Lecture ahead of the university’s 50th anniversary, Osinbajo said the federal government would ensure prosperity and decent existence for all citizens.
“I may begin by affirming the belief of the Buhari administration that Nigeria’s prosperity means a decent existence for all. Second, that prosperity so defined will be attained if we are able to address the issues of extreme poverty, productivity, corruption, the rule of law and the deficiencies in the quality of human resources caused by poor education and healthcare,” he said.
He said government would adopt a strategy that prepares young Nigerians for emerging challenges as well as opportunities.
“We must have a robust enough healthcare system that ensures that the average person is in good health, an educational system that guarantees education capable of preparing children for the opportunities and challenges of a knowledge economy.
“In planning the path to prosperity we also took into account the age-old weaknesses of the Nigerian economy and the illusion of prosperity that frequently distorts our understanding of the actual fragility of our economy,” he said.
He said from the onset it was clear to the federal government that it needed to devise an economic plan that prioritized the basic issues with our economy.
“For us, we needed to prioritize; the building of infrastructure especially rail, roads, power and ports; productivity as we diversified the economy from oil and gas; the fight against public sector corruption; developing a new educational curriculum that emphasizes Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths.
“Others include; adopting a new approach to resourcing healthcare; putting in place a social investment programme that deals with issues of extreme poverty and unemployment. Our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan effectively addressed these issues,” he said.
