* Promises urgent action on skills development, industry-academia synergy

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

President Bola Tinubu has announced plans for Nigeria’s first-ever National Industrial Manpower Development Policy, saying the country’s greatest asset lies in its people rather than its natural resources.

He stressed the urgent need to bridge the gap between educational output and industry requirements to unlock Nigeria’s economic potential.

Delivering a keynote address on Tuesday at the opening of the National Industrial Manpower Summit (NIMS) 2025 at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, the president, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, said the country must urgently invest in its citizens or risk dire consequences.

The summit, with the theme, ‘Manpower Development: The Bridge Between Potential and Productivity,’ brings together government officials, industry leaders, academia and international partners to develop actionable recommendations for workforce development.

According to President Tinubu, “For a nation with a median age of about seventeen, Nigeria is an incredibly young country. This youthfulness is a gift, but it is also a responsibility. We must make our young people not just a demographic statistic but a central component of our policy-making process.”

He told participants that “an improvement in human capital, along with infrastructure and sound policy is the bridge between development and setback in every nation,” adding that “We cannot afford to divest from our people because the world will not pause to wait for us.”

The president said the summit “is not just a forum for discussion; it is a call to produce actionable recommendations that will form the basis of Nigeria’s first-ever National Industrial Manpower Development Policy. I assure you that this administration will review, adopt and implement viable proposals with urgency”.

“Our mission is to align the education and training of our young people, and indeed the larger workforce, with the needs of industry. We must reverse the mismatch between what our institutions produce and what our economy requires. This cannot be realised unless we foster robust collaboration between the public and private sectors to prepare young Nigerians for the demands of today’s job market,” he noted.

President Tinubu maintained that the disruptive technologies of the era require a constantly evolving workforce, warning that Nigeria risks widening the skills gap if it fails to prepare adequately for the demands of the new technological order.

He called for an industrial skills database, sector-specific manpower roadmaps, and an elevated status for vocational and industrial training, insisting that welders, machinists, technicians, software engineers and factory operators must be “treated with the dignity, respect and opportunity they deserve”.

“This summit is not just a forum for discussion; it is a call to produce actionable recommendations. Let us commit to transforming the way we think about manpower, work and the future of Nigeria’s industrial economy,” the president further said.

Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, said the summit was a testament to how President Tinubu’s leadership is always touching the right spots, adding that it was very intentional of him to appoint the first Senior Special Assistant on Industrial Training and Development.

“So, at this gathering, I believe what we are doing is a celebration of that fact. What we are doing is a realisation of what the president’s imagination was. I mean there are moments in a nation’s journey when history itself seems to lean forward.

“When history does so, it is to watch and see whether we will be able to take advantage of the opportunities before us. So, for me today in this hall, we stand at such a moment,” Enoh said.

He noted that the summit is not just a ceremony or another line in the calendar of events, but a crossroads where Nigeria elects whether to remain as a nation of vast potential – often admired but unrealised, or whether the country is ready to step forward as a nation whose productivity matches its promise.

Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said national manpower is a key ingredient for attracting and retaining domestic investment for industrialisation to accelerate Nigeria’s economic development.

“Therefore, this gathering offers a timely opportunity to deepen our conversation and lay out a bold actionable strategy for a more resilient economy.

“Nigeria’s path to accelerating industrialisation, economic diversification and export-led growth is clear as a mandate of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, firmly anchored in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda which lays out a blueprint for building a stronger, more productive, competitive and inclusive economy,” Oduwole said.

On his part, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, described the summit as a platform not just for dialogue but to forge a unified direction on skills development, certification and industrial manpower planning.

He said: “We must therefore depart from individual efforts to more robust and collaborative efforts to drive this critical mandate where every player knows his role, collaborates effectively and works towards one shared mandate.”

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industrial Training and Development, Mr Adamson Oluwatoyin, said the summit was a turning point in the collective “quest to shape the future of Nigeria’s workforce under the vision of President Tinubu and in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda”.

Oluwatoyin noted that manpower development is the bridge between the nation’s abundant potential and the productivity required, adding that Nigeria has the resources, talent and the ambition.

He, however, said that without skilled, adaptable and innovative people, the country’s industrial dream will remain unrealised.

Also speaking, the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Dr Afiz Ogun Oluwatoyin, said the summit offers an opportunity for policy dialogue, setting up national targets in skills development and discussing the framework for mobilising national resources in a cohesive manner.

Oluwatoyin commended President Tinubu for his foresight in appointing square pegs to fill square holes in relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with mandates on skills as new perspectives in dealing with the nation’s industrial manpower problems as they emerge.

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