CIPM President Urges Nigerian Government To Prioritise Human Capital Development

The Nigerian Government and sub-national entities have been urged to prioritise human capital development over wages and traditional factors of production to drive greater national progress.

The President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, Mallam Ahmed Gobir gave the advice at the third annual conference of the Institute held at the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies MINILS, Ilorin.

Gobir who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute said, that,”If you have capital, resources, skills and all that, you still require human resources to harness all these to get intended and expected results.”

The CIPM boss advised the Government and all sub nationals to make not only paying salary, minimum wage or living wage to employees the priority but should encourage re-skilling and up-skilling of employees by way of training.

According to him, as Human Resources (HR) professionals, our focus is always around human capital development.

“What training, retraining, re-skilling and upskilling does is to equip workers with resources to be able to foray into other areas of growth and development.

That’s why in the CIPM, we go from state to state to partner with the Nigerian and state governments to provide training and learning opportunities for civil servants,”he said.

 Minimum Wage 

In a related interview, the Director General Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies, MINILS Comrade Issa Aremu has commended the Nigerian Government for taken a bold step on the issue of the minimum wage.

Comrade Aremu however appealed to authorities concerned that there is more to be done, to improve the economy and stabilise Naira that keeps depreciating against the dollar.

Also speaking, Chairman of the CIPM in Kwara state, Mrs. Olaide Ajiboye lamented current challenges being faced by Nigerian workers, including insecurity, rising fuel prices, and fluctuations in dollar exchange rate.

Speaking on the annual conference that was in hybrid form, themed, “Human Resource Management in a VUCAR World: Building Resilience and Agility,” Ajiboye said it addressed the challenges of operating in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and risky environment (VUCAR).

She said; “This theme is apt and timely considering the increasing rate at which companies are shutting down production in Nigeria due to high operating cost. This was buttressed in the recent release by Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) which stated that about 737 companies have shut down in Nigeria from 2023 till date or relocated to other countries.”

Ajiboye thus emphasised the need to make environment conducive for businesses in Nigeria to thrive.

She said; “that is why we have gathered here from various corners of the industry, united by a shared commitment to advancing the field of human resources and finding solutions to underlying socio-economic challenges confronting the nation as professionals.”

According to her, they will explore the innovative practices and emerging trends that are shaping how they operate in a turbulent environment.

Ajiboye added that their collective goal is to equip themselves with the insights and tools necessary to navigate the evolving workplace landscape.

Mercy Chukwudiebere