Pages: 23-29

Abstract

This study is premised on the viewpoint that the national question is critically interwoven with every other developmental issue in the Nigerian nation-state. It argued that development is either sustainable or it remains ephemeral. We hypothesize that the crucial factor which may most consummately deter the phenomenon of ephemeral development is the human capital element. Therefore, we pose the following questions: to what extent has human capital development been embedded in the current attempts at answering the national question in Nigeria? How can human capital development successfully contribute to the provision of answers to the national question in Nigeria? As we interrogate the surrounding issues to the two questions therefore, we intend to be proffering solutions to the nagging national question in Nigeria. It is strongly suggested in this study that when the national question in Nigeria is being profoundly addressed, sustainable development will invariably begin to appear realizable. Hence, the general objective of the study is to examine the relationship among human capital development, the national question and sustainable development in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to (i) establish a relationship between human capital development and solutions to the national question in Nigeria (ii) examine the relationship between the national question in Nigeria and sustainable national development and (iii) make recommendations on how human capital development can meaningfully contribute to the national question’s answers in Nigeria. The theoretical framework of the study is the human capital theoretical framework. The study’s methodology is logical argumentation.