Microsoft Founder Bill Gates – Why I spoke directly to Nigerian leaders

Mr. Bill Gates, again on Monday slammed the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. In an interview he had with CNN, he said that the Federal Government’s investment in health and education was not good enough.

“While it may be easier to be polite, it’s more important to face facts so that you can make progress,” the philanthropist told a room of Nigeria’s government elite that included the President.

In an exclusive television interview with the CNN, Gates said he spoke out to implore Nigerian politicians to focus on human capital and its large youth population.

“The current quality and quantity of investment in this young generation in health and education just isn’t good enough. So, I was very direct,” he told CNN.

Punch also reported that the philanthropist also had at a special session of the National Economic Council, on Thursday, said Nigeria would have done better with strong investments in education and health, rather than focusing on physical infrastructure to the detriment of human capital development.

He had said,

“Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth, with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the world ahead of only Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Chad. One in three Nigerian children is chronically malnourished.
“In upper middle-income countries, the average life expectancy is 75 years. In lower middle-income countries, it’s 68; in low-income countries, it’s 62. In Nigeria, it is lower still, just 53 years.
“The Nigerian government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan identifies investing in the people as one of three strategic objectives. But the execution priorities don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritising physical capital over human capital. People without roads, ports and factories can’t flourish. And roads, ports and factories without skilled workers to build and manage them can’t sustain an economy.”

But the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, in an interview with State House correspondents after the Nigerian Economic Council meeting, faulted the claim of Gates.
He said the plan had enough provisions for education and health, adding that what was needed was for states to complement efforts of the Federal Government.