BEVERLY HILLS, CA, December 05, (THEWILL) – Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, on Wednesday, urged African leaders to stop over-depending on natural resources but rather emphasise on the human capital development in their various countries.
Museveni gave this advice while speaking in Abuja at the Justice Karibe-Whyte Convocation Lecture organised by the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS).
The Ugandan President, who delivered the lecture titled: “Education and National Development: An African Perspective,” said: “Natural resources like oil, gas and others are very important, but they cannot be as important as human resources.
“Japan and China are two countries that depend largely on their highly educated, skilled human population.
“We are lucky that we also have a lot of mineral resources, but some of them are exhaustible.
“African countries started getting independence about 50 years ago, but none of the African countries have attained first world or even middle income status because of policy and ideological disorientation on the part of the African countries.”
Maintaining that most African countries have not developed the right policies to drive development, Museveni faulted sectarian and chauvinistic policies in African countries, saying “If any person promotes friction in a society, that fellow is the biggest enemy.”
Also speaking at the occasion, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), asked researchers n the country to direct their energies to inquiries that would aid the nation’s growth needs, saying the nation has a large pool of researchers whose efforts could support the country’s developmental efforts if properly harnessed.
Maintaining that the country will benefit from cutting edge researches, Jonathan assured that his administration would continue to harness the abundant human resources in the country.
The NIALS’ Director General, Professor Epiphany Azinge (SAN), said the institute has since 1995 produced more than 300 students with post-graduate degrees in legislative drafting, adding that NIALS made history this year when it produced two candidates with Doctor of Philosophy Degree in legislative drafting.
“The law establishing the Institute mandates us to pursue a course of study leading to award of post graduate degrees in legislative drafting.
“Consequent upon this the Institute has since 1995 graduated more than 300 students in this highly technical aspect of law,” he said.
He said Museveni was the first sitting president of an African country to deliver the Justice Karibi-Whyte Convocation Lecture.
Azinge explained that NIALS chose the Ugandan President because of his credentials “as a renowned philosopher, consummate intellectual, visionary leader and outstanding administrator.”
He noted that Museveni took his people and country from the brink of disintegration through the process of regeneration to the point of economic stability and political renaissance.
