Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, has called for a radical shift toward accurate and comprehensive data reporting to ensure the state’s massive investments in its citizens are properly recognized.
Speaking on Thursday during the validation of the Human Capital Development (HCD) 2.0 report in Alausa, Hamzat argued that current metrics fail to capture the true scale of the state’s interventions in health, education, and social welfare. He noted that while thousands have benefited from skills acquisition and poverty alleviation programs, these successes often remain underreported due to fragmented data frameworks.
“In terms of human capital development, Lagos State is doing a lot through interventions, programmes and projects,” Hamzat stated. “Unfortunately, the metrics available do not accurately reflect the extent of what is being done. The state is clearly being underreported.”
The Deputy Governor, who chairs the HCD 2.0 Core Working Group, specifically identified the informal sector as a major blind spot. He stressed that capturing data from this segment of the economy is essential for credible planning and impact assessment.
“The data gap must be closed so that the Human Capital Development Strategy truly captures everyone,” he added. “Only then can planning, implementation and impact assessment reflect the realities on the ground.”
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, echoed these sentiments, describing the HCD 2.0 Strategy as a pivot toward prioritizing people over physical projects.
Finnih, the state’s coordinating focal person for the strategy, argued that as Africa’s fastest-growing megacity, Lagos must measure its success by the productivity and resilience of its workforce rather than just economic output or infrastructure.
“These efforts were deliberate to break silos, deepen alignment and ensure that our strategies are context-specific, practical and results-oriented,” Finnih explained.
She noted that the strategy was developed through extensive consultations with the private sector, civil society, and technical experts. According to Finnih, the validation of the report marks a transition from planning to execution, aligning with the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 and the THEMES Plus Agenda.
The validated document is expected to serve as the primary guide for policy decisions, resource allocation, and performance management across all government ministries and agencies.
