Nigeria’s biggest risk isn’t inflation but untapped human capital – Damilare Davola

Ever since the debates have started in Nigeria, inflation has been the focus of public attention and has kicked the discussions all over the country. While the increase in price of food, transport, and house rent takes most of the attention on the news, economic strategist and thought leader, Damilare Davola, has a different take.

According to him, inflation is troubling, but is not the most pressing issue for Nigeria. The most pressing issue, he claims, is something more serious, more concealed, and much more dangerous: the country’s enormous potential for under-utilized primary human resources.

Davola doesn’t argue inflation is not harmful. He believes it is more complex than that. He says contextualization is needed. According to him, inflation is a part of every economy and a part of every country’s cycle. It is a temporary calamity that eventually goes away thanks to economic corrections, tighter regulatory policies, or novel international trade patterns.

On the other hand, human capital is the essence and future of every economy. Ignoring it, its loss cannot be gained back through fiscal manipulation: “If you omit devising a mechanism to tap the brains of your people,” he argues, “you are omitting the creation of a country that can stand the storms of inflation.”

In starting his point, Davola takes his inspiration from leaders who have long believed that human talent brings change. As Kofi Annan put it: Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family. For Davola, the knowledge hits hard: In Nigeria, hundreds of thousands of young people with so much knowledge and creativity remain stuck in underemployment. The problem is not that Nigeria lacks brilliant minds, but that it has failed to put in place ecosystems that can synthesize the energy of these minds into value.

Now consider the scenario: Nigeria has one of the biggest youth populations in the world, yet the industries are crying out for skilled labor. Thousands graduate every year from Nigerian universities, yet industries complain about the lack of talent. It is this contradiction that Davola defines as the under-utilization of human capital. This goes beyond an economic puzzle; it is a nail-biting national emergency.

The consequences of this inattention extend far beyond just economic losses. You see it in the disappointment of educated young people taking jobs far below their potential, the quiet despair of experienced tradespeople struggling to get by, and the widespread emigration of talented individuals seeking better prospects overseas. This “japa” trend in Nigeria, as Davola points out, isn’t about a lack of aspiration, but a lack of the basic systems and structures needed to thrive. Young Nigerians possess the drive, skills, and energy, but they need a supportive environment.

Davola echoes the sentiment of the late Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed Singapore: “The most valuable contribution I can make to my nation is my time, my effort, and my expertise.” This approach turned Singapore, a nation lacking natural resources, into a world leader. For Nigeria, a country rich in resources, this lesson is even more vital. While natural resources can support governments, it’s the people who truly build and maintain a strong nation.

Davola argues that an excessive focus on rising prices can hide this crucial fact. While economic indicators are significant, they are effects, not the root causes. When countries invest heavily in their citizens – through education, healthcare, technology, and training – they build strong societies that can withstand economic pressures. Without this investment, even small issues can destabilize the entire system. “Price increases fluctuate,” Davola says, “but lost potential grows. Every year we fail to invest in our people, the problem gets worse.”

Certainly, the global economy is incentivizing countries more and more for forging their people, not just resources. Countries like South Korea and Israel are proof of how human innovation can replace natural resources. Nigeria maintains a reliance on extractive economies, where the mood of the economy changes with oil revenues. Davola is concerned that this reliance is perilous simply because it neglects the one asset – its people – that could diversify and future-proof the economy.

He sees human capital as being more than an idea in policy papers. He sees it as the coder in Lagos developing apps without venture capital, the farmer in Benue lacking the tools they need to farm, and the teacher in Kano inspiring students even though they are in a structural environment of crumbling classrooms. Each of these captures potential, but without system support, their value is extinguished as small sparks instead of national flames.

The political danger in ignored human capital, too. A country with millions of young people a generation away from being able to organically participate is a country always teetering on the edge. Social disruptions, crime, political unrest—it is not by chance or unrelated; it is downstream impacts of lost potential. “Idle hands are not only wasted productivity,” Davola said, “they are lost hope.”

But Davola is not stuck in despair. He sees hope in Nigeria’s restless energy, artistic richness, and diaspora success stories. Nigerians abroad make a mark in medicine, technology, business, and academia—not because they suddenly become able but because they enter systems that reward ability. The task is to build those systems in Nigeria.

Quoting Nelson Mandela, he recalls, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” For Davola, education should never be seen as an expense item for Nigeria but as an investment multiplier. Naira spent to educate one young person to innovate, find solutions, and compete globally will earn returns that supersede what any barrel of oil can guarantee.

In the end, its simplicity makes it translatable: Nigeria cannot inflate itself to prosperity or borrow its way to relevance. It must build the future on the one asset that grows in usefulness-talent of its people. Today, inflation may be in the headlines, but history will keep records of whether Nigeria chose to exploit or squander its greatest national resource.