The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transgreen Nigeria Limited, Pastor Cyprian Orakpo, along with representatives from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to prioritize heavy investments in education and human capital development.
Speaking at a joint industry stakeholder forum held on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at the MAN House in Ikeja, Lagos, the business leaders emphasized that transforming the country’s rapidly growing population into a productive workforce is essential for sustained economic growth and industrial transformation.
​Delivering the keynote address, Pastor Cyprian Orakpo highlighted that Nigeria’s demographic profile represents a double-edged sword, one that can only deliver real value if matched with targeted, modern educational policies and technical skill acquisition programs.
​”A large population without the requisite skills, technical education, and industrial competencies is a burden rather than an advantage,” Orakpo stated. “To transition from a consumer nation to a manufacturing power, the government must collaborate with the private sector to equip our youth with market-driven skills, vocational training, and STEM capabilities.”
​Corroborating Orakpo’s remarks, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted that the country’s manufacturing sector continues to suffer from a persistent skills gap, forcing companies to rely on costly foreign technical expertise for specialized industrial roles.
​Key recommendations put forward during the conference include: Vocational & Technical Training Frameworks through establishing modern industrial training hubs across the geopolitical zones tailored to current manufacturing and technological needs.
Aligning primary, secondary, and tertiary education curricula with international industrial standards and current market demands. Incentivizing private manufacturing firms that offer apprenticeship, internship, and research funding programs for local students.
Increasing the annual budgetary allocation to education and human capital development in line with international benchmark standards.
​The forum concluded with a joint resolution to present a policy memorandum to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Federal Ministry of Education, urging immediate legislative and executive actions to convert Nigeria’s population advantage into an economic growth engine.
