ABSTRACT  

The attainment of national development and socio-economic recognition in the global economy no longer depend alone on the natural and physical endowment. What is most important now is the level of human capital development of a nation. So for any country aspiring to attain global economic relevance must invest adequately in the development of its human capital. This research was aimed at identifying how to achieve effective human capital development in Nigeria that is capable of projecting her to the top echelon in the global economy. The study used Enugu state as a case study. The objectives of the study included: identifying human capital development programmes embarked on by the Enugu state government, the level of human capital development in the state, the problems and solutions to the problems of human capital development in the state. The classical/Neoclassical economic theory of human capital by Adam Smith and Becker was used to bring the study to focus. A survey research design with the target population of the inhabitants of Enugu state was adopted. The stratified random sampling technique was used. The data collection was done using questionnaire; supplemented with text books, journals, news papers, internet materials and oral interview. The data collected were analyze using frequency tables and percentage representation. The chi-square statistic (X2 ) was used to test the hypotheses posed in the study. The researcher found out that in spite of many laudable human capital development programmes embarked by Enugu state, and the huge amount of money being spent annually, the result was that there is a very low level of human capital development and a low level of standard of living in the state. This was due to a lack of proper implementation and monitoring of projects, misappropriation/embezzlements of project funds and lack of priority attention to the more important aspects of human capital. The researcher recommended the following: adequate implementation/monitoring of development programmes, prosecution and punishment of those who embezzled public funds, laying emphasis on job creation through skill acquisition programme for the youth; involving the citizens/beneficiaries in the planning and implementation of human capital development programmes.