Dr (Mrs) IJE JIDEMMA, chief executive officer of Leading Edge Consulting, is one human resources consultant that has a deep knowledge of Nigeria’s economy and the human capital needs that would improve  quality development in the country. In her many years of work experience and consultancy activities, she  had confronted and resolved the demands of labour in many sectors of the economy. In this interview with NIK OGBULIE, she  reveals the challenges of unemployment and proffers the way forward for the economy. Excerpts: 



You are into human capital development as a human resource consultant. Can you  tell us what this is all about? What is human resources development
When we talk about human resources, we are talking about people, whether it is at the work place or any organisation. In an organisation, it is people that make things happen so human resources have to do with people, whether it is their development or how you manage them. We assist organisations with resolving problems that have to do with people. We provide solutions to issues that may arise when you are trying to source or utilize people.

In the context of our present level of development, how has the Nigerian economy maximised the inputs of consultants in terms of development
I think we have been sub optimised in some respects. Nigeria has abundant human resources but it depends on how you utilise or develop them, unemployment of all cadres of people: graduate level, skills level and so on. So, consultants are people that help the government to attain the desired level because I believe everybody should be made to contribute to the economy in any nation. It is not just the brightest and the best. Everybody has something to contribute and that is where experts come in. In terms of assessment and knowing the capabilities of people, identifying their potentials and placing them at the right points that they can meaningfully contribute. I am not one of those who believe that everybody must necessarily go to a university because you find out that some people do not even have the interest, some do not have the intellectual capacity. They might be better suited for other things that give them joy, some other thing they have passion and aptitude for. Those are the areas that experts help; to make sure that everybody in the environment is contributing and is happy with what he is doing.

What have your experience been like? Can you say that there is still more to be done in this area
In doing this job, opportunities abound. We try to help clients as much as possible in terms of making them the kind of people they want to fit into their scheme be it in executive capacity or others. We do executive search and selection, executive capacity building and also help in executive coaching and all that. We do our best in that area. But I think in terms of far reaching policies, those who need to have people in these areas, who understand the human elements like psychologists. For instance, the issue of technology, we are moving out from there but I think that we must not lose sight of our own particular needs and requirements. We must not just follow trends. They say the world is a global village; it is but not necessarily so. You need to know at what point you are in your own developmental scheme. For instance, I think we should be paying more attention to technical skills and some other intermediate skills that are majorly lacking in this country. We do not have the trade skills, we do not have people who are well developed, up to standard and can compete in other parts of the world. For example if you seek the services of a plumber or furniture maker, you cannot say that this is a first, second or third grade workman for such service. Rather, what you find is that there is a lot of frustration in the system because you do not even know the caliber of person you are dealing with and the quality of service you expect.
There is need to consider all these people in terms of  policy making so that we do not get it wrong. There should be room for all the people who want to use their hands to do a lot of things and I think even technology is the access for those technical people. The challenge now is their placement and how you reward them which is what we got wrong.  At the moment, there is so much competition and at the same time some people are not even doing justice to it. They cannot defend the degrees they have.  This gets us back to square one.

Can you review the employment situation in the country and how it affects workmen
The employment situation at this moment is unprecedented. It is actually at an epidemic level.  It has never been this bad because what is happening is that at all levels, there are employment problems. For example, at the graduate level, it has never been like this. There are so many people that have graduated in the last 10 years that are doing little or nothing. If you ask them to bring their resumes, they will fill it up with so many things but when you critically look at it, you find out that they have not been really gainfully employed and neither have they been useful to themselves. These people have made themselves able and willing to work but there is no space for them. In so many ways, this goes to show about our economy. We also know some of the issues like the power problem and all that. This is a major issue.  Even in the informal sector employment, there is a high level of unemployment because so many people have high entrepreneurial skills but many things are setting them backwards. People are ready to set up shops as tailors, barbers, hairdressers and other things but the power issue would not allow them. Same thing exists at the middle level. If you advertise for a little position now, everybody will apply whether they are qualified or not. Some would even be over qualified but they are desperately looking for employment. You get all sorts of applications and resumes around and you won’t even know what to do with it. Unemployment cuts across all spectrum of the society.

In your hiring  process, how do you optimise in your engagment of highly skilled Nigerians
I would not like to use the word skilled. It is true that we have abundant human resources but when it comes to being highly skilled, I am not too sure about that because in today’s world, there is shortage of skills globally because the rate at which things are changing especially skills requirements is very difficult to keep up with. So you find out that there are deficiencies in certain skills which is something that we can remedy. We have a long way to go in talking about key skills because if you have to compare with other countries especially the Asian countries, you find that we have a gap. There have not been concerted efforts. People are making their individual efforts getting certifications.

As an expert, in which sector would you say that  of human resource of development is best implemented
Generally, in the area of finance due to the banking explosion, there is an improvement in awareness in that area and people are trained in so many ways. The same goes for the information communication technology even though there are still gaps to be filled. But other areas like the agricultural sector have been all but abandoned. But this sector is the way to go for the future. However, I am happy that the current government is trying to lay a lot of emphasis on that. Every sector and industry needs certain developmental skills and competencies so we need to have that pool within Nigeria.

If you were to advice the government especially with the new minister of youth development’s proposed agenda on human development, what are the issues that you will emphasize
I think the new finance minister’s proposition to make job creation a priority is a step in the right direction. That said; let us be true to ourselves about who we are. I mean this in the context of developmental level. If we do that, we should be able to pass home grown policies that would be suitable to us. We would not just be copying from any other nation and I think that would go a long way. In terms of education, the curriculum should emphasise self reliance and entrepreneurship. We should not just acquire knowledge but our curricula must hale us to be able to stand on our feet. Personal effectiveness is also key;for example, learning how to manage your time. Some people graduate and are confused on how to run their life. Everybody should be trained to be a potential employer by the time they are completing their education.  That would be my advice to the government. So that we are inward looking and self reliant and people do not just graduate and start looking for jobs. Instead, they already have choices between seeking employment and starting their own business.
I am saying that what is lacking in our case is concerted efforts.
There have been lots of policy changes. I think the edge other nations have over us is that when they are aiming at a particular direction they keep going that way but we have too much changes in our educational system and strategic direction. If a nation has a strategic framework, it does not mean that another government cannot come up with other thing but we have to consolidate on improvements. For example, the agricultural sector, several governments are paying lip service to it and nobody is doing anything.
It is only in Kwara state that I think something significant is being done. Agricultural sector is the most important one in any case but we are just emphasizing university education while leaving out other areas like the professional, technical education and training which are equally important in an economy.


How has the lull in the economy affected the activities of human resource experts
 What has happened is that in most cases, organizations call experts to do only those things they find very difficult to do themselves. They have had to do other things in-house; and there is really nothing wrong with that as long as the people in-house are properly trained.

Also with the lull in the economy, you have to be able to look at the people within the companies, their strengths and weaknesses so that you may identify those that may be required to leave.  In this case, they require human resource experts.
Our firm is over 10 years and the environment is very though so our survival till date is noteworthy. We are willing to continue to add value to our clients and even to assist Nigerians generally in making sure that our potentials are optimised to the maximum giving individuals the opportunity to determine where they fit best and how they can contribute.

Is there anything your company is doing that the general public is unaware of
At the moment, we are trying to develop Nigeria grown solution to a number of things like testing and assessment that match anywhere in the world. Some of these things are culture based and you cannot take them out of the culture in which they were formed.