Dickson is First Class in Human Capital Development

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said 'give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'. Educating the youths is the best way to feed them for life. Senator Dickson has indeed equipped the youths for the world of work.

Plato's model of the sower is a clear case of thought leadership: the leader is someone who sows ideas big enough to guide others and to have an enduring legacy

As part of its human capital development drive, the Henry Seriake Dickson Foundation, HSDF has fulfilled its pledge of paying the sum of N100 million to beneficiaries of the scholarship offered to pioneer students of HENSARD University, Toru-Orua.The beneficiaries include 53 undergraduates and 175 Foundation students of the institution.

The Director of the Foundation, Dr Angiangie Clement stated: "We have paid the first tranche of 100 million naira for the tuition fees of 175 foundation students and 53 undergraduate for degree programmes who were successful at the recent examinations held at the University’s take-off campus in Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State.

The announcement of the scheme is coming on the heels of the release of the funds by the Foundation , as the university is set to resume its first academic session on April 14, 2024.

One of the most critical components of good leadership is vision. It is only vision that triggers momentum in governance. It is incontrovertible that former governor Henry Seriake Dickson started out as a man well prepared to govern. This piece highlights his legacy as a champion of human capital development. In the affairs of men, we need to introspect and retrospect.

According to George Santayana, “we make recourse to the past, as a guide. Failure to do so will make us victims of contemporary illusion”.On Feb 14, 2012, at his inaugural address, senator Dickson did not mince words when he recognized that education remains the spark-plug for development. The first step he took was the declaration of a state-of-emergence in education. The restoration administration made basic education free, universal and compulsory basic education. This was followed by the provision of school infrastructure such as model schools, uniforms, textbooks and other educational inputs. Bayelsa state under Dickson became educogenic, as enrolment spiked and the lives of school age children were re-defined by policy, primacy and preference for education.

Simultaneously, the Dickson administration awarded overseas scholarships to dozens of Bayelsa students to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America. This policy intention was to build a formidable stock of manpower to provide the locomotive for accelerated development.Former governor Dickson is indeed a champion of human capital development. In order to expand the frontiers of tertiary education, Dickson established the famous University of Africa, Toru-Orua. It is a centre of excellence, which has already done its maiden convocation. The University of Africa, Toru-Orua is fast becoming a centre of excellence as envisaged by the founder.

To improve the quality of teaching and learning, Senator Dickson established the Teacher Training Institute at Bolou-Orua. Prior to this time Bayelsa teachers were either compelled to attend the National Teacher Training Institute, Kadunna through the various campuses. This is a feat no administration has achieved in the Niger Delta Region. The Teacher Training and Registration Brand are now in charge of training and certification of teachers at TC II and NCE levels.Realizing that most of the overseas scholarships were awarded in the area of Medicine, Agricultural Engineering and other critical disciplines, Dickson did a cost benefit analysis. He discovered that exchange rate of the naira Viz-avis the US dollar quadrupled the cost of education abroadd

He therefore established the Bayelsa medical University with a focus on producing quality medical doctors and other health personnel. The significance of BMU is that the school is situated in Yenagoa-capital of Bayelsa State. The astronomical growth in student’s enrolment is driven by the wave of urbanization. Already more than 25 courses have been granted interim accreditation. Things are looking up.

Former governor Dickson established the Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri. The focus of the school was to provide technical and practical-oriented training to meet the manpower requirements for the industrial, agricultural, commercial and economic development of Bayelsa State.As a commitment to boost the tourism industry, Dickson established the international institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management, which has produced intermediate manpower in the tourism industry. However, since the Restoration administration left office, the prospects of the school have been floundering from limping hope to utter despair. The only glimmer of hope is that when the school is upgraded to the status of a Polytechnic, life-changes programmes may be introduced to give tourism a meaning.

The Bayelsa State College of Education, Sagbama has turned out countless thousands of NCE and B.Ed holders in the State. They are the people who have populated the model and Community Secondary Schools, providing teaching services.Indeed, Dickson’s love for human capital development is holistic, total and epochal. Since Bayelsa State was created in 1996, no leader has nurtured and stimulated the robust human capital base of the State. Human capital is like a treasure buried deep on earth, they are not just lying around. It takes a visionary leader with a sense of mission to develop, stimulate, and build human capital. This is what the restoration champion has done. He deserves commendation.

A proper education sets people up to grow personally, professionally, and socially. It can awaken joy, curiosity and a deep desire to solve problems and help others. Dickson's profound vision for a society governed by the enlightened segment of Society. This is the meeting point between Dickson and the Athenian philosopher, Plato.