Experts have urged decision-makers and business leaders to make the most of the data at their disposal in order to develop policies, allocate resources, assess success, and improve the effectiveness of government programs to support the economy.
Experts cautioned political officeholders to embrace data when formulating policies for the development of the country at the public presentation of the book “Nigeria in Figures: A Socio-Economic Databook,” written by renowned economist and Managing Director/Chief Economist of the Analysts Data Services and Resources (ADSR), Dr. Afolabi Olowookere, held in Lagos at the weekend.
Dr. Segun Aina, the former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and the event’s chairman, said that the Federal Government and subnationals can adopt a data-driven approach to enhance the quality of life for citizens and address the numerous issues affecting the country’s economy.
He contends that finding more sophisticated and useful methods of using data to the formulation of socioeconomic policies is essential for government at all levels, particularly the new administration, in order to create a new Nigeria.
He emphasized that the government would be able to make more informed judgments in real time thanks to the smart use of data.
“This book holds a lot of promises for Nigeria. In the face of the many challenges facing the economy, this is an opportunity for the new government to look at the process of building a new Nigeria based on data, he said.
“The book has data that the Fed. govt and the subnational including the local government can use it to plan and make progress because if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. It is a contribution to the government as a tool they can use to move the country forward,” he said.
Dr. Olowookere, the book’s author, claimed that he was motivated to write it in order to provide policymakers with the necessary data and information to launch socioeconomic policies, address the problems associated with the insufficient application of data in planning, as well as serve as a useful manual for benchmarking and tracking the socioeconomic development of the nation.
Olowookere claimed that one of the problems the nation faces is the insufficient application of data in planning. He claimed that it took him more than ten years to complete the book.
He stated: ” Government needs to be adequately equipped with the necessary data, information, and analysis of ‘where we are, how we got here, what has been done in the past and the outcomes, what works elsewhere that can be adopted, as well as what can be done in the immediate, medium and long-term periods to grow the economy.”
