Nigeria must stop seeing data as mere numbers and start treating it as a national asset that generates value, the Statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, has said.
He spoke at the first bi-annual meeting of the National Consultative Committee on Statistics (NCCS) in Kano.
Adeniran warned that the country’s future development depends on building a modern statistical system that transforms information into reliable evidence for governance.
“The dividend from data will not come automatically; it will come from the choices we make, the systems we build, the standards we adopt, the partnerships we establish, and the extent to which evidence is incorporated into decision making,” he said.
He explained that beyond censuses and surveys, administrative records from schools, hospitals, tax authorities, immigration, courts and businesses must be properly managed and standardised to complement official statistics.
“Every day, institutions generate data as part of their normal operations. If properly managed, this administrative data can strengthen the wider national evidence base,” he added.
The Statistician General noted that Nigeria has joined global initiatives such as the Power of Data High Impact Initiative and the Inclusive Data Charter, and will host the 20th Meeting of Directors General of Statistics Offices in Africa later this year, a milestone he described as recognition of Nigeria’s growing statistical leadership.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano, represented by Secretary to the State Government, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, said reliable statistics are indispensable for a state like Kano with its large population, expanding urban centres and diverse social needs.
He stressed that good governance must be guided by facts and reliable information, not assumptions.
The two-day meeting, themed “Unlocking Data Dividends for National Development: Advancing Administrative Statistics and Data Driven Governance”, brought together statisticians, policymakers and development partners to discuss how Nigeria can harness data for better planning, accountability and national development.
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