NAN-H- 11
Data
By Cecilia Ologunagba
Abuja, March 13, 2017 (NAN) A university lecturer, Dr Olusanya Olubusoye, has advised state governments to invest in data collection and processing for effective planning and development.
Olubusoye, a lecturer in Statistics at University of Ibadan, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.
He identified Lagos State as one of the states that had been using statistics for planning and development.
“The state has benefited from the use of data very well.
“It has one of the best statistics offices in the country, so other states need to learn from Lagos State the way it is using data.
“Even states that are not as a big as Lagos State are finding it difficult to manage people and resources with accurate data.
“Also, industries, firms and households that are not as large as Lagos State have failed to use data effectively’’.
Olubusoye, the Second Vice President of Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA), said that the association would hold its 2017 Annual Conference in Lagos in September.
The official said that NSA decided to choose Lagos State for the conference because it wanted to identify with the state during its golden jubilee celebration coming this year.
Olubusoye said that the association would highlight the achievements of the state for using data effectively at the jubilee.
According to him, the conference will have an international outlook.
He said that there would be statisticians coming from outside the country to share their experiences with the association and participants at the conference.
Olubusoye said that the association was also organising series of workshops for data users on best way of interpreting and reporting statistical information.
“We are organising training from very elementary concept to very highly advanced ones, especially for researchers.
“We will also be focusing on the best practice in the way data are gathered, managed, analysed and in the way data are reported, even interpreted.
“These are some of the issues we want to address in the country through our workshops in 2017.’’
The official, however, said that NSA, in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), had recently inaugurated the Young Statisticians of Nigeria (YSNiaja) wing of the association.
“This the beginning of their integration into the system so they can plan their role as expected in National building, particularly issues relating to evidence-based policy making in all sections of the society.
“We have also organised workshop for the group and the participants (young statisticians) attended from more than 20 institutions across the country.
“It was first of its kind in over 40 years of the existence of the NSA and you know if you want to build an institution or a country, you have to invest in the younger ones because they are the future.
“If you must inculcate statistical culture and best practices, you have to carry along the young ones and the intention of the governing council of NSA is to have the workshop for them yearly,’’ he said. (NAN)
CIA/AOM/TA
Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Tajudeen Atitebi