A university don, Prof. Jonathan Atsua Ikughur, has blamed the failure of the country in virtually every aspect on the deliberate refusal of leaders to place a premium on statistical thinking.
Ikughur, who is the Head of Department Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science at the Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi, stated this at a one-day Stakeholder Dialogue to mark the 2020 World Statistics Day with the theme ‘Connecting the World with Data We Can Trust’ organised by the Office of the Wife of the Benue State Governor, Mrs. Eunice Ortom.
“On the contrary, rather premium is placed on the electoral system and funding some commissions that do not have a direct bearing on development,” he said.
The university don noted that auditing implementation of statistical thinking through monitoring and evaluation of performance has always been deemed a waste of time, adding that if the denominator of a statistician were money like that of an accountant, or if the statistics could metamorphose into money, politicians would have respected the profession.
He stressed that despite the fact that the Nigeria Statistical and the National Population Commissions are statutory bodies, there are no budgetary provisions for executing regular and periodic censuses, baseline and end-line surveys and vital registration.
He said Benue State lacked a Bureau of Statistics while other states have since developed their statistical system, emphasising, that “currently, a search for statistics of Benue State will provide no meaningful data for planning.
The wife of the Governor, Eunice Ortom, explained that this year’s theme emphasised the importance of a robust and trustworthy, statistical data system in the development of any nation.
She pointed out the importance of timely, consistent and reliable data and other statistical indicators of a country’s progress in formulating, implementing and monitoring the key policy decisions taken by a government.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
