Reluctance to follow standard systems hurting data collection in Nigeria

Reluctance to follow the systems and processes for collecting data correctly has been identified as one of the key factors impeding effective data management in Nigeria.
Wale Kale, Statistician General of Nigeria and Chief Executive, Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), made this known in an interview monitored on Channels Televisionon Saturday. He stated that that government Ministries and Departments and Agencies (MDAs) do not treat data processing as important because they routinely post away trained statisticians handling their data.
“You can spend a lot of money and time in training and because the MDAs can choose to shuffle their staff, they often take the person that has been trained out and bring somebody else in. if you bring somebody else in, all the training that has been done will have to be done again.”
Kale said that while government agencies and departments have raw data stored away in bags and lying idly in their offices, they blame their reluctance on processing the data on poor funding. However, when they are told to send them to NBS for processing, he noted that they were ‘very reluctant’ to do so.
“Systems to harmonize data actually exists, the problem is that it has not been properly implemented or followed.”
The question of autonomy and rights to the data creates another problem in the process of data management.
“Government ministries and departments and even state governments will hold back and insist on their autonomy and because of that, there is reluctance in keying to the systems in place. Certain elements in the system refuse to give data out because they see it as something personal to them. The proper procedure is that MDAs are supposed to set up their data banks and once they have collected these data they are meant to be transmitted to NBS who is the custodian.
“So the technology, the process for harmonizing data, the procedures, the laws are all in place, it is a case where those who are responsible for transmitting the data as it is meant to be, refuse to do so.”
He also stated that another problem is that data produced is sometimes transmitted to NBS using an unapproved methodology that is not internationally recognised standard.
BusinessDay investigation reveals that in addition to the internal data gathering challenges, poor harmonisation of data continues to hamper national planning and development.
Many Nigerians are miffed by persistent invitations to register their Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards by the telecommunication networks after already doing so with the National Communications Commission and the different telecom companies.
Last year, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), asked for N92 billion for voter registration exercise while the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced that along with the GSM operators, they have spent N46 billion on SIM card registrations from 2010 to 2015.
Also the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has spent several billions of naira for national identity card schemes that are yet to deliver on the purpose for which the funds were spent.
Nigerians wonder why after all that money spent, a kidnapper’s ransom call cannot be traced using the data these vast sums of money have supposedly being spent to acquire.
“What has happened to the registration of phone lines? Global Positioning Systems (GPS) could be used to trace the kidnappers call,” observed Francis Denedo on his social media post.
Poor data management is also costing Nigeria loss of revenue. According to the Chairman of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, (LIRS), Folarin Ogunsanwo, 4 million Nigerians are not included in the tax net.
Kale called for better funding from the government and better collaboration between the NBS and the MDAs as a way out. He said that compared to South Africa, the statistics budget of Nigeria is 20 times less.
“I think what is probably needed is a stronger political will. When you see administrative data seamlessly flowing, it is because there is a good relationship between the NBS and that particular agency. NBS has the most critical problems in collecting administrative data from government ministries and departments.”
He also encouraged policy makers and users of data produced by his organisation to spend more time reading the methodology adopted, assumptions made and how data is collected as included in the report.
“What we find is that majority of Nigerians do not look at these details and do not take their time to read the document. If people spend more time reading the methodology, understanding the assumptions, they will understand what the data is saying and it will be easy for them to use it and implement it.”