Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says accurate data is critical component for economic planning and good governance.
Sanwo-Olu said the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus pandemic has shown that Nigerian leaders at national and sub-national levels needed to place a premium on gathering of data if the country truly desires to move forward socially and economically.
Sanwo-Olu said the absence of data on the identities of residents slowed down planning activities as the nation grapples with several issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. He said data is critical to planning during emergencies such as the pandemic currently ravaging the economy.
Sanwo-Olu while answering questions as a guest on the digital edition of the ‘Platform’, an annual event of the Covenant Christian Centre (CCC) anchored by Poju Oyemade, senior pastor of CCC, on Saturday, said no nation can maximize her full potential without data.
“It is what happens to us post-covid-19 that determines who we are as a people and not what we do at the moment. We need data.
“We need the identity of every citizen in this country. There’s nothing like being over-prepared in this kind of situation. You can make mistakes in times of crisis but you must learn from them,” he said.
“We have realised that as a state, we need data in order to plan and proffer solutions to problems.”
The governor also identified communication as another key ingredient that government needs to leverage on in dealing with the citizens whenever there is a crisis.
According to him, the experience garnered in the management of Covid-19 in Lagos State has shown that effective communication between government and the citizens plays a major role in managing a crisis of this nature.
He said governments needed to be transparent with whatever they are communicating to the residents.
“Communication is very important and you must do it transparently. It helps with the level of confidence people repose in you.”
Sanwo-Olu, who is the Lagos Covid-19 incident commander, however, urged the citizens to be more open with their details when they go to the hospitals, saying that is one of the few ways to help the medical personnel determine many things.
He lamented that the state had not made much progress as it should because a lot of the patients are not truthful about their details.
