The President has again emphasised the need for accurate data keeping by our state officials, departments and institutions, as such documents are of vital need to determining and planning the onward growth and development of this country.
Indeed for any government and by extension, any society to gauge and plan for its growth and development, that government and society needs reliable data and or statistics to determine what has obtained and what needs to be done to cater for more growth and development.
In his closing remarks at the end of a four-day cabinet retreat held in Kanilai, the President told cabinet members, permanent secretaries, managing directors and directors general of parastatal institutions to endeavour to always prepare accurate and up-to-date data to help government measure its gains and plan for the future.
He said: “I will not accept any data that you cannot verify; if you tell us you have built schools over five years you have to tell me where you built those schools. Whatever you have, if it is not backed by facts, you cannot defend it; this is where the keeping of accurate data is indispensable. I have been talking about this since 1996.”
We really couldn’t agree more with the President in this call for accurate data keeping, as data or statistical record is of paramount necessity to nation building.
Statistics is important; it gives planners the basis for proper determination of what obtains in society or in any given sector of development.
It must be noted that accurate statistics provide tools that we need in order to react intelligently to information we hear or read. They are also presented in an effort to add credibility to a report, an argument or advice, hence statistics play a vital role in every field of human activity.
It helps in determining the existing position in such areas as per capita income, unemployment, population growth rate, housing, and schooling and medical facilities in a country. It also plays vital role in almost every field such as industry, commerce, trade, economics, physics, and chemistry.
All these make it extremely important for us to regularly and periodically prepare and keep data or statistical records of what we do and what obtains in our sectors, industries or societies to determine such aspects as state management (administration) and other businesses and sectors of development.
“A
witty statesman said you might prove anything with figures”
Thomas
Carlyle
