Use statistics to tell Africa’s story – Bagudu

Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, has urged the African statistical systems to use statistics to tell the African story.

Bagudu said this at the African Statistics Day Celebration organised by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja on Monday.

It was reported that the theme of the Day is “Supporting Education by Modernising the Production of Fit-For-Purpose Statistics.”

He said there were calls for Africa to create its own credit rating agency which would adequately capture the realities of the continent.

The minister said this had become necessary because the methodologies used by some of the rating agencies were not known.

According to him, the African statistical system must help us tell the African story, and the African story is that of hard-working men and women.

“We are not going to wait for someone to develop a methodology for us to say it. That is as fit-for purpose as it could be.

“That at 4 am, a woman is carrying a child on her back, going to the farm or fishing ground, or moving around with livestock or by the roadside roasting corn or plantain, and this is as hardworking as it can be.

“But yet the global credit system has excluded these hard-working women.

“Yet maybe somewhere a woman who wakes up at 11 am and works for five hours a day some statistical system is likely to accord her more avenues for inclusion.

“Who should say this, who should tell the world this? Not only is she hardworking, she is honorable and this is the picture across our continent.

Bagudu said there was a need to reverse these statistics that put the continent in a bad light or “show us as otherwise.”

He said this was important so the world capital market could appreciate that Africa is a continent of hardworking men and women.

“Also, that we have governmental systems in Africa that ensure statistical systems are independent.”

The minister said the “sanctity of data” is the watchword of President Tinubu-led administration.

“We have recognised and given independence to NBS; we have never sought to interfere with the formation, timing and release of data.

“We are not where we want to be but let us confront our reality and make choices pleasant and unpleasant.

“This will help us reach where we want to, and data systems can help us, and this is the African story,” he said.