Prof. Tunji Olaopa, Chairman, of the Federal Civil Service Fee, disclosed that worldwide organizations just like the World Financial institution, the United Nations, and different bilateral our bodies generate 90% of the utilized statistics used to form Nigeria’s insurance policies.
He disclosed this on the official launch of the Centre for Public Sector Governance (CPSG) in Abuja, which seeks to foster transparency, accountability, and effectivity within the administration of public sources, with a deal with strengthening governance practices in Nigeria.
Prof. Olaopa argued that this over-reliance on overseas knowledge is undermining Nigeria’s means to handle its distinctive developmental challenges. He pressured that these statistics, though broadly utilized in shaping nationwide insurance policies, typically fail to characterize Nigeria’s particular socio-economic circumstances and priorities.
“I took time after I was to profile the helpful utilized statistics that you need to use for coverage, and I found that 90% of them are generated by the World Financial institution, UN, the bilateral companies.
Whenever you deconstruct the underpinnings, you uncover that they aren’t speaking Nigerian growth, they’re speaking about how to hook up with bigger dependencies in a worldwide context. it’s very sickening. So, it tells me that we’re but to know what growth is all about,” Prof. Olaopa said.
He went on to elucidate that the info utilized in policymaking typically drives choices that prioritize points related to worldwide agendas slightly than addressing native challenges.
Prof. Olaopa emphasised the significance of producing native knowledge that’s tailor-made to Nigeria’s wants. He identified that the nation has but to completely grasp the importance of information in driving growth, as seen within the restricted deal with statistics that mirror the nation’s particular challenges.
“It’s so unhappy that you simply can not Google and get the correct of information,” he said
He cited the shortage of consideration to vital areas akin to property rights, judicial reforms, knowledge analytics, and analysis and growth (R&D) as examples of coverage gaps ensuing from insufficient or inappropriate knowledge use.
“Nigerian leaders are extra serious about what number of roads are constructed. They’re extra serious about buildings, and contracts, however no one’s serious about property rights, no one is serious about judicial, you recognize, reform, no one is serious about knowledge statistics, R&D, public service, judicial reform, that are actually the drivers of sustainability in any financial system,” he mentioned.
Prof. Olaopa made a powerful case for the necessity to prioritize the event of localized knowledge options. He known as for the institution of information techniques that precisely seize the nuances of Nigeria’s financial system and society.
“Why are Nigerian professionals within the US or Germany 5 instances more practical than these in Nigeria? It’s as a result of they’re working in an ecosystem that promotes growth. They’re supported by sturdy governance buildings and an setting that fosters innovation,” he defined.
“Management as we speak requires not simply technical expertise, however emotional intelligence, creativity, and the power to anticipate and reply to crises in actual time,” he added.
Prof. Olaopa urged policymakers and public servants to embrace strategic anticipation, put money into constructing the talents wanted for the Twenty first-century financial system, and deal with the nation’s most pressing wants.
