There are many contentious issues going on in my home state of Akwa Ibom. Hopefully, in the near future I will come to X-raying one that is threatening to tear the state apart. For now, I need to highlight a positive and seemingly insignificant one before it disappears from my radar.
On Monday, 27 July 2026, the state governor, Pastor Umo Eno appointed Mr. Uduak Effiong Isaac Permanent Secretary, Human Capital Development and Statistician-General of the State. This gladdened my heart to no end. I am more particular about the B part of the position: Statistician-General; which is not to say that the A part is less significant. I hear Mr. Isaac was already the permanent secretary, human capital development.
I usually fantasise that if I get elected as governor of the state, I would commission an agency to produce at the minimum a baseline statistical data of the state before my swearing for use in governing the state from Day One, as well as in gauging periodically my performance in office.
In Nigerian public sector, things are done haphazardly with no recourse to data, statistics, and plans. Elected officials think in terms of four years. Which explains why a governor can spend billions of Naira to construct a flyover where it is not needed; a gigantic airport with no commensurate citizenship income to support air travel; and a very expensive hotel with low patronage. We have seen this all too often. You would always hear a governor say something like this ‘when completed, this project will provide employment to 10,000 indigenes of the state!’ Ask him how he arrived at that number, the story ends there because there was no basis supporting the claim.
Much of what happens at the state level (which is not to say that the federal government is any much better) is ‘the governor says’ pattern of development. After four or eight years, as the case may be, you see political projects litter the states and the people keep getting poorer because not much planning came into establishing these projects.
A governor who seeks to govern his or her state well will need to rely on empirical evidence on where the state is and where it should be headed. This is where a reputable statistical agency comes in.
I have often asked how come governments shy away from obtaining empirical data on human capital development? How do you want to get results from what you know nothing about?
Come with me: which state can tell us the per capita income of its residents? What are the demographics of, say, Jigawa State? What is the literacy rate in any state? How many people have access to quality and affordable healthcare services in my state; what is the housing population of a given state; how many people have access to credit in Borno State; what is the percentage of people with access to pipe borne water in any state; to sanitation facilities? What is the ratio of tax payers in a state; what is the ratio of teachers, doctors, dentists (and the like) to a state population? How many people can afford decent three square meals a day in Lagos; what percentage of the population can afford higher education; what percentage of the population are poor or are in different categories of social strata? What is the average household income in Benue state? How many secondary schools need to be established in a given local government area; what percentage of the population still rely on firewood and kerosene stove for cooking?
What is the population growth rate in an area; how about the gender ratio; what is the rate of rural-urban migration in Taraba state; how many people are into agriculture or other endeavors in Ekiti state; what are the demographics of those involved in farming; how many people are on salaries versus entrepreneurial ventures? The list is endless but I thought to highlight some of these for one to know why reliable data and statistical information are a desiderata for meaningful and sustainable development.
We are in the 21st century and have seen how developed nations have gotten to where they are. What we see and enjoy outside the shores of Nigeria are products of planned development. They did not guesswork into it. We cannot afford to continue to shoot blind and expect to see a better future. Systematic and scientific planning is key. I was sharing with a friend the other day that about six years ago, China set up a 50 year plan to dominate sports in the world. Tell me, what will stop them from achieving their goal?
The saying that if you fail to plan, you have already planned to fail rings true. It is in this wise that I like to thank the governor of Akwa Ibom State for appointing the state’s first statistician-general. It marks an important milestone in the development journey of the state. Even though some states have such positions, not much is known about their work. Though these states have Bureaus of Statistics, hardly anyone publishes their work.
I would like to congratulate the state pioneer statistician-general and to commend him to distinguish himself. My search for his academic background has not produced anything meaningful. It is now beside the point what he studied. If he is a good manager, he should know exactly what to do to get good results.
He should assemble professionals and technocrats who know their onions. Where this is lacking, he should engage people who are willing to learn and send them on training. A knowledge sharing program can be arranged with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to bring the people up to speed. NBS is one institution that has managed to escape the trap of political interference since Dr. Yemi Kale came from Stanbic IBTC to sanitise the place. Data from NBS are very reliable.
It is clear that the statistician-general has his job cut out for him. As the governor mentioned, as Statistician-General, his principal duties include:
– Coordinating the production of official statistics across ministries, departments and agencies.
– Establishing and enforcing statistical standards and methodologies.
– Managing the state’s statistical database and ensuring data quality.
– Supporting evidence-based policymaking through reliable socio-economic data.
– Coordinating censuses, surveys, and administrative data systems.
– Working with the National Bureau of Statistics and other national and international statistical agencies.
– Promoting open, accessible, and credible government statistics to support planning, budgeting, and monitoring of development programmes.
He needs to hit the ground running by establishing a robust system that can stand the test of time. He should ensure that the system and its work are not compromised by political interference. Mr. Isaac should know that though he is an appointee of the governor, he is not answerable only to the governor. The entire citizens of the state should expect to see the agency he heads publish periodic (quarterly at the beginning and then monthly subsequently) reports of its findings that must be relied upon.
The statistical report will not only be consumed by the state government but also the citizens, the academia, real and potential investors, researchers and just about anyone. A sound report from the agency will help a potential investor know what type of business can thrive in the state, which part of the state will be best suited for the business, what business model will be best served, whether the state has the right type of personnel, how to develop required talent and so on and so forth.
The government also needs to ensconce the agency and ring-fence it from unnecessary interference by giving it free hand to work and not expect it to produce politically correct results. To do otherwise would be to undermine the credibility and integrity of the data from that body.
With reliable data from the agency, government can better plan its annual budget scientifically. It will know which parts of the state need dual carriageway; certain types of hospitals; the size of primary school in a district, where to channel resources to and how to respond to the needs of the people.
Whether the pioneer statistician-general of Akwa Ibom State will succeed or not is in the belly of time. We can only wish him well and admonish him that he has been given a clean slate to write his name in gold. It is now time to begin to do things methodically in the state; and other states need to take a cue to do things differently.
Esiere is a former journalist!
