Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Usman, has said that innovation in data and statistics is central to building a just, peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous Africa.
Usman made the remarks on Tuesday in Abuja during the commemoration of the 2025 African Statistics Day, themed “Leveraging Innovation in Data and Statistics to Promote a Just, Peaceful, Inclusive and Prosperous Africa.”
She noted that the theme reflects current realities on the continent, where technological advancements are transforming how data is produced, analyzed, and applied in governance.
“The world has entered a new era defined by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, geospatial analytics, mobile-assisted surveys, machine learning, and digital data systems,” she said.
Recalling President Bola Tinubu’s 2025 statement that “without data, we are flying blind,” Usman added that evidence-based decision-making is now at the centre of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, ensuring policies and investments are guided by accurate, reliable information.
According to her, rising public demand for transparency makes it imperative for governments to take faster, fairer, and more defensible decisions—something traditional paper-based systems can no longer support.
“Innovation gives data speed, scale, precision, and predictive power. Interactive dashboards and real-time visualization tools guide government leaders and policymakers in taking targeted and effective decisions. Journalists, researchers, and citizens can also access portals to explore and interrogate data, hold government accountable, and deepen transparency, accountability, and trust,” she said.
Highlighting the broader impact of innovation, Usman said modern data systems are essential for achieving justice, peace, and inclusion.
She explained that disaggregated data exposes inequalities and directs resources to vulnerable groups, while conflict-sensitive data supports early warning systems capable of identifying social tensions, hate speech, and resource-based pressures.
“Through gender-disaggregated, disability-sensitive, and conflict-related data, we can drive justice by design, not by chance. Innovative data allows societies to take early action rather than late reaction,” she said.
Usman added that inclusive data collection methods now make it easier to reach remote communities and capture diverse voices, leading to policies that strengthen national unity and patriotism.
She commended the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for adopting automation, digital tools, and advanced analytics to modernize Nigeria’s data systems.
Usman noted that collaboration between her office and the NBS since early 2024 has strengthened partnerships, improved technical capacity, and aligned statistical outputs with national priorities across the eight presidential priority areas.
As part of ongoing reforms, she said she had written to ministries requesting lists of data sets not yet captured by the NBS to help expand the national statistical framework.
She urged government institutions, technology firms, academia, and civil society to invest in statistical systems, describing data as “the infrastructure of development.”
“A just Africa, a peaceful Africa, an inclusive Africa, and a prosperous Africa are within our reach, and innovation in data remains one of the surest paths toward achieving them,” she said.
Also speaking, Austin Anyakorah, Director of Corporate Planning and Statistical Planning Coordination at the NBS, said African Statistics Day is celebrated annually on November 18 to raise awareness of the role of statistics in shaping socio-economic development across the continent.
