Statisticians demand fresh census, warn against unreliable data

The Chartered Institute of Statisticians of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to urgently conduct a fresh population census, warning that Nigeria cannot effectively plan for its people without reliable and current data.

The President of CISON, Goodday Ebuh, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at a press briefing to announce the institute’s third international conference and 50th anniversary celebration.

Ebuh said Nigeria’s last census was conducted in 2006, leaving the country without a new official population count for two decades. He said the prolonged gap had serious implications for economic planning, resource allocation and public policy.

“How do you reform? How do you plan for your people when you don’t have their number? You are estimating. We are calling on the government. Engineer a drastic reform that will make our census. Nothing we should struggle about. It should come seamlessly.

“That’s 2006. That’s 20 years ago we did our last census. This is 20 years after. 2006,” Ebuh said. He urged the government to treat the conduct of a population census as a priority, saying accurate statistics were essential for effective development planning.

The CISON president also disclosed that the institute had secured the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Education to introduce statistics at the secondary school level during the next curriculum review.

According to him, the move is aimed at exposing young Nigerians to statistics early and reducing the fear of numbers. He said, “People are scared of numbers. But if they are introduced to statistics from the foundation, they will embrace it. They will even look forward to it.

“And the Minister agreed to us, agreed to our demand, that look, in the next curriculum review, statistics will be introduced at the secondary school level. So we look forward to it. This is a key reform that we look forward to being implemented.”

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The institute will hold its third international conference from October 12 to 16 in Abuja, with the theme, “From Legacy to Leadership: 50 Years of Promoting Statistical Development in Nigeria.”

The pre-conference workshop will be held on October 12 and 13, while the main conference will begin on October 14 in Abuja. CISON said more than 70 technical papers had been submitted for presentation during the conference, which will be conducted in both physical and virtual formats.

The conference will also feature a plenary on the future of statistics in Nigeria, involving experts from the World Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, academia and the private sector.

The institute said the celebration would also mark its journey from the Nigerian Statistical Association, established in 1976, to becoming a chartered professional body.

Ebuh said the institute had pushed for more than two decades for statutory recognition before its enabling law was enacted in 2022 and the organisation became fully chartered in 2023.

He further urged governments, agencies and private organisations to embrace professional statistics, saying data was indispensable to effective decision-making.

“Agencies or governments, those are not going to recognise statistics. You are doing yourself a disservice. You have to embrace statistics. We are privileged and fortunate to have an Act that has given us a weapon to institutionalise our practice,” he said.

The conference will also feature the induction of new members, admission of fellows and awards to deserving individuals and institutions as CISON looks ahead to the next 50 years of statistical development in Nigeria.