BY NKECHI NAECHE- ESEZOBOR ( WASHINGTON DC)–Africa economies, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been advised on the need for positive impact of data on Africa’s development agenda.
Senator, Bar. Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South Senatorial District and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Global Fleet Group, gave this advise at the sidelines of the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, United States Of America.
According to him data is critical element in economic and political development and serves as the foundation on which new African economic development will be established.
“Without data, no one can effectively reduce crime or operate a government aimed at achieving poverty reduction. Population data and individual details suggest that citizens should have an identity passport to capture pertinent information about who they are and what they do.”
On currency data, he said it means that central banks in Africa must understand how much currency exists within and outside the banking sector for effective planning.
“Electoral data is necessary to comprehend the level of public participation and why others are not involved in the political process. Every sector of the economy requires data, and if action is not taken now, in five years, it will be impossible to run any government without data, Ibrahim posited,” he stated.
He noted that no one can help Africa without data.
He disclosed that based on the current economic outlook, we cannot guess or assume that it is in a critical situation.
“We cannot grow in Africa without data. We should invest 15 per cent of our budget in technology-powered data for the next ten years. Our development is impossible without data,” he said.
Warning the IMF to stop making projections without empirical data, he said the Nigerian government will soon take the lead when the current Data Bank bill is passed into law; everyone will be a stakeholder in the new Data Bank.
When the bill is passed, Ibrahim urged the World Bank to support the Nigerian federal data bank.
He advises the IMF to loan only to African countries with a data bank.
“I think that you want the loans you are given to Africa to be paid back, and you want Africa to develop. My only question is, can any country develop without a data bank? Why are you not insisting on one, and how are you obtaining your projected African economic outlook without country data? Once you send your people there and they collect a sample survey, you input it into your Excel and generate figures, with less than 1% of the population of interest supporting such illegitimate data being used to give a loan. I ask you to be fair to Africa.”
