The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has opened up on plans being put together by his administration to turn Nigeria into a hub of export and import activities.
In order to understand the patterns of exchanges and transactions in global trade, the president emphasised the necessity of integrating complicated data.
He made suggestions about initiatives his administration was considering to rectify what he saw as historical policymaking shortcomings hindered by a dearth of complete data in Nigeria.
President Tinubu made this disclosure on Friday during the 2023 Comptroller-General of Customs Annual Conference at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, saying because data is the guiding light in the ever-evolving landscape of the modern world, Nigeria can no longer afford to function in the dark.
He lamented the lack of comprehensive data, saying it had been “a technological affliction” that has hindered the growth trajectory of Nigeria and the entire Africa, impeding the ability to make informed governance decisions.
The president, who was represented at the conference by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, noted that the grand vision of his administration is to deploy data to make sound government decisions.
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Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nwocha, described Tinubu as an “accounting virtuoso” with an unparalleled understanding of data and its significance to piloting the affairs of the country.
He said it was due to his knowledge of data as the invaluable gold of the 21st century that the president strategically appointed tech-savvy Nigerians into critical government positions in order to ensure strategic planning.
He stated: ‘Even before we were given this mandate, we knew that every facet of our lives is woven with data. We must not only commit to deploying data to make decisions within the government but also address the historical inadequacies of Nigerian policymaking, often impeded by a lack of comprehensive data. Our current governance landscape demands a transformative intervention, and the solution is what has brought us together today.
‘Our ambition extends beyond accumulation; it extends to transformation. We aspire to position Nigeria as the preferred destination for all stakeholders involved in export and import activities overseen by the Customs.’
‘There’s no doubt that the chiming of this clock of modernity is inviting us to take action. It’s inviting us to adopt evidence-based processes and innovative strategies to align policies with the objectives of this administration, to streamline decision-making, and to resolve conflict arising from misinformation and inconsistent policies within the government.
Observing that the benefits of comprehensive data go beyond determining revenue generation, he said, ‘Data provides the sharpest lens for us to connect the dots, even in establishing the security of our borders. We can easily determine the traffic of people and goods around a specific border and share indisputable information with other nations with just a punch on our computers.
‘Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I assure you that we remain resolute in our belief that Nigeria is unequivocally on track not only to accumulate terabytes of factual surveys but also to establish a robust public service system that upholds data integrity at its core.’
Expressing delight with efforts by the Nigerian Customs Service to accumulate large amount of data to shape a public service system that upholds data integrity at its core, the President noted that the first step is to invest in the training and capacity-building of Customs officers ‘to stand shoulder to shoulder, terabyte by terabyte, with the best minds in the world.’
Declaring the conference open, he expressed hope that discussions at the annual event would set the trajectory for a new era in the Nigeria Customs Service.