An Examination into The Role of Data for Development Purposes in the Context of Under-Developed and Developing Economies, Particularly in Nigeria.
Nigeria faces a myriad of development challenges in her efforts to grow the economy, create jobs and achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Since independence, the Government has developed many Plans and Strategies, including the current Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, to address these challenges. The ERGP, which is broadly aligned to the SDGs, is aimed at improving macroeconomic stability; fostering economic growth and diversification; improving competitiveness; fostering social inclusion; and enhancing governance and security. Recent information, communication and technological advances have led to data -from both conventional and unconventional sources- to be readily available in high volumes and velocity and in a variety of forms, or simply, to a Data Revolution. This paper examines how the use of data for development purposes in the context of under-developed and developing economies, particularly in sub-saharan African countries like Nigeria, as well the emerging opportunities for Statisticians and data scientists in this regard.
Across the globe, data and information determine how, where and with whom people interact, as well as how business is conducted (Einav and Levin 2014). Indeed, some of the most valuable businesses of our time including Apple, with a market capitalization of $926.9 billion and ranked number one in terms of profit and value; Amazon with a market value of $777.8 ; Alphabet whose market value stands at $766.4 billion; Microsoft with market value of $750.6billion; Facebook at $541.5 billion; and Samsung with market capitalization of $325.9 billion all deal in data in different forms (Statista, 2019). Data and information, in effect, condition the way people live their lives. They have indeed become the world’s most valuable resource. Clive Humby (2006), as cited in Arthur (2013), has referred to data as the “new oil”
“Development data” are important for setting development targets, measuring progress towards them and implementing development goals. Sources of development data include, but are not limited to, censuses, sectoral surveys, economic statistics, administrative data, civil registration and vital statistics, citizen-generated data, environmental data, and remote sensing and geospatial data. Development data are also compiled by international organisations and financial institutions to monitor the pace of economic and social development, as well as the status of the environment. There is strong complementarity and interdependence among diverse development data, which makes it important to take a systematic and comprehensive approach to producing data and strengthening statistical systems
The data revolution is often described in terms of a vast increase in the volume of digital data that has resulted in the phenomenon known as “big data”, characterised by the four “V’s” of volume, velocity, veracity and variety.3 The size and scope of this revolution can be gauged by the increase in the amount of online digital information; the growth of new occupations such as “data scientist” and “data broker”; and the manifold impacts of digital information on our daily lives. Social media, call detail records, sensors, web scraping and satellite imagery, to name a few, represent new sources of information that provide the opportunity to produce more and better data for development (Coppola et al., 2014; UN Global Pulse, 2012). Some developing countries are already embarking on the data revolution (see Chapters 2 and 3 and case studies collected for this report4). For example, Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter “Tanzania”) are using a large, geospatial database to improve their understanding of stunting, literacy and access to contraceptives. Yet many countries, as shown by the report “Informing a data revolution”, are not yet prepared or resourced to seize the data revolution in a systematic way; they need people with the relevant skills, investment in the necessary infrastructure, and reforms in their institutional and regulatory context.
From the perspective of big data for development (BD4D), an important quandary is gaining access to important people-related data, which is often in the exclusive access of the government in the form of paper documents. Fortunately, the emerging trend known as “open data”, which promotes open public sharing of data from various public and private sector entities in searchable and machine-readable formats is a boon for BD4D research. Governments worldwide (e.g., in USA and the UK) are increasingly adopting open data projects to fuel innovation and transparency. In addition, open-source platforms have been developed that facilitate the creation and gathering of digital data from mobile platforms (e.g., the Open Data Kit). While open data can be rightly regarded as a subset of all the available big data: the nuance is in the liquidity of big data.
Open data also promotes a culture of creativity and public wellbeing as is evident by different hackathons that are being organized to tap the potential of open data in terms of useful mobile applications (e.g., the local government of Rio de Janeiro has created the Rio Operation Center aimed at harnessing the power of technology and big data to run the city effectively in terms of transport management, natural disaster relief, mass movement and management of slum areas). In a recent report from McKinsey Global Institute, the net worth of open data was estimated to be $3 trillion. In this report, the importance of open data is highlighted for seven sectors: education, health, transportation, consumer products, electricity, oil and gas, and consumer finance.
Conclusion
However, the path to Nigeria’s sustainable development is lengthy and windy, requiring commitment, dedication and targeting of development programmes. It will be impossible to achieve the SDGs in Nigeria without asking the right questions and accessing relevant information, hence the need for comprehensive, quality, and up-to-date data. Data will need to be collected from various sources (administrative, social media, telephone companies, banking sector, etc.) and analysed to provide statistics that can be used for decision making. Statisticians, therefore, have an essential role to play in Nigeria’s development process and the attainment of the SDGs. Big Data and Data Revolution present boundless opportunities for Nigerian Statisticians because data analysis is required in almost every occupation and statistics will be one of the most sought-after professions in the coming years. With rapidly changing technology however, Statisticians need to evolve from conventional to more advanced and rigorous analytical methods. Adaptation, re-tooling, re-skilling, and greater innovation by Statisticians are thus key to effectively tapping into the emerging world of information and technology for sustainable development in Nigeria.
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