Today, November 18, 2021 is marked as African Statistics Day, a day set aside by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers responsible for Planning and Economic Development to highlight the relevance of statistics in Africa’s progress for a sustainable future. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Modernizing National Statistical System to support Socio-cultural Development in Africa”

Statistics involves the practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample. A Statistician is an expert in the preparation and analysis of statistics.

There are several statistical indicators covered by statisticians. Demographic Indicators are (Population, vital Statistics (Birth, death and marriage statistics), geographical (Spatial) Statistics, & migration). Labour force indicators are the public service manpower (Employment Rate and Unemployment Rate).

Social Indicators include Education Statistics, Medical and Health Statistics. This includes the current daily/monthly statistics on COVID-19 cases in Nigeria and across the world, Motor Vehicle Statistics, Disaster Statistics, Water Statistics, Agriculture Statistics, Justice and Crime Statistics, Social Welfare Statistics, Public Finance, Price Statistics, Business Statistics, Culture and Recreation Statistics.

Political Statistics as the name implies involves the process of data collection during an election from the polling units to the collation centres as well as the declaration of a winner as observed in the just concluded Anambra State governorship election where Prof. Charles C. Soludo was declared the winner and Governor-Elect on the 10th of November 2021. Statistics, therefore, pervades every aspect of life.

According to the National Statistical System, under the coordination of the National Bureau of Statistics headed by the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Harry B. Simon and in collaboration with the Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA), headed by the Association’s President, Dr. Godday U. Ebuh, the 2021 African Statistics Day will be observed with a series of activities in the federal capital, Abuja.

Hence, the State Bureau of Statistics, headed by the Statistician-General of Anambra State, Mr. Obiekezie Emeka Paul, FNSA and the Anambra State Chapter of the Nigerian Statistics Association are calling on Statisticians and users of data in and around Anambra State to employ the good practice of statistics to showcase the rich cultural and recreational heritages of our dear State.

They can do this by taking statistics of the status of heritage sites and other sites of historical importance, agricultural zones and other investment sites, activities of performing artists such as musicians, dancers and actors, visits to tourist sites such as the Ogbunike Cave, Owerre Ezukala waterfalls, the Aguku Lake, etcetera. Others are attendance of sporting, religious and cultural events, as well as craft activities carried out by creative and ingenious Anambra men and women.

This, we believe, will help policymakers in launching, monitoring and evaluating various programmes that will spur and embolden significant investment and development in the socio-cultural sector of the State.

WRITTEN BY DR. CHARLES ARONU

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