Vice President Kashim Shettima has stressed the need for improved data collection, analysis, and deployment of technology to generate more comprehensive and inclusive evidence to guide government decisions, investment choices, and development pathways.

Shettima said during the commemoration of the 2024 World Population Day at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, Data is life. Data is our evidence. Data is our performance. It is the most realistic picture of situations, trends, and patterns; it tells us how many we are, with an understanding of the age structure, sex structure, location, and more.

In his words, Data is the true story of our experiences and informs us about today and the future through scientific projections, forecasting, and analysis,”

He reassured Nigerians that with President Bola Tinubu in the saddle, the country now has a leader who “is not only a man of numbers, as a first-rate accountant, but also recognizes” them as critical components in the nation’s development drive.

Shettima also disclosed that a Presidential Initiative for Youth Enterprise Clusters worth N110 billion is in the offing, in addition to a Youth Data Bank, a National Youth Development Bank, and the existing N110 billion Youth Investment Fund.

“If the government at all levels has access to inclusive data sources, its policy actions and investments will align with the needs of the citizens, including providing decent jobs that pay sustainable incomes to the working-age population, creating affordable and equitable access to quality healthcare services at all levels, and ensuring quality education for all,” Shettima stated.

Earlier, Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, commended the commitment of partners and urged them to leverage scientific evidence to resolve the challenges confronting various segments of the world’s population.

She also disclosed plans by the Federal Government to build a youth data bank that will harness the potentials of young people for national development regardless of their location and status.

Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Isa Kwarra, noted the important role of periodic censuses in generating administrative data for inclusive planning and sustainable development.

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, called for renewed commitment and investment to turn the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action promises into reality.

UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, emphasized the need for inclusive data systems that capture human diversity, stating, “To go uncounted is to be made invisible and, as a result, left unserved.”