The Nigerian Marketing Research Association has announced plans to offer a private sector-driven alternative for economic data following the National Bureau of Statistics website hack.
NIMRA President, Seyi Adeoye, in a recent interview, emphasized the importance of complementing the NBS with private sector initiatives to ensure reliable data for business and government decision-making, according to The Punch.
The NBS website has been inaccessible since December 18, 2024, due to the hack, highlighting vulnerabilities in public data infrastructure.
Adeoye said, “(The NBS website hack) just shows that it is important for private practitioners within the data analytics space to do a lot more and also collaborate more closely with NBS and with all the global organisations also interested in having data about Nigeria and the economy, like the World Bank.”
Adeoye condemned the hack of the NBS website, emphasizing the urgency for alternative data sources.
He stated, “What happened with NBS just totally brought it to the fore and in our face more, that this cannot be the case. It’s not ideal. It’s not what is obtainable in other climes; we need to change that.
“And we will do that. That’s the commitment I’m putting out. We’re actively starting from having consultations and then beginning to roll out the studies and put the data out there into the public domain. The private sector and the government will begin to use those data points to plan.”
He stressed the need for a robust private-sector role in providing reliable economic data to ensure resilience and support decision-making.
Earlier, it was reported that NIMRA had, during its 2024 Annual General Meeting, disclosed plans to “contribute to the country’s economic development by championing reliable data and market insights.”
NIMRA emphasized the importance of expanding public access to diverse datasets, including household expenditure and socioeconomic classification data.
“It is a major thrust for us this year. We are going to organise a roundtable forum and begin to tackle some of these things like household expenditure survey data,” Adeoye submitted. “It won’t be just NBS. We will also bring our expertise and then there will be different data points.
“Socioeconomic classification is another one that we’re going to do. And then having data for national planning. All of that is key for us this year.”
Adeoye disclosed plans to collaborate with the NBS to enhance data collection by integrating efforts with private practitioners.
He also emphasized the need for increased investment in cybersecurity to address the rising global threat of cyberattacks, which is critical in the current data-driven era.
“It’s not just Nigeria. It’s a global phenomenon,” Adeoye asserted. “I think the U.S. Treasury also, their own data collateral was hacked and they came out and said it was China. The real focus should then be that for assets like NBS, we must employ and deploy the highest standard of cyber security possible so that some guys will not get crazy and attack.
“As you know, if you can create it, it can be dismantled. If human beings are the ones writing the codes to protect it, it means they (hackers) also know that there are back walls that they can go through to bring it down.
“We have to put our best foot forward all the time. If we’re going to have this kind of (data) on NBS and our portals, then it must be best-in-class cyber security that we deploy.”
