According to Financial Mathematics Expert Prof. Obi-Nnamdi Agwuegbo, Nigeria’s current economic situation might be linked to the failure of the country’s successive administrations to use statistical reasoning to inform decisions pertaining to national development.
According to Prof. Agwuegbo, a University Don, expecting Nigeria’s full potential to be achieved without the use of statistical methodologies would be unrealistic given the government’s analogue approach to development concerns.
On Wednesday, he gave the 102nd inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), which was titled “Statistical Reasoning: A Panacea for National Development.”
Prof. Oluwafemi Balogun Ceremonial Hall on campus served as the venue for the inaugural event.
In order to drive national growth and realize Nigeria’s full potential, statistical reasoning is essential, according to the esteemed professor of stochastic modeling from the Department of Statistics, College of Physical Sciences (COLPHYS).
According to Professor Agwuegbo, statistical reasoning is essential for making sound decisions because it allows raw data to be transformed into insights that can be used to inform policy, spur innovation, and advance various industries.
The learned professor firmly believed that without the use of statistical techniques, no field of study could achieve scientific legitimacy.
He maintained that statistical reasoning was essential to attaining efficiency and dependability in a variety of contexts, from guaranteeing quality control in manufacturing to identifying illnesses in healthcare.
“Data is just an incomprehensible collection of numbers without statistical interpretation,” he said. Only statistical thinking can give data meaning, enabling well-informed choices and conclusions supported by evidence.
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The inaugural lecturer suggested that statistical reasoning be incorporated into all postgraduate programs at the university in order to increase the influence of statistical thinking.
Additionally, he advocated for the construction of strong national data platforms that can offer trustworthy, easily accessible datasets to aid in research, development, and innovation.
Moreover, Agwuegbo emphasized that universities and other educational establishments should incorporate statistical literacy into their curricula, emphasizing that doing so would foster critical thinking and enable students to interact with data in meaningful and transformative ways.
Professor Babatunde Kehinde, the vice-chancellor of FUNAAB, praised Prof. Agwuegbo for his enlightening and provocative talk.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Olukayode Akinyemi, was represented by the University’s helmsman, who praised the Lecturer’s outstanding academic accomplishments, including his work as an external examiner at the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos.
He mentioned that Prof. Agwuegbo has published more than 40 academic articles in respectable national and international journals. He is a member of multiple professional associations, such as the Professional Statisticians Society of Nigeria (PSSN), the American Statistical Association (ASA), the International Biometric Society (IBS), and the Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA).
