Experts Task Gov’t On Use Of Social Cohesion Data For Development

Experts have urged the government at all levels to use social cohesion data to enhance national policies and programmes, address critical development challenges across the country, and promote national progress.

They called at a capacity-building workshop organised by the Africa Polling Institute (API), an independent, non-profit opinion research think tank in Abuja.

The workshop was themed: “The Use of Social Cohesion Data in Enhancing National Policies and Programmes and Promoting Effective Media Reportage.”

The executive director of API, Prof. Bell Ihua, said the workshop, supported by Ford Foundation, was to ensure that the Nigerian social cohesion data did not lie on the shelves.

According to him, the findings of API’s research across the country indicate that the indicators of a lack of social cohesion, which was the bane of development, include trust, social justice, gender inequality, and security, among others.

“So it’s for us to use this data we share with the government so that the government can begin to do what it needs to do. We want the social cohesion data to permeate society, such that public institutions integrate it into their policy and programme planning, and media practitioners engage in socially cohesive news reportage.

“One of the first significant findings API noted is that citizens have minimal trust for the government, governors and public institutions.

The second big issue is that citizens are united in a shared struggle. We didn’t have this before, but the data shows that citizens are united in a shared struggle.

“We want the government to be aware because by being aware, they can now use this data for their policy and planning,” Ihua said.

For his part, Dr Soji Adeniyi, a member of API’s Board of Trustees, said the goal of the training was to bring together people involved in managing social cohesion in the country.

“The goal is for us to begin to tackle the issue of social cohesion from an understanding of data perspective. It’s not enough for us as a country to think that perception is everything. Perception has its place, and scientific data has its place.

“We’ve been gathering this data since 2019, and it has been changing yearly based on the perception of what is happening within the country. We felt it was time to start sharing this data so that those institutions that the government constitutionally has put together to address those challenges will rise to the challenge,” he said.

Also speaking, the CEO of Successory Nigeria Ltd, Dr Steve Ogidan, said the government must intentionally use social cohesion data to integrate youths, women, and the marginalised in society.

He stated that prioritising budgets based on performance would translate to social investment policies targeted interventions for enhanced cohesion.