Nigeria Doesn't Have a Data Problem. It Has a Systems Problem by Abraham Aremu
Editor's Note: In this opinion piece, Abraham Oghenetega Aremu, Principal Education Officer, Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Education District V, argues that Nigeria’s public sector inefficiency stems not from a lack of data but from weak systems. He submits that Nigeria needs better systems to manage existing data and improve public service efficiency.
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For years, one explanation for inefficiency in Nigeria's public sector has been that the government lacks sufficient data. We often hear calls for better data collection, more databases and more information to support decision-making. But my experience in public service has led me to a different conclusion: our biggest challenge is not simply the absence of data. It is our inability to effectively manage, connect, and use the data we already have.
Source: UGC
In other words, Nigeria does not only have a data problem, it has a systems problem. I came to this realisation through my experience implementing an HR records reform in Education District V of Lagos State Ministry of Basic & Secondary Education, one of the state’s administrative districts responsible for managing public schools and their workforce in several zones in the state. The reform focused on how staff records were maintained and accessed across the district, including information needed for decisions around promotions, redeployment and exit. What I encountered was not an institution without records. There were records, lots of them. The challenge was how those records were created, stored, retrieved, updated and used. Much of the process depended on manual administration. Files could be scattered across different locations, information could become outdated, and retrieving a staff member's history could take considerable time. More importantly, institutional knowledge was often tied to the people who handled the files. When an officer retired, transferred or moved to another responsibility, some of the knowledge required to navigate the process could leave with that officer.
That is more than an administrative inconvenience. It is systemic weakness.
When Manual Processes Become a Public Service Problem
It is easy to think of inefficient administrative processes as an internal government problem. In reality, the consequences eventually reach the citizens.
In education, delays in processing staff records, promotions, or qualification verification can affect employees who have done their part but are left waiting for the system to respond. Staffing and administrative decisions can also be slowed when reliable information is difficult to retrieve.
The problem, therefore, is not merely that an officer has to search through files for information. The deeper problem is that the institution has not designed a system that allows information to flow efficiently to the people who need it.
This is why I have come to see digital transformation differently. Digitisation should not begin with the question, “What technology can we buy?” It should begin with a much more fundamental question: “What problem are we trying to solve?”
Redesigning the HR Records System
That question shaped my approach to redesigning the HR records system for the district.
We used Google Sheets and Apps Script, so that a master data sheet now powers decentralised school-level sheets with real-time synchronisation. This system identifies officers due for exit, promotion, or redeployment and has drastically reduced processing time and errors. This formed part of a broader Education Management Information System (EMIS) digitisation effort.
The objective was not to introduce technology simply because digital transformation was fashionable. The objective was to make an existing process work better.
The most important lesson for me was that useful innovation does not always have to be complicated. In public institutions, particularly where resources are limited and processes are already complex, simplicity can be a strength.
A system does not become valuable because it has the most features. It becomes valuable because it solves a real problem, people can use it, and the institution can sustain it.
This experience also changed the way I think about the relationship between technology and reform. Technology is a tool, while reform is the objective.
What Public Sector Reform Has Taught Me
My participation in the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme reinforced this thinking. The programme challenged me to look beyond individual interventions and think more deliberately about leadership, institutional performance and sustainable public-sector reform.
One lesson that has stayed with me is that good public leadership is not about chasing every new trend. It is about identifying the problem that matters, understanding its root causes and mobilising practical solutions that can survive beyond the individual who introduced them.
My experience with the HR reform reinforced four principles for me.
First, simplicity matters. A system that officers cannot understand or use will eventually become another administrative burden.
Second, sustainability matters. A reform that depends entirely on one enthusiastic officer is not yet an institutional reform.
Third, technology must serve the process. Digitising a poor process does not automatically create a good process. Sometimes the process itself must first be redesigned.
Fourth, institutional capacity matters. The ultimate goal should be to build systems that preserve institutional knowledge and reduce unnecessary dependence on individuals.
What Should Public Institutions Do Differently?
For institutions considering digital transformation, I would recommend five practical steps.
Start with the pain points. Identify the bottlenecks that consume time, frustrate employees and ultimately affect citizens.
Design for the people who will use the system. A technically sophisticated solution that staff struggle to navigate is not a successful reform.
Build institutional resilience. Processes, knowledge and accountability should be embedded in systems rather than residing in the memory of officers.
Think about scalability from the beginning. A solution should be capable of growing as the institution's needs grow.
Measure outcomes, not technology. The real question is not whether an institution has digitised a process. The question is whether the process is now faster, more reliable, more transparent and more useful.
Building Smarter Government Systems
I believe Nigeria's public sector has enormous potential for practical digital transformation. But we should resist the temptation to equate transformation with expensive software or complex technology.
Imagine a public institution where staff records can be retrieved when needed, information can be updated without unnecessary delays, institutional knowledge remains available when officers leave, and managers can make decisions based on reliable information.
That is what smarter government should mean.
The future of public-sector reform will not be determined simply by how much data government collects or how sophisticated its technology becomes. It will be determined by whether we build systems that turn information into action, preserve institutional knowledge and make public service work better.
My experience in Education District V taught me that meaningful innovation can begin with something as simple as asking why a process takes so long and whether there is a better way to do it.
Nigeria does not have only a data problem. It has a systems problem. And if we fix the systems through which we manage the information we already have, we can unlock greater efficiency, strengthen institutions and, ultimately, restore trust in the public service.
Abraham Oghenetega Aremu is a Principal Education Officer at the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Education District V, and an alumnus of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s Public Leaders Programme (PLP).
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