Key questions this article answers:
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The National Bureau of Statistics has unveiled a new unemployment methodology. How different is it from the old one?
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The new methodology changes the working population and Nigeria’s unemployment rate. How will it affect incoming unemployment data and policy-making afterwards?
Data can inform or misinform, depending on who uses it and why.
The UK, for instance, used this slogan: “We send the EU £350 million each week—let’s fund our NHS instead” to gain public support for Brexit in 2016. The contextual value of £350 million didn’t matter. What mattered then and now is how data can sway public opinion.
Bringing this home, it’s easy to point out that Nigeria plays a dangerous game of numbers, often to garner public support and sway public opinion like the UK example. One data point that solidifies this stance is unemployment. Who doesn't want to have good jobs, and
