JUST IN: Nigeria Has No Data Problem, But Systems Problem, Says Lagos Education Officer
Aremu advocates practical digital reforms, warns against technology-driven solutions that fail to address public service inefficiencies
By OGB Joseph, Abuja
A Principal Education Officer with the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Education District V, Abraham Oghenetega Aremu, has called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s approach to public sector reform, arguing that the country’s biggest challenge is not the absence of data but the inability of institutions to manage, connect and effectively utilise available information.
Aremu, who made the submission in an article titled “Nigeria Doesn’t Have a Data Problem. It Has a Systems Problem,” said public institutions must prioritise improving administrative processes and strengthening institutional capacity rather than focusing primarily on acquiring sophisticated technology.
Drawing from his experience implementing a human resources records reform in Education District V of the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, he explained that many public institutions already possess substantial information but struggle to manage it efficiently because of outdated procedures, fragmented records and excessive dependence on manual processes.
According to him, the situation often results in delays, errors, difficulties retrieving information and the loss of institutional knowledge whenever officers retire, transfer or assume new responsibilities.
He noted that the challenge became evident during his work on the district’s HR records system, where staff information needed for promotions, redeployment, retirement and other administrative decisions was often scattered across different locations and difficult to retrieve promptly.
“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,” he stated.
Aremu argued that such weaknesses extend beyond internal administrative inconveniences, as they ultimately affect the quality of public service delivery and the ability of government institutions to respond effectively to citizens’ needs.
He explained that delays in processing staff records, promotions and qualification verification could leave employees waiting unnecessarily, while difficulties accessing reliable information could slow down staffing decisions and other essential administrative functions.
The Lagos education officer maintained that digital transformation should begin with identifying the problems institutions need to solve, rather than asking what technology they can purchase.
He said the adoption of digital tools without addressing underlying administrative weaknesses could simply transfer inefficient processes from paper-based systems to electronic platforms without producing meaningful improvements.
“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?’” he said.
Aremu illustrated the point with the redesign of the HR records system in Education District V, where Google Sheets and Apps Script were deployed to connect a master data sheet with decentralised, school-level records through real-time synchronisation.
He explained that the arrangement enabled the system to identify officers due for retirement, promotion or redeployment while significantly reducing processing time and errors.
The initiative, he added, formed part of a broader Education Management Information System (EMIS) digitisation effort.
According to him, the objective was not to introduce technology for its own sake but to make existing administrative processes more efficient, reliable and sustainable.
He observed that simple, accessible solutions could deliver significant improvements in public institutions, particularly where resources were limited and administrative processes were already complex.
“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,” he said.
Reflecting on his participation in the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme, Aremu said the experience reinforced the importance of practical leadership, institutional performance and sustainable reforms.
He identified four major lessons from his HR records reform experience: simplicity, sustainability, process improvement and institutional capacity.
He explained that systems must be simple enough for public officers to understand and use, warning that complicated platforms could become additional administrative burdens rather than solutions.
He also stressed that reforms should not depend entirely on the enthusiasm or personal commitment of individual officers.
According to him, sustainable institutional reform requires processes, knowledge and accountability to be embedded in systems that can continue functioning regardless of changes in personnel.
Aremu further cautioned that digitising a poorly designed process does not automatically make it efficient, arguing that institutions must first examine and redesign processes where necessary before introducing technological solutions.
He added that preserving institutional knowledge and reducing dependence on individual officers were essential to building stronger public institutions.
To improve digital transformation across the public sector, Aremu recommended five practical steps for government institutions.
First, he urged institutions to identify operational bottlenecks that consume time, frustrate employees and ultimately affect citizens.
Second, he advised that digital systems should be designed around the needs and capabilities of the people expected to use them, noting that technically sophisticated solutions would achieve little if staff found them difficult to navigate.
Third, he called for institutional resilience through systems that preserve knowledge, processes and accountability instead of leaving them dependent on individual officers.
Fourth, he recommended that scalability should be considered from the beginning so that solutions can accommodate institutional growth and changing needs.
Fifth, he urged public institutions to measure outcomes rather than the volume of technology deployed.
He said the critical questions should be whether administrative processes have become faster, more reliable, more transparent and more useful, rather than whether an institution has merely digitised its operations.
Aremu maintained that Nigeria’s public sector has considerable potential to achieve meaningful digital transformation but warned against equating progress with expensive software or increasingly complex technology.
He envisaged public institutions where staff records could be retrieved when needed, information updated without unnecessary delays, and institutional knowledge preserved even when officers leave their positions.
Such systems, he argued, would enable managers to make decisions based on reliable information while improving administrative efficiency and public service delivery.
He stressed that the future of public sector reform would depend not simply on the volume of data government collects or the sophistication of its technology, but on its ability to translate information into effective action.
“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,” he said.
Reiterating his central argument, Aremu said Nigeria must look beyond the collection of information and focus on building systems capable of managing existing data effectively.
He reiterated that fixing the systems through which public institutions manage information could unlock greater efficiency, strengthen government institutions and ultimately restore public confidence in service delivery.
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