Expert calls for proper national identity for risk management

The various security and other socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria could only be solved when government takes concerted efforts towards establishing a population data base with the identify profile of all Nigerians.

Making the assertion recently was the President of the Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMSON), Jacob Adeosun at the 2017 National Conference of the Society, held in Lagos.

Adeosun was of the opinion that the present loose or insufficient data on Nigerians was quite absurd and also capable of making futile all attempts to solve the socio economic problems facing the country.

“What we have been doing all these while was to be planning without adequate demographic specifics about all Nigerians and this has made a mockery of our attempts to make desired progress in curbing criminality and other social vices and providing necessary socio-economic amenities for the people” Adeosun said

Adeosun opined that the identification exercise, which is more in-depth than the population census being proposed by government, could be done in concert with relevant institutions as well as leverage on what the banking sector was already doing through the customers verification exercise to achieve desired results.

In similar a vein, another risk expert, Raymond Akalonu underscored the need for a rethinking on the nation’s budgeting process by inputting risk analysis into the content of the budget.

According to him” we need to have a holistic picture of where the budget will lead us, by identifying the needs and pitfalls that could hinder the successful implementation of the said budget, quantify, prioritize and put control measures in place. We must run the national budget like we run a private sector business concern”.

Akalonu also called for a more coordinated approach to the fight against corruption by providing enabling legislations to combat the menace.

“Stolen monies traced through the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) should be ploughed back into the economy to revive it, while the whistle blower’s initiative for fighting corruption should be given legal teeth” Akalonu said.