Economist Professor Godfred Bokpin has delivered a sharp critique of public discourse that is not grounded in data.
He argues that national conversations are too often driven by emotion rather than evidence, underscoring the need to prioritize data in terms of its use, accessibility and relevance to policy making.
He stressed that putting data at the centre of discussions is essential for sound economic decision-making.
Professor Godfred Bokpin made these remarks during a panel discussion at the 2025 Annual Forum for Data Producers, Users and Enhancers.
“As an academic, I put more emphasis on data than gold because I can do without gold. Countries have managed the affairs without gold deposits. I will choose data over gold. I will choose data over oil. I will choose data over every input because without data, nothing gets done. That is how important data is,” he said.
He added that the Ghana Statistical Service generates a significant amount of data that remains underutilized, calling for stronger efforts to harness it for economic planning and business decision-making.
“There is so much data that is harvested in this country by the Ghana Statistical Service. Sometimes we think that Ghana Statistical Service exists only to give a GDP number. They do so much, so much. But the question is, in our daily life, how often do we rely on data? How data-driven are we? This country is a talk show country. Forgive me.”
“The reason this country is a talk show country is that a lot of our discussions across the media platform is not driven by data. If we were driven by data as a country, there would be less disagreement in our discussions on media platforms, and there would be less emotion, and probably less fight. You understand that? Because the data is what it is,” Professor Bokpin remarked.
He said once data is placed at the centre of national dialogue, arguments can be made dispassionately, irrespective of where one falls on the political divide, creating a healthier environment for policy making and economic reforms.
“If we are doing well, the data says so, it doesn’t matter which party you belong to. So inflation has come down to 6.3%. You don’t need a prophet to tell you this is it and the implication because this is what it is. So sometimes our dogmatism and all of that is magnified because we are less driven by data. Sometimes you see people making arguments driven by emotions. The reason that is happening is because they have not looked at the data. What is the data saying? I think that we are at a point where we can elevate data in terms of its usage, accessibility, and we need to put data at the forefront of national discussion. This way, Ghana will be able to make meaningful progress,” Professor Bokpin mentioned.