Mark Twain, the American writer and humourist, famously said: “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and statistics.” This aphorism is truer in Nigeria than in virtually any other country. The unreliability of official data in Nigeria is known universally, with international bodies like the IMF and the World Bank frequently questioning the credibility of Nigeria’s official statistics. For decades, the problem was blamed on lack of capacity and technical competence, but now it’s also associated with political interference.