Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, on Friday unveiled the first-ever robust and workable statistical data analysis software package dubbed VSP, (ValueStats Statistical Package), produced by a Professor of Accounting and programmer with the university, Prof Enyi Patrick Enyi.
The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Ademola Tayo, who could not hide his excitement over this milestone achievement described the unveiling of this first-ever African-produced statistical package as a great moment of pride and monumental accomplishment for the continent.
Tayo disclosed this while speaking during the historical unveiling of the software package as well as the launch of another book, Financial Modeling authored by the same Professor of Accounting held at the Babcock Business School Auditorium.
The Vice-Chancellor, represented by a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Sunday Owolabi, also revealed that the homegrown statistical package will save the country a whooping sum of $1bn annually.
He said, “This is no doubt a historical event, a great moment of pride for Africans because this kind of product is the first on this continent.
“The VSP statistical package is special and peculiar in its own way. All the ones we had been using before Prof Enyi Patrick Enyi came up with this innovation are foreign, imported from China, Japan, and India among others but this VSP statistical package is produced in Nigeria and it’s far better.
“There are several modules that this statistical package contained which are not in those foreign ones. And using this accounting statistical package invented by this great scholar will save Nigerians at least $1bn because the users will be buying these packages in naira which is the equivalent of $40 and so it will help ease a lot of pressure on our forex.
“People should use this package, the students, lecturers, they can even go to the YouTube to learn more about the package and they should give us feedback to know what else to add in the next version.”
The Vice-Chancellor described Enyi as a brilliant scholar and teacher of repute urging him to remain steadfast in his chosen path of impacting the world for good.
The President, of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Davidson Alaribe, who was the special guest of honour at the event, lauded Enyi for registering the institute and the accounting profession on yet another global map of excellence and innovation.
Alaribe represented by Prof Godwin Oyedokun of Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, hailed Enyi for his academic prowess and achievement saying that the institute will not only support but also continue to partner with those promoting excellence in the accounting profession.
Speaking at the programme, Enyi said the urge to look inward to create an accounting statistical package which suits the peculiarities of Nigeria’s environment and ways of doing things in Africa was the ultimate motivation.
“This is the first time an African is producing a statistical package. Those we were using before like SPSS from America, EV from India, and Stata too from India, we have R among others but none ever developed in Africa.
“And we are doing this to make a difference, as an academic I have always been researching and most of my research is African but many times some of these foreign packages won’t give me the result that I want, so I began to think of that statistical package that will take our peculiarities into consideration
“In those other packages you have to learn how to code them to use them but this is our own, VSP has been made to be user-friendly. We have made it menu-driven such that the menu can suggest what you want to do and you pick it up and do whatever you want to do.
“For instance after doing your analysis in the VSP, it will automatically produce your graphs for you but in others like SPSS, EV or Stata, you will have to select the graph that you want.
“It took me two years to get the software developed…and talking about cost, an average SPSS which I was using before coming up with this innovation cost me about $280 then which must be renewed annually but this one is $40 which is about N60000 and you will continue to use this until maybe we develop another version. We shall be saving our country millions of dollars with this newly developed statistical package”, he said.
Enyi said this breakthrough only signifies that with genuine and concerted efforts, Africans have what it takes to solve their socio-economic challenges.
