PAN President Urges Tinubu To Conduct Census This Year
National President of the Population Association of Nigeria, Professor Rhoda Mundihas called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the National Population and Housing Census is conducted, this year without any further delay.
She argued that in order to solve the population paradox, it is imperative for Nigeria to accurately determine its population and implement measures to intentionally create a productive and manageable population.
Speaking at the 41st inaugural lecturer organized Thursday evening by the University of Abuja, with the support of the development Research and Project Centre under the partnership for advocacy in child and family health at scale, Mundihas stated that for Nigeria to reverse the trend of insecurity, banditry unemployment, and dwindling economic fortunes, the nation must implement the national population policy and invest in family planning.
She said, “Nations like Japan, and Canada are having population decline and are looking for immigrants, Africa was never afraid of population originally, but in spite of our population, productivity has continued to decline. Population ought to be a blessing, so what is going on? It is projected that by 2050, the world population will be 9 billion and the greatest contirbutor will be Asia and Africa.
By that same 2050 Nigeria’s population is expected to hit 400 million. There will be increase in insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes if we don’t handle our population well. The planned Census exercise should not exceed this year, huge amount has been spent on preparations, Mock exercise and training of ad-hoc staff”.
She therefore urged President Bola Tinubu to provide adequate funding for family planning, implement the national policy on population, and collaborate with subnational governments to ensure productive population that will drive national growth. While disclosing that although Population on itself is not a negative challenge, Mundihas said where more people are pursuing less economic opportunities, the likelihood for banditry, criminality and backwardness will spell doom for the country if left unchecked.
” I am calling on President Tinubu to implement the national population policy and invest in family planning. To solve the population paradox, it is imperative for Nigeria to accurately determine its population and implement measures to intentionally create a productive and manageable population.
This will enable effective national planning and the realization of the country’s development objectives.’ She added Mundi also emphasized the need for collaborative efforts at the national and subnational levels to address the challenges posed by the country’s increasing population. This is particularly important given the country’s current situation as a young democracy still in the process of development.
In advocating for the importance of family planning funding towards achieving demographic dividends and sustainable development, Dr. Stanley Ukpai, Director of Projects at the Development Research and Projects Centre, emphasized the opportunity presented to the new administration in this fiscal year to continue and build upon the policy processes established through the FP 2030 recommitment and the Family Planning Blueprint.
This would ensure adequate and sustainable financing for family planning at all levels and consolidate the previous government’s efforts toward this crucial goal.
Achieving FP 2030 policy recommitments is also a cardinal strategy for implementing the National Population Policy which has strong correlations with poverty reduction and sustainable economic development more broadly. Given the recent effort for economic recovery, Nigeria can do well to prioritize investment in family planning as a strategic course of action.
