BUHARI: 2023 CENSUS WILL TACKLE INSECURITY AND POVERTY
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By Sumayyah Olapade
The President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, said the planned 2023 population and housing census would give better structure to the government’s fight against poverty and insecurity.
This came as he lamented the lack of up-to-date data since the 2006 census, which he claimed has impeded the country’s national planning.
The President said this during his keynote address at the National Stakeholders’ Summit on the 2023 Census, held at the State House Conference Center in Abuja, in a statement titled, ‘How we can have more accuracy in 2023 census – President Buhari,’ signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
Buhari, who acknowledged that Nigeria could be the third most populous country in the world by 2050, after China and India, stated that a “reliable, credible, acceptable, and successful census” will allow the government to plan for development, particularly in strengthening the social security program that targets the most vulnerable Nigerians.
The President stated that the use of digital technology in the 2023 National Population and Housing Census will ensure greater effectiveness and accuracy in the results.
“The country’s inability to conduct a population census in the last 16 years has created an information vacuum, as data from the last census conducted in 2006 has rendered out of date for planning purposes,” he explained.
“As a result, it has become imperative for the nation to conduct another national census in order to generate a new set of demographic and socioeconomic data that will serve as the foundation for national planning and sustainable development.”
“Population is an important factor in a country’s efforts to achieve sustainable development.” People are both the agents and the recipients of development. For planning purposes, knowledge of the national population in terms of size, distribution, and socioeconomic characteristics is required.
Nigeria, with a projected population of 216,783,381, is the sixth most populous country in the world and the most populous country on the African continent, according to Buhari.
He went on to say that, due to its rapidly growing population and large proportion of young people, Nigeria is expected to be the world’s third most populous country by 2050, trailing only India and China.
The President also expressed regret that, despite Nigeria’s high ranking on the global demographic map, population censuses have been conducted irregularly and at intervals that are longer than the United Nations recommended 10 years.
“This irregular and long interval of census taking in Nigeria has denied the nation the enormous benefits of comprehensive baseline data for evidence-based decision-making,” he stated.
“Since taking office in 2015, our administration has implemented several poverty reduction and youth empowerment programs that have resulted in tangible improvements in our people’s living standards.”
Buhari went on to say that the country needs a new data set to drive the implementation of the recently revised National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development and other government policies.
He stated that the 2023 Census data is also required to address the country’s security challenges because it will provide an overview of the population, where we are, and who we are.
As a result, the President has called on stakeholders such as state governments, local government councils, traditional and religious institutions, civil society organizations, private sectors, media, development partners, donor agencies, and the general public to help ensure the success of the 2023 Census.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Dr Habiba Lawal, corroborated Buhari’s earlier remarks, saying that Nigeria would likely be the third most populated country in the world by 2050, with a population growth rate of 2.3 percent.
She stated that the Census of 2023 would be the first fully digital population and housing documentation, with the results useful for planning and budgetary allocations.
Nasir Kwarra, Chairman of the NPC, thanked the President for approving the 2023 Census in April, following the general elections, and assured him that the commission will work hard to make it “credible and acceptable.”
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