WHY WE SHOULD HOLD CENSUS SOON

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After 17 years of not conducting a national population and housing census, the National Population Commission, NPC, has emphasized the need for Nigeria to conduct its census soon enough.

Speaking during a retreat for the Chairman And Members, House Committee on Population of the House of Representatives, the Chairman, NPC, Nasir Isa-Kwarra said Nigeria was at a great disadvantage of not having a data and that it hinders sustainable development for the nation.

Isa-Kwarra, who was represented by the Federal Commissioner in charge of Niger State, Malam Muhammad Dattijo Usman, said: “Population is a critical factor in a nation’s efforts towards achieving sustainable development. The people are both the agents and beneficiaries of the development process. Knowledge of the country’s population in terms of size, distribution and socio-economic characteristics is required for planning purposes.

“This therefore makes the conduct of census an essential governance activity. The imperatives for the conduct of the next population and housing census rest on the following grounds: Nigeria has one of the fastest growing populations, with a growth rate of 3.2% and an estimated population of about 216 million. Capturing the essential dynamics of such a population requires the regular conduct of censuses, preferably every 10 years as recommended by the United Nations.

“The country’s inability to conduct a population census in the last 17 years has created an information vacuum as the data from the last Census conducted in 2006 has been rendered less useful for planning purposes.

“Preparations for the conduct of the next Census have reached an advanced stage with the demarcation of all the LGAs in the country into enumeration areas. The demarcation exercise began in 2015 and further delay in conducting the next census will make the products thereof less optimal for the next census in view of the rapidly changing environmental landscape and settlement patterns in the country.

“There is a need to ensure that implementation of poverty alleviation programmes are driven by current data from the next Census. This will improve the implementation of these programmes that targets vulnerable populations and ensure we ‘Leave No One Behind’.

“The continuous usage of the 2006 Census and projections for the estimation of Nigeria’s population has created a data gap in global population which does not do credit to the nation’s reputation. Nigeria is the seventh most populous nation on earth and will be the third most populous country after China and India in 2050 going by the current rate of growth. Relying on an estimate from a census conducted 16 years ago for a country that hosts a significant proportion of the world population is counterproductive.

“While the Commission is mindful of the current economic recession, which has reduced revenue at the disposal of the government against the background of competing demands, the Commission is convinced that conducting the next census is one huge investment the nation must make to launch Nigeria into the path of economic prosperity through proper planning and optimal allocation of resources”.

The NPC boss was optimistic that security challenges bedeviling the country would have been mitigated before the conduct of the next census.