Nigeria’s population hits 167 million

“Makama says Obasanjo was a boon to 2006 census exercise” 

The warning calls to mind an African adage that goes thus: “A war foretold does not consume the physically-challenged,” with the caveat, “the discerning ones among them, that is.”

Danko Makama

As he bows out of the National Population Commission (NPC) come October 31, Chairman, NPC, Samu’ila Danko Makama, has urged leaders at the three tiers of government to up the ante on nation-building initiatives, with a view to expanding public infrastructure in proportion to population growth in order to stem a future social crisis that could be foisted on the country by its alarmingly increasing citizenry base.

Makama stated this yesterday at his valedictory media briefing in Abuja where he also announced that Nigeria’s population figure would top the 167 million mark by the end of this month.

This, Makama said, represents 2.4 per cent of the world’s new population figure of seven billion people.

He also stressed the need for the Federal Government to step up preparations for the conduct of the next census, expected to be in 2016 in conformity with global standard of 10 years interval and a three-year preparatory timeline.

About 22 commissioners at the NPC would also vacate their positions by the end of this month and November.

Drawing attention to projections that Nigeria’s population would be 188 million in four years and 221 million by 2020, Makama charged the government to brace up ahead of the challenges that would inevitably come with these population growths.

According to him, the rise would impact positively or negatively on the citizenry depending on government’s plans or failure to plan.

Makama said: “For instance, we all know that such areas like health, food, housing, and other social infrastructure will dominate the need of the population. We should start thinking about protecting the people with adequate preparation ahead. Take family planning more seriously because if the current exponential growth rate of 3.2 per cent increases, it will translate to population explosion, which can mean crisis.”

He commented on the belief in some quarters that more Nigerians live in Lagos than Kano State contrary to the figures generated from the last census, saying: “People already have predetermined figure of what their population is and forget to take into cognisance the agglomeration of the urban and rural population.

“There should be no comparison between Lagos figure showing 9,013,534 and urban Kano 9,383,682 respectively. This is so because the agglomeration of the urban population is 94 per cent to rural six per cent and Kano 40 to 60 per cent.”

Listing his achievements and challenges over his 10-year, two-term tenure, Makama stressed that inadequate funding was a cog in the wheel of the progress he had projected for the NPC under his stewardship.

He disclosed that the NPC headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja, remained at 65 per cent completion and would require another N1 billion to complete.

Makama also regretted the inability of the commission to live up to the 60 per cent vital registration (birth and death records) target at the end of 2010, disclosing that the coverage level is currently 40 per cent.

-Latest Nigeria News

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By FLORENCE LAWRENCE, ABUJA

Source: The Guardian