Opinion I Today July 11 is, World Population Day

ATTAINING A SUCCESSFUL POPULATION CENSUS COME 2018 AS THE 2017 WORLD POPULATION DAY IS MARKED ON TUESDAY JULY 11

        

On Tuesday, July 11, the global community is commemorating the 2017 World Population Day. The day is an annual event observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness on global population issues. The event was solely established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the year 1989. The establishment was inspired by the public interest on July 11, 1987, which was the day the world’s population reached approximately five billion people. The theme of this year's commemoration is 'Family Planning: empowering women and developing nations'.

          

Population is the overall number of people or animals in a particular locality. Whilst, population census is concisely defined as an official survey of the total number of persons or animals of the same specie coexisting in a given arena. Similarly, it can further be described as the summation of all the organisms of the same group that are inhabitants of a certain geographical area as well as possess the capability of interbreeding.

          

Nigeria is generally regarded as the most populous black nation in the world with about 170 million people. However, currently likewise many other nations, there’s no exact figure of the country’s population owing to several challenges or constraints, and it’s pertinent to acknowledge that suchlike phenomenon negatively affects the workforce of any country involved thereby disrupting its socio-economic and political strength.

          

In view of the aforesaid assertion, it’s imperative for Nigeria to take a severe measure toward ascertaining the exact number of persons that hail from the country as well as ensure that the growth of such population is adequately controlled. So, as the nation awaits her next population census, come 2018, the National Population Commission (NPC) is expected to leave no stone unturned towards ensuring that nothing but absolute success is recorded during the awaited exercise.

         

The census in question, which its Enumeration Areas Demarcation (EAD) was conducted in 2016, was statutorily meant to take place in the said year (2016), since the last one successfully held in 2006; it’s noteworthy that the exercise is required to be carried out once every ten years. This very lapse implies that either the census wasn’t properly captured in the 2015 budget by the immediate administration or that the money budgeted for the project was misappropriated by the said administration. Whichever reason that occasioned the loophole, the present government ably led by President Mohammadu Buhari ought to ensure that the aberration does not repeat itself.

          

In the same vein, there’s a compelling need for rigorous awareness campaign regarding the project. I want to firmly disabuse the concerned authority of the notion that every Nigerian is currently aware of the forthcoming exercise. We must take into cognizance that not every citizen of this country, likewise other developing nations, is privileged to listen to the radio, watch the television, read the newspaper/magazine, access the internet or the social media, as the case may be. In view of this, I want to notify us that at the moment, at least, about 35% of Nigerian adults are yet to be informed of the awaited 2017 population census.

           

To this end, I implore the NPC to employ all the needed avenues with a view to ensuring that no citizen of the country is sidelined as regards information. They should subscribe with the various telecom firms toward issuing regular bulk SMS to the teeming Nigerians. Even at that, not everyone has access to a cell phone; thus, in addition to electronic and print media, we must involve such other means of information dissemination as street awareness, town-hall meetings, and what have you. Town hall meetings would conscientize the traditional rulers or town union leaders to engage the services of their respective town criers thereby enabling door-to-door awareness mechanism. Against this backdrop, collaborating with other relevant corporate bodies to include the National Orientation Agency (NOA), civil society groups, religious institutions, and schools, among others, would be very helpful.

          

Inter alia, contrary to the De-facto method of enumeration that’s intended to be used by the NPC during the exercise, which is not unusual compared to the previously conducted ones, I strongly insist that the De-jure method of enumeration would be more reliable and accurate for the exercise. The latter, if utilized, would unarguably enable the personnel to acquire the clear picture of every citizen of the country thereby enabling the commission (NPC) to arrive at a holistic conclusion.

          

The De-facto method is the enumeration of individuals as of where they are found during the census, regardless of where they normally reside. Whilst, the De-jure method is the enumeration of individuals as of where they usually reside, regardless of where they are on the day of the census. Suffice it to say that the former involves head-count contrary to the latter which mainly involves house-count.

           

The De-facto method unequivocally showcases that there’s a tangible probability or tendency of not counting every Nigerian as long as the exercise lasts. For instance, if Mr. A wasn’t found at his place of residence when the census officials came around, there is also a strong possibility of not locating/finding him at other residences or institutions he is affiliated to throughout the exercise. May be when they would visit his/her home in the city, he/she would be at his/her village home, and vice-versa.

           

Besides, that’s no assurance that all Nigerians resident abroad would be available during the census because every Nigerian in the Diaspora wouldn’t be able to sacrifice whatever he/she is doing over there for the sake of the exercise. Even if based on their patriotic nature, they eventually unanimously wish to return home in order to be counted, obviously that’s no guarantee that they will all afford the required flight ticket. And, we are not unaware that the census officials won’t travel abroad to ensure that every one of them is duly counted. These, among other crucial and sensitive factors, are required to be seriously taken into consideration.

          

The fact remains that every Nigerian, both at home and abroad, needs to be counted because there’s a tendency that one who’s based abroad might decides to return to Nigeria the following month after the census, and thereafter becomes a permanent resident of the country. Of course, we are very much aware of the socio-economic implication of such decision especially in a situation where the person in question was not counted during the census.

          

The De-jure method, which involves house-count, would definitely ensure that every member of a given home or family irrespective of where he/she resides or is based is duly counted during the census. People shall be counted based on their respective states of origin; in other words, the houses to be visited shall be those that are owned by only the indigenes of the affected state. This approach would also enable us to acquire the exact number or statistics of persons that hail from each state of the federation. During the census, the NPC officials need to request from those present at the houses visited the documents that indicate the authenticity of the membership or citizenship of the absentees or those residing abroad, as the case may be, such as birth certificate, LGA’s certificate of origin and/or evidence of schools attended.

          

This implies that the proposed De-jure method, which is result-oriented, wouldn’t be only more accurate and reliable but cost cum labour effective. In fact, there’s need for the apt authorities to extend hand of fellowship to the cognoscenti towards attaining a hitch-free and successful 2018 population census in Nigeria.

         

Above all, we have been reliably informed by the NPC that only its staff would be involved in the exercise; it’s a very wonderful and welcome idea. But the commission is required to use every means to decisively warn its personnel or any concerned body to steer clear from any form of unpatriotic act including cheating and indolence while the concernment lasts.

          

Moreover, the NPC ought to endeavour to introduce a holistic and adequate database that would stand the test of time as well as update it on a regular interval to enable the commission maintain a comprehensive statistics of the country’s population after the exercise. In view of this, a special department/unit that would man the day-to-day affairs cum well-being of the database needs to be created in the commission, and reliable experts on ICT should equally be engaged in the proposed department. For the department to strive successfully, world-class softwares to be manufactured by software-developers whom would also be part of the department should continually be employed, and such software must be reviewed at all times; in addition, the unit ought to boast of anti-hacking softwares and personnel.

          

Such tactical measure should also be replicated towards ensuring that the overall birth-rate and death-rate occurring in the country is constantly and consistently gathered, regardless of the locality where the event took place. Hence, every maternity and mortuary operating across the federation must be duly recognized by the NPC whereby every child delivery or corpse deposition, as the case may be, would be instantly reported to the commission via the respective ICT departments of the said centres.

           

To this end, in event of home child-delivery, such case needs to be reported to any nearest maternity for onward documentation; similarly, whenever one dies and his/her corpse isn’t taken to the mortuary, the bereaved family is required to report such incident to a closest mortuary. This implies that henceforth, any maternity or mortuary that isn’t recognized or approved by the NPC must be shut down indefinitely; such monitoring would equally require setting up of a mobile committee by the commission that would regularly oversee the existence cum activity of all maternities and mortuaries.    

          

Most importantly, it’s obvious that the project in question is extremely capital intensive; thus, in addition to the budgeted fund, financial assistance is required from concerned individuals, stakeholders, as well as non-governmental organizations. Hence, as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the World Population Day, there’s need for the NPC in collaboration with other relevant agencies to set up a competent, formidable and reliable ad-hoc committee strictly for fund raising and other related matters, so that the awaited census would be a success in the long run. 
          
Also, as this year's theme implies, in our various capacities we are expected in our respective jurisdictions to individually or collectively support the ongoing efforts targeted towards raising awareness on the importance of proper family planning. We must at all times note that it is only a well planned home that can be of social and economic value to the concerned society. Think about it!

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

Executive Director, Docfred Resource Clinic - Owerri

_____________________________________

Twitter: @mediambassador

http://facebook.com/theMediaAmbassador