IN modern times generally in all parts of the world, periodic head counts of human populations have become a regular practice. Nigeria therefore is not an exception as the country is set to organize its fifth national population census in May, 2023. Population Census is undertaken to know the number of people within the society or nation for a number of reasons. This include practical planning so as to be able to organize and plan to meet human needs in terms of infrastructure and services provision with regards to education, health, energy, water supply among others.
POPULATION census is important because it helps the government on data needs and to know the specific number of people living in the country, the determination of taxable adults in order to know the amount of revenue that is expected from that particular sector, determination of future economic needs including housing and food, determine the level of unemployment in the country, appraise the standard of living of the people in a country through per capita income, formulation of economic policies, number of immigrants, to aid optimal distribution of the resources of the country in order to ensure that the states that have a high population get more resources than areas with low population, aid in the adequate provision of social amenities like housing, water, electricity, roads, schools, and hospitals which are beneficial to the citizens of the country and allocation of parliamentary seats among others.
IT is on the above basis the census has become an indispensable exercise in contemporary society and that is why all Nigerians must be ready to participate and support the exercise.
INDEED, one of the major challenges facing our development efforts over the years has been non availability of accurate and current population data for practical and realistic planning purposes. The truth is that if any country must move forward, she must know the number of people in her territory to be able to cater and protect them. Therefore, the country has been planning and distributing national resources without necessary data of the total number of people in the country. In fact, most planning activities are based on the estimated population of the country which United Nations currently estimated at about 216 million people.
THE country doesn’t know the total number of people living in the country so that sufficient provision can be made for the essential basic services that make for good living. This is partly responsible for poor and lack of planning in the country. This has become a source of concern to many Nigerians. The Hope, therefore, believes that a new window of opportunity has been provided to correct this anomaly in the forthcoming 2023 digital national population census slated for May, 2023 in the country. All hands must therefore be on deck to make it a roaring success.
AS indicated above, national population census is essential in modern times and therefore all Nigerians should cooperate and support the exercise in its entirety. We enjoin citizens to make themselves easily available to be counted as planned by the National Population Commission (NPC). The various communities in the country should not only buy into it, but support the exercise without compromise and manipulation that characterized past exercise. NPC and their ad hoc staff should be forthright and be committed to the 2023 national population census as one that must not fail but get accurate population of Nigerians without compromise, manipulation and controversy that were associated with past census in the country. If the country must have an up-to-date data of her citizens as obtained in the developed societies, the government needs to make all the needed resources available to the Commission.
IT is another litmus test for Nigeria’s leadership which must not be bungled. Controversies that trailed past census should not be permitted. It’s ridiculous that a giant nation like Nigeria doesn’t know the number of her citizens in this technological age.
UNTIL we are willing, we will continue to grope in the dark. The census commission should be above board.
