‘Nigeria’s rising population a threat’

From Fisayo Akinduro, Osogbo
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Nigeria’s rising population might pose a big threat to the nation’s survival if the citizens are under productive.

The Chief Whip of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Tunde Olatunji who disclosed this in Osogbo said without conscious efforts towards converting the rising figure into human capital, it constitutes great threat to the country’s survival.

He called for swift and decisive move to stem the tide of poverty, unemployment and low productivity.

Olatunji posited that government policies must be pragmatically formulated for the purpose of fighting poverty and unemployment and as well control the nation’s geometric population growth.

He said for a growing population like Nigeria to be an asset, the large percentage of the citizenry must be productive.

According to 2016 Global Economic Data, Germany recorded a total of 3.6 trillion US dollars as Gross Domestic Product while the whole of Africa with a population of more than one billion struggles with GDP less than 3 trillion US dollars.

“The large population of a country is never a strength. Rather, what constitutes national strength and power is the percentage of such huge number that could be converted into human capital.

“Only human capital would be asset. Every other thing is a liability. It is the percentage of a 200 million population that contribute to its productivity, that is referred as human capital.

“This is what suggests whether a society is developing or merely progressing in human numbers which invariably becomes another threat to the survival of the system,” he stated.