Nigeria conducted its last national headcount 19 years ago. In this interview, the Federal Commissioner representing Ondo State at the National Population Commission (NPC), Mrs. Olukemi Victoria Iyantan, talks about plans being made by the Federal Government for another census. She also highlights some of the efforts of the Commission in Ondo State to capture data of residents through registration of births and deaths and issuance of certificates for the same.Excerpts:

Can we meet you, ma?

 My name is Her Excellency, Olukemi Victoria Iyantan, and I am the Federal Commissioner representing Ondo State at the National Population Commission (NPC).

What have been your aspirations since you were appointed Federal Commissioner of NPC Ondo State?

I aspire to get people acquainted and enlightened about the role of the NPC in Nigeria and in Ondo State in particular. That is why we have been sensitising the people. Although, we are an agency of the Federal Government, since we are representing Ondo state, we want the impact of the agency to be felt in Ondo state. Sometimes you have a right, but if you don’t know your right, you might be denied. We want the people to know that it is our right to be counted and to be involved in the development of this country and the state. The president’s renewed hope agenda is for all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. Since we are part of Nigeria, we have to enjoy what is happening. If we don’t know, we may lose an opportunity that we should enjoy.

What are the mandates of your office?

We are given the mandate to get children registered at birth and register deaths, too. It gives people a sense of belonging. Also, our mandate is to get the people counted and let them know that being counted is for their benefit. It is their right. It also enables the government to provide infrastructure for them. Lack of this awareness makes people not to cooperate with officials during census.

Part of your mandate is to issue birth and death certificates. What progress have you made in this regard?

This is not the only place to collect those certificates. We have our offices in all the 18 local governments of the state headed by controllers. We also have registration offices not far from each other, manned by registrars. People come to those places to register their children. Our officers also go out to liaise with maternity centres to register births. We also have a similar process for the registration of deaths. Families of dead civil servants, who for example, need death certificates of their people to enable them get some claims from the government.

Is the registration free, or do people have to pay for it?

 It is almost free because it’s just a token we collect. However, digital registration, like the one we did in conjunction with UNICEF, is free. But, anybody above 18 has to pay.

 Conducting an acceptable census in Nigeria seems to have been jinxed. Can we really conduct a generally acceptable census in Nigeria?

 Very possible to conduct an acceptable census. That is why we have to sensitise our people. We have done demarcation and even trial census before. So it is possible if our people are faithful to the process and come out on the day of the census. When we get to your house, bring out all your family members. We capture their biometric details. If you don’t come out for counting, you have no right to challenge the result. By God’s grace, this time, we are going to conduct an acceptable census because we are going to dot all our ‘I’s and cross all our ‘T’s.

Developed countries are using technology to conduct their census. Don’t we have the capacity to deploy the use of technology in the conduct of our next census?

 We do, and we have started digitizing our process. Those developed countries have gone ahead of us, but we also can’t be left out. I told you about our e-registration and thumb printing. We are using it except where there is no network. However, we have made provision for face capturing and voice capturing where there are challenges with network.

Since you assumed office, you have been carrying out advocacy and campaigns in agencies. What has been the impact?

 Actually, we have not been going to agencies. We have only visited media houses because we need them to help us as we sensitise the public. But as time goes on, we are going to visit various agencies for advocacy and sensitization. As for the media houses we visited, part of the impacts is this interview. When the time comes, we want you to help us reach the unreached. No matter how far away any location may be, there is always a means by which the mass media can reach them. And we are very impressed with the media houses we have visited. They understand the agenda of Mr. President that everybody must be captured. Everybody must enjoy the resources of this country.

 What arrangement does the commission have to carry along people in places where there is no network or electricity?

We have pre-arrangements, like visiting media houses. The second phase of our advocacy is to meet community leaders, religious leaders, and other stakeholders in our various communities, the same way we have visited media houses. This also includes farm settlements.

What is the importance of an accurate census?

The importance of an accurate census re numerous. In fact, we can’t exhaust them. There are many benefits from having accurate data. It helps the government to know the infrastructure that people in various communities need, like roads, schools, and maternities. When you are in the rural area, you should enjoy it like people in the city. If, for example, I have access to the basic needs of life in my village, what am I looking for in the city? With amenities in the villages, people will not need to come to the city looking for greener pastures.

The last census in Nigeria was conducted 19 years ago. When are we going to have another census?

 We can’t say precisely, but the fellers we have gotten is that if it doesn’t happen this year, it will be next year. We should have done it in the last administration, but it was postponed. Nothing is stopping the census from taking place anytime soon, and we are preparing for that. Some times ago, the government set up a working committee for the census. With the fellers from the president, it should take place before the next presidential election.

What are the preparations on the ground for the smooth conduct of the census?

 Like we said earlier, we are going to improve on what we have done already before the census. We will reappraise all our strategies and make necessary corrections.

Do you have any other word for members of the public?

 NPC is on ground in Ondo State. Perhaps, they couldn’t get across to our registration centres for birth or death certificates, they are free to approach us here in our head office in Akure. Our officials are fully on the ground to attend to them. They should be aware that this is one of the things that aid development. It is not for the benefit of anybody in particular but for the benefit of the people at large. They should not hesitate to come out en masse for the census. It is for our benefit and the benefit of our unborn children.