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Ngozi Nwoke
Daily, Nigeria’s population continues to increase. And going by current data and statistics, the population growth might not slow down anytime soon.
A report by the United Nations (UN) last year projected that by 2050, Nigeria would become the world’s third largest country and one of the six nations with a population of over 300 million.
This projection has raised concerns among economists, environmentalists and medical experts, with most of them expressing fears about the negative effects an overstretched population could have on the country’s economy, infrastructure and scare resources.
In a developing country like Nigeria, overpopulation, based on the assertions of a renowned environmentalist, Mr. Clinton Akubueze, can lead to congestion and air pollution, which poses serious health hazard to the people
The research fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Abuja, warned that overpopulation could also lead to the inability to control scarce natural resources as well as maintain environmental cleanliness.
“Nigeria as an urban and evolving-industrialised society is currently facing numerous
environmental problems due to overpopulation. The effect is extremely hazardous and the Federal Government needs to enforce birth control policies, otherwise, it will get to a point that Nigerians will be breathing oxygen with low quality due to congestion and air pollution,” he said.
The don stated that Nigeria is experiencing land degradation, which usually occurs when humans fail to use resources in a sustainable manner. He explained that this can lead to soil erosion and extinction of plant species.
“Unfortunately, transportation and manufacturing companies are causing more harm because they use fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the air and it is inhaled by people. Activities like poor waste disposal by residents and oil spills from commercial and industrial areas also contaminate the water we drink. There is also the issue of climate change, which brings about abnormal happenings such as unprecedented flooding, increased number of storms, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
“The Federal Government should prioritise the environmental sector as an area with the highest potential for job reaction. The state of Nigeria’s environment is extremely discouraging. It is not innovative and has not helped to improve infrastructural development. There are no plans by the authorities to create innovative transformation, which will in turn, create job opportunities for citizens as is obtainable in other developed countries. The environmental sector needs urgent reform and intervention from international experts. Until that is done, the country will continue to experience incessant ecological emergencies,” Akubueze said.
Lamenting that Nigeria’s overpopulation had increased unemployment index to an unbearable level, the don explained that a large number of workers exist for limited job opportunities, stressing that this could lead to increase in crime rate and instigate social revolt.
Mr. Kunle Oyinloye, Managing Director, Sifax Shipping Company and an economist, averred that rapid population growth could inevitably lead to food insecurity and lack of access to other basic amenities in Nigeria.
“The federal and state governments need to drastically cut down on the high cost of governance and reduce ostentatious spending. The present situation, where politics is the highest paying venture in Nigeria, is a major challenge that is negatively affecting the economic growth of the country. This explains why budget is never enough to fund projects in the country. Government need to steadily turn the economy around for good by investing in other sectors. Nigeria’s foreign reserve should be increased and inflation curbed. We should not always blame Nigeria’s economic woes on overpopulation,” he said.
He asserted that without an increase in food production to match an increasing population, hunger and starvation will be on the rise, warning that this could lead to a possible collapse of the country.
“The reality is that overpopulation remains a double-edged sword in a developing country like Nigeria. However, with proper planning, the population can be turned into an asset. Nigeria cannot get it right until the federal and state governments, including the legislature, become accountable while carrying out their obligations.”
In 2018, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, disclosed that the federal government was mulling a birth control policy where the number of children per woman would be reduced to two in order to tackle poverty and unemployment in the country. She also said government would harness the potential of its large, energetic youth population as well as their entrepreneurial skills.
She explained that consultations were ongoing with religious and traditional leaders nationwide on the issue, after which a policy would be formulated.
“We must find out ways to engage our youths to be active and ensure that they are useful to themselves and the society. The president has directed that we should not allow ourselves to be distracted by any irrelevant factor, but focus on the birth control policy plan,” she stated.
Speaking on the use of birth control as a viable tool to checkmate population explosion, the acting chairman, Nigerian Population Commission, Abuja, Mrs Abimbola Abolarinwa, said there are policies on the use of birth control in Nigeria. She explained that proactive steps must be taken and enforced to achieve a better Nigeria. She urged Nigerians to assist the government to provide a sustainable development plan for everyone.
“The first and most important step towards tackling the rising population is for the Federal Government to introduce a strict national identity regime for easy identification. Millions of the people in the country are not Nigerians, yet they have access to enter the country through our borders, obtain Nigerian passport and become Nigerians overnight. These people add to the insecurity crisis we have in the country.”
Reacting to the issue of birth control as a tool to curb population rise, an Islamic scholar from the Al-Tmaam Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Lagos, Abdallah Musa, argued that human reproduction is an instruction from God. He insisted that giving women the liberty to give birth to as many as they can, is in obedience to God’s instruction.
“Muslims strive to build a strong family bond. We believe that children are precious gift from Allah, and this is one of the main purpose of marriage in Islam. The holy Quran warns Muslims against the use of contraceptives. However, many Muslims today have chosen to plan their families by using birth control pills, and other family planning methods, while some have decided not to give birth at all,” he said.
Several experts have canvassed that proactive steps be taken to forestall a population explosion as predicted by the world bodies. They noted that there must be an enforcement of birth control, especially in the rural areas, stressing that massive awareness must be created to educate and convince them about the importance of birth control and the dangers of having multiple children that they cannot cater for. The health sector, they also insisted, must be mobilised and equipped with the appropriate medium to create awareness on the use of birth control.
