History beckons on Nigeria this week as the country takes a bold step to count its inhabitants, something it had tried to do for a long time but had always ended up with controversial results. Past attempts have been trailed by disagreements, suspicion and rejections and the country ends up credited with very wide-ranging population figures that are of course, always asterisked as estimates.
However, for five days beginning the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, the National Population Commission (NPC) will start proving to the world that it has done enough homework and preparation to give the country credible census figures this time around.
The prelude to this week’s headcount has not escaped the cynicism, suspicion, controversy and mud-raking that characterized the previous exercises. Allegations of habouring a hidden agenda have been thrown at government and some supposed sectional interests while some other sectional groups have issued threats and vowed to disrupt the exercise in their areas.
These germinated on the decision of the NPC, backed by the federal government not to include questions about ethnicity and religion in the questionnaires to be administered on respondents during the census. It sounded odd but this administration was convinced that Nigeria’s case was odd, such that no major tribe or religion wants to accept its people would by any chance be fewer than the others. So, expunged were questions that would have provided very vital statistics for the nation.
As if these were not enough, stories emanating from various states put series of question marks on the preparedness of the NPC to conduct the exercise successfully. For instance, there were reports that unqualified enumerators and facilitators were being recruited for eth job. In a place like Katsina, it emerged that School Certificate holders were appointed as facilities whereas the guidelines approved by the NPC headquarters in Abuja stipulated that the position be reserved only for Diploma and degree holders.
Accusing fingers pointed at top government functionaries and NPC officials for given undue appointments to their family members and friends.
The case of Lagos was celebrated; census officials posted there arrived to a cold reception as there was no accommodation made ready for them. The same is said to have happened in several other states where inadequate arrangements for enumerators and other officials are threatening to hamper the headcount.
Indeed, other reports have it that the officials in some states who are supposed to travel out to their places of posting have preferred to stay put in their states of origin because money has not been made available for their trips.
Understandably, problems of logistics and funding feature of this kind of tasks but the present administration has said several times that it has committed enough resources and support towards the success of this exercise because it is determined to get Nigeria do it right this time. To demonstrate this, just a few days to D-day, precisely last Wednesday, President Olusegun Obasanjo convened a stakeholders meeting at the Presidential Villa to crosscheck preparations made by the Population Commission. It held at the Banquet Hall of the Villa and was well attended by foreign donors and partners, security top brass and governors. It was also an opportunity for the boss of the NPC, Sumai’la Makama, to respond to various concerns and questions raised by members of the public, that is, those who attended the forum, anyway. And sure, he did clarify some grey areas, even how those with leprous hands and fingerless residents will be counted! But how the census would be conducted in areas where oil companies’ engineers could not access to repair damaged pipelines in the volatile Niger Delta, he did not elaborate. Let us believe he will get by anyhow.
Anyway, Obasanjo expressed concern that Nigeria had lost a lot in terms of development we never could accurately say how many we are in this country and what specific needs there are for each person or area.
According to him; “In this modern era, it is embarrassing for any nation that aspires greatness, stability, growth and sustainable development to be without an acceptable census figure. With the giant strides that we are currently making in all spheres of our development, we must make the census a priority”.
He was worried about creating the right impression in the international community as Nigeria had been derided for its inability give out accurate and reliable census figures. So, this one must be free of controversy and acceptable to everyone so that we could for once be taken seriously in global fora.
In his words, “we are now in a democratic dispensation and we all owe it a duty to ensure that the 2006 census succeeds. The 2006 Census is a test case for Nigeria and we must ensure that Nigeria passes this test in flying colours”.
What political will is available to ensure we see the flying colours having been told that the smooth conduct of the 2006 population and housing census is of great importance to this administration and to our future planning for development? Well, the president insisted that his administration has been always encouraged the NPC to be transparent in the conduct of the census, especially as “the data to be generated in the 2006 census is critical to the reform agenda of the present administration in the spheres of agriculture, employment, water supply, energy, education, health and other facets of our national life”. For this reason, the president believed his administration has been left with no other option than to ensure that this population and housing census is not only smoothly conducted but that its results enjoy wide acceptability.
Regarding the exercise proper, it was a good move to peg the number of work-free days to two, Friday and Saturday, in order to check what the president described as “census migration”. It only makes sense that people stay where they normally reside for such an important civic duty to be counted. Going a step further, the president even recently charged the NPC boss and his officials not to bother showing him or hinting him of the final figures before publication.
This is obviously to show the world that he has no unwholesome interest in the outcome.
Well, we urge the NPC people that since they would not show the president, let them not also show others that could weigh in undue influence. That would only just be another way of ensuring we avoid “expo” and actually pass the test in flying colours. Again, since the NPC chairman assured the donor agencies are carefully monitoring the application of the various sum they donated, he could do well to also judiciously apply and monitor the funds allocated by the federal government for the exercise. Nigerians are really fearful of another jamboree.
All the same, now is the chance to hold our head high in the world and we should not bungle it. We know Nigeria proudly has the highest black population in the world and that one out of every four Africans is a Nigerian but how many are we? Makama, history beckons, please tell us how many we are! |
