Yoruba Global Alliance said for a successful census, certain conditions – meticulous planning, including but not limited to cartographic capturing, enumeration of houses and other dwelling places, comprehensive physical counting of human heads all over the country and, of course, a huge man-power outlay – are required.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
A Yoruba self-determination group, Yoruba Global Alliance, on Monday called on well-meaning Nigerians, most especially respectable elders and members of the National Assembly, to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to jettison the idea of conducting a national population census in 2023.
The National Council of State which met in Abuja on Thursday okayed the census to hold in April 2023 after the general election.
The meeting was presided over by President Buhari.
Director-General of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa-Kwarra, said the NPC will conduct a pilot census from June 2022 after political parties must have concluded their pre-general election activities.
But Yoruba Global Alliance said conducting a national population census in Nigeria now is a recipe for more crisis.
The group stated its position in a statement titled, “Census, which Census,” signed by Dr. Amos Arogundade Akingba, President, and High Chief Tola Adeniyi, Chairman of Council.
The statement which was made available to TheNiche said it is inconceivable that any serious-minded government should ever consider human population enumeration amidst an atmosphere of unprecedented insecurity, mistrust, unbridled corruption, and pervasive economic woes.
Yoruba Global Alliance said for a successful census, certain conditions – meticulous planning, including but not limited to cartographic capturing, enumeration of houses and other dwelling places, comprehensive physical counting of human heads all over the country and, of course, a huge man-power outlay – are required.
The group which lamented that none of these conditions has been met said “the programmed Census is a mischief towards a predetermined end of imposing false demographics on Nigeria to the advantage of the Fulani hegemony,” and warned that “Nigerians cannot be deceived any longer.”
Yoruba Global Alliance, which said that census exercises are never conducted in a war situation, averred that, “We should admit the obvious fact that Nigeria is at war with itself.”
They accused Buhari of harbouring an evil intention.
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“There can only be one reason for this unreasonable scheming: come up with terribly skewed census figures and plunge the uneasy country to further confusion, infighting, insurrection and catastrophic implosion and ultimately full-blown Civil War,” they group alleged and implored well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the president to jettison the idea.
The statement reads:
Our attention has been drawn to a story making the rounds that the Caliphate-controlled Disguised Military Dictatorship, otherwise known as DMD, in Abuja is planning a population Census in April 2023. The story, which should simply die as an April fool joke, is said to be approved by the Council of State.
The Yoruba Global Alliance, a foremost Self-Determination Organization spread across the Globe condemns unequivocally this invidious and obviously self-serving political miscalculation and mis- adventure.
It is inconceivable that any serious-minded government should ever consider human population enumeration amidst an atmosphere of unprecedented insecurity, mistrust, unbridled corruption, and pervasive economic woes. It would be like a similar exercise conducted in 1974 which the subsequent Murtala Muhammed Military junta immediately jettisoned on assumption of office in 1975.
What on earth could be the rationale for seeking to do a national headcount at this point in time, especially amidst rumours and permutations that the Unitary government in Abuja may have other tricks up its sleeves regarding holding national elections slated for April next year?
The programmed Census is a mischief towards a predetermined end of imposing false demographics on Nigeria to the advantage of the Fulani hegemony. Nigerians cannot be deceived any longer.
Human population Census requires meticulous planning, including but not limited to cartographic capturing, enumeration of houses and other dwelling places, comprehensive physical counting of human heads all over the country and, of course, a huge man-power outlay.
In a situation where guardians and parents have stopped allowing their children and wards to proceed to mandatory Youths Service Corps outside their immediate environment, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homesteads because of pampered marauding human butchers euphemistically tagged bandits, where will the government import enumerators from?
We should admit the obvious fact that Nigeria is at war with itself. Census exercises are never conducted in a war situation.
More than 4 million Nigerians are scattered in Internally Displaced Persons camps all over the country most especially in the far Northern states of the country and Niger state. Who is going to count people who have been sentenced to humongous suffering by their own people in a country where suspicious terrorism holds sway?
There can only be one reason for this unreasonable scheming: come up with terribly skewed census figures and plunge the uneasy country to further confusion, infighting, insurrection and catastrophic implosion and ultimately full-blown Civil War.
We call on well-meaning Nigerians most especially respectable elders who knew Nigeria when it enjoyed a good measure of civilization and civility, to urge President Buhari to halt this unwarranted assault. We equally urge the National Assembly, the rubber stamp entity and submissive ‘ wife’ of the Executive Council to deploy whatever balls they have to stop this open invitation to anarchy. They should remember that posterity will reward them for their complicity should they fail to do the proper thing which is to stop this charade.
Student Organizations, Nigeria Bar Association, the entire Media Outlets, Labour and Trade Organizations and the entire Civil Society Platforms must rise up in unison to out-rightly condemn and reject this odious and obnoxious fraudulent scheming.
Finally, we warn those who are the puppeteers, the faceless advisers and mis-advisers to keep off and stop leading the government to a certain ruinous end.
Before the final breakup of the Lugard Contraption, which is certain to happen, and Indigenous nationalities go their separate ways as Sovereign nations, we urge this deadly Government to let our dehumanized suffering women, hapless children and millions of unemployed youths breathe!
E-signed by:
Dr Amos Arogundade Akingba [President]
High Chief Tola Adeniyi [Chairman of Council]