Providing a temporary diversion from coverage of the menace of the Ebola virus, sections of the international media have by happenstance recently focused on a likely population explosion in Nigeria in the years to come. Headlines such as, “Nigeria may be unable to handle population explosion” indicate a prevailing school of thought.
This means that the coming demographic bulge has to be taken seriously. The best way to handle it is a return to planning. If Nigeria is projected to have a higher population than that of the United States of America by 2040 we had better begin to plan now for the consequences.
Planning now must focus on how to provide jobs, infrastructure, social services, housing, health care facilities and so forth at an equally comparable rate or population rate growth projections. This means that politically difficult decisions will have to be made.
The political establishment has to increase the productive base. This will start with a fundamental and irreversible re-direction of capital from recurrent expenditure in favour of production. The inability to implement to the letter the rather tepid Steve Oronsaye committee recommendations on the cost of the machinery of government shows that the establishment simply does not appreciate the gravity of the situation.
To cope with the consequences, there must be a re-instatement of national planning. Our institutions also have to be developed in order to checkmate corruption, nepotism and gross inefficiency. Education should also be made free and compulsory at least until the age of 16. For an educated population invariably lowers the population figures. The overall issue is not so much the population figures, but how to sustain an actively engaged population. You can only involve people by engaging them.
The projected population figures must be taken seriously. It must provide an opportunity to turn potential danger into an opportunity.