By Helen Ovbiagele

There’s a proverb which says ‘when you’re dancing in the village square, it’s onlookers who can judge whether you’re dancing well or not.’

This applies very well to Nigeria’s situation as portrayed in the  article ‘Nigeria Tested by Rapid Rise in Population’ by  Elisabeth Rosenthal, which was published in the New York Times on April 14th, 2012.

The piece was about world population and the consequences of overpopulation, but with special emphasis on the increase in sub-Saharan Africa.  It says ‘Last October, the United Nations announced the global population had breached seven billion and would expand rapidly for decades, taxing natural resources, if countries cannot better manage the growth.

Nearly all of the increase is in sub-Saharan Africa, where the population rise far outstrips economic expansion.  Of the roughly 20 countries where women average more than five children each, almost all are in the region.’  It went on to say that elsewhere in the developing world, in Asia and Latin America, fertility rates have fallen sharply in recent generations and now resemble those in the United States – just above two children per woman.

‘That transformation was driven in each country by a mix of educational and employment opportunities for women, access to contraception, urbanization and an evolving middle class.  Whether similar forces will defuse the population bomb in sub-Saharan Africa is unclear.’

‘The pace of growth in Africa is unlike anything else ever in history, and a critical problem,’ Joel E. Cohen, a professor of population at Rockefeller University in NewYork, was quoted as saying.

The writer then focused on Nigeria.  She must have researched her subject very well, because she was able to give a fairly balanced state of our nation, and our living conditions.

According to Ms. Rosenthal, ‘Across sub-Saharan Africa, alarmed governments have begun to act, often reversing longstanding policies that encouraged or accepted large families.  Nigeria made contraceptives free last year, and officials are promoting smaller families as a key to economic salvation, holding up the financial gains in nations like Thailand as inspiration.

Nigeria, already the world’s sixth most populous nation with 167 million people, is a crucial test case, since its success or failure at bringing down birthrates will have outsize influence on the world’s population.  If this large nation rich with oil cannot control its growth, what hope is there for the many smaller poorer countries?’

It was a relief to read something about my country which didn’t have to do directly with financial scams, prostitution, rowdiness and drug issues.  The piece  was informative too.  I didn’t know that Nigeria has become the world’s sixth most populous nation with 167 million people.  Isn’t it interesting that it is a foreigner who can quote how many we are?

All censuses so far in this country have always been inconclusive, as some interest groups protest inflation of figures in some areas of the country, and there are accusations of other nationals coming across the borders to be counted.

Apparently, high populations attract more money from the centre purse, and are also useful for election results. It is impossible to strike an accurate figure each time, given the migratory habits of some ethnic groups, however, it’s nice to know that outsiders, at least, have a rough idea of how many we are.

A knowledge of the population of  any area – country, state, local government area, ward, village, hamlet, etc. is very important at any given time, because it is what will aid growth and development and adequate provision of  social services.  It goes much beyond the desire to scramble for money and political power.

If we don’t know what the nation’s population is, the government cannot budget properly and effectively  for provision of services.  There would always be a shortage of everything – electricity, water, transport, roads, education and health services – if demands are higher than what the government can provide.

Peter Ogunjuyigbe, a demographer at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was quoted in the article as saying, ‘Population is key.  If you don’t take care of population, schools can’t cope, hospitals can’t cope, there’s not enough housing – there’s nothing you can do to have economic development.’

Population explosion or not, the truth is that in Africa, we do love having children; whether we have the means to love and look after them well or not.  It is a status symbol. No-one is against anyone having children, but it is wise for people to understand the need to have just the number of children they can conveniently offer a meaningful life to.

Awareness campaigns on this should be intensified by the government, the media and the relevant NGOs, especially at grass root level. With almost a hundred universities in the country, graduates are poured into the streets every year to chase jobs that are not just available.

Any wonder that,  unwanted pregnancies, death from abortion, abandoned babies,  criminal activities, militancy, violence at home and on the streets, are on the increase?  Frustration from poverty and unemployment can trigger off any negative emotion.

We all are at the receiving end of this nightmare as increased violence/criminal activities are robbing  us of peace.  Due to the bulging population, many parents on the lower social level, often in overcrowded accommodation and unemployed,  are no longer able to care for their children, nor control them and raise them to become law-abiding citizens.  These ones become law unto themselves, and some have become a terror to their own families.

Ms Rosenthal’s piece, with some pictures, showed a few appalling aspects of living conditions in Nigeria, –  ‘..whole families squeeze into 7 by 11 feet rooms along a narrow corridor.  Up to 50 people share a kitchen, toilet and sink,  though the pipes in the neighborhood often no longer carry water’ ;  ‘In Ketu, Nigeria, a newborn boy is attended to by the light of cellphones; the power having gone out.’ ;  ‘at Alapere Primary School, more than 100 students cram  into most classrooms, two to a desk.’

Well, I don’t know why that family with the baby chose to use light from cellphones, instead of  the cheap rechargeable torches from China which abound all over the place, but the point there is the  dismal electricity supply in the country.

The piece says that ‘Internationally, the African population boom means more illegal immigration, already at a high, according to Frontex, the European border agency.  There are up to 400.000 undocumented Africans in the United States.’