write an essay on managing population in nigeria

How to Manage Population Explosion in Nigeria

Nigeria as the most populous black nation and the giant of Africa is predicted to become the fourth (4th) most populous country in the world by 2050, with the population of about 400 million people. This projection is frightening as it may seem, but can be more devastating if no measure is taken and no plan is made to deal with the situation now. The issue is not that simple as it may appear, considering the youthful and productive demography in the country. A well thought-out and painstaking plan needs to be put in place to guarantee the survival and well-being of the nation in the future.  

Professionals, experts and intellectual heavyweights should be assembled and engaged with the task of charting a sustainable  way to manage the population growth without attendant negative implications. Though it is convenient to assert that population growth causes poverty and lawlessness, the most populous nations of the world, China and India, have persistently shown indications of economic prosperity, political stability and social tranquility over the years. In spite of the size of their population, they were able to achieve food security and steady industrialisation. The earlier Nigeria learns some lessons from them the better.  

 Nigeria is naturally endowed with a rainbow of resources ranging from huge mineral deposits, vast arable land mass, rich forest and bodies of water that crisscrossed the entire nation. If these resources are utilised by the rollicking youthful population, Nigeria can dwarf the Asian tigers to become the African elephant. Leveraging the regional, continental and international trade agreements,  the market base for made-in-Nigeria goods knows no bounds. This also is a great enabler of industrialisation, opportunity for massive employment generation, foreign direct investment attraction, and putting the population into maximum productive use. 

This status cannot be achieved overnight; rather it requires a gradual and conscientious process that requires discipline, superior intelligence, ingenuity and a well contrived plan of action. It requires strong political will, determination and commitment from the government as well as the right attitude from the citizens. Therefore, tackling the security imbroglio and the restoration of Nigerians’ confidence, loyalty and patriotism will be of paramount importance in this regard. This will give the masses a sense of belonging and motivate them to fully participate in the implementation of any programme the government rolls out. 

Investment and improvement in human development indices such as education, healthcare, agriculture and security form the basis for preparing the population for the future. The focus of the education system should be the contemporary needs of cybersecurity, nanotechnology, information and communication technology, biotechnology, robotics, nanorobotics as well as data analytics and artificial intelligence. The curriculum should emphasise the acquisition of millennium survival skills such as critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, social skills, writing skills, negotiating skills and entrepreneurial skills. And the education system should be properly funded not only from the government but other sources.    

The environment that is being degraded by the forces of climate change should be vigorously protected, and the agricultural activities massively improved and mechanised. There should be aggressive research works to introduce improved, high yielding, pest and drought resistant seeds. This will enable the farmers to sail against the tides of unfavourable environmental forces, for the attainment of food security and sufficiency in the country. All the nations that attained economic growth have agriculture as their stepping stone. It provides raw materials for industries, income for the farmers, foreign exchange for the government and generates employment opportunities for the youth.  

However, social amenities such as good roads, electricity, potable water and healthcare facilities also need to be provided in the rural areas to curb the rural-urban migration. This will open the rural areas for development and reduce the intensity of the menace of urbanisation; it can decongest the urban areas as people may start moving from urban to rural areas.  

Usman Aliyu Elnafaty,  DP21, Fadamar Jaji, Behind Federal Secretariat, Bauchi 

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The Nigerian population: A treasure for national development or an unsurmountable national challenge

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. It is equally one of the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) with very high population. Population growth is a very important element and a challenge in the development process in LDCs. The population of Nigeria is expected to continue to grow up to 239 million by 2025 and 440 million by 2050, thereby ranking it to 4th position among countries of the World with high population. This without doubt will place Nigeria in a position of major player in the global system, and more importantly in the African region. It is against this background that this study examines Nigeria's population composition by poising the following questions; will Nigeria's present and future population structure be a benefit or a burden? How can Nigeria's relative share of working-age composition (15-64) and dependents (under 15 and 65 and over) contribute to long term economic growth and development of the country? The findings of the study reveals that population growth is a critical factor in the development of any economy, providing workforce for production of goods and services to boost economic development and a critical determinant of the potentials of a country's investment. The study findings also show that continuous population growth militates against economic growth through inducement of poverty, falling medical care/services and environmental degradation, worsen resource scarcity in areas where a large proportion of the population already relies on natural resource-based livelihoods. The study argued that population increase is not a problem in itself to any nation, and that there are some impeding factors associated with population growth such as corruption, inadequate planning, inappropriate implementation of development plans, poor budget/implementation and complacency in developing human capital. These are issues that the Nigerian state since independence have continued to battle with which has invariably made it a seemingly failed state. The study concludes that how much any country can benefit from its population size is dependent on the quality of human capital. Based on the findings, the study recommends economic diversification, government empowerment of Small and Medium scale Enterprises, paying attention to human capital development and target-oriented education.

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LAPAI INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ADMINISTRATION2023, 2023

Scholars argue that high population growth creates pressures on inadequate natural resources, mitigate private and public capital formation, and redirect additions to capital resources to preserving rather than increasing the stock of capital per worker. Others point to positive effects such as economies of scale and specialization, the possible spur to favorable motivation caused by increased dependency, and the more favorable attitudes, capacities, and motivations of younger populations compared with older ones. Recent United Nation projection put Nigerians population at 216 million people. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the prospect of population as a potent instrument for Nigerian's development. The paper utilizes secondary source of data, whereas analytical method of data analysis was utilized. Inductive analysis from this paper indicate that population growth is a potential resource for socioeconomic development provided that the population is optimally utilize. China with its population of 1.2 billion was able to lift use its productive population to left over 200 million out of poverty in 20 years, and become one of the leading economies in the world. This study recommends that Nigeria should see population as a blessing that should be utilize for national development. Nigeria should convert its population from a consumption population to a productive population as this is the only means by which Nigeria can utilize its population for national development.

African Population Studies, 2013

Introduction: The impact of population growth on the standard of living is a major concern in most developing countries, including Nigeria. Nigeria’s unprecedented growth rate and current hidden population momentum are no longer issues of common concern. Any conscious efforts to militate against rapid population growth will improve the standard of living of the people and-this can only happen if the factors influencing population growth are known, leading-to-effective-regulation-ofpopulation- growth. In addition, to evaluate the impact of the population policy, promoting access to reproductive health services and to bring the problems of population to the Nigerian populace require thorough knowledge of forces influencing population growth. Objectives: It is against this backdrop that this study examined the factors influencing population growth in Nigeria. Materials and Method: The study made use of secondary data and variables such as population growth rate, GDP per capita, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, human development index, proportion-of-labor-forceemployed sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and Human Development Report (HDR). The study employed the Johansen Co-integration econometric technique to analyze the model specified. Results: Based on the analysis of the data, the study found out that infant mortality and maternal mortality rates have long run relationship the factors which influence Nigeria’s population growth. Conclusion and Recommendations: The study recommends extensive population education and improvement on the quality and living standards of the citizens among others. Keywords: Population Growth, standard of living, population momentum, Economic growth, human Development

The human race is faced with an increasing number of resource management and environmental problems. Population growth, particularly in the developing world, has become a significant part of these environmental problems. Simply put a major problem of lasting significance facing the world in this century, may well be the sudden and unprecedented expansions of its population. Studies have shown that the recent population growth in all regions of the world is the consequence not of increased birth rates per se, but of unprecedented worldwide decrease in the death rate especially in developed economies. (Ayeni and Adewale, 1996). Reasons adduced have been that, since the 20 century human race had begun to declare victory over famine-related and infant mortality problems and at the same time significant advances in public health and medicine have been applied. These advances, although felt around the world, did not happen in the same way in today’s richer and poorer nations. Death rates ...

Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 2014

The paper analyzes the imperatives of managing population in Nigeria towards achieving sustainable socio-economic development at multi-dimensional levels. Nigeria is acclaimed to be the giant of Africa and a major figure in the world development, but researchers reveal that there is a high fertility, mortality and migration rate which makes it difficult to achieve development. These and other variables if not checked can affect the population, environment and growth or development rate of the nation. The paper reveals that socio-cultural and environmental as well as behavioral activities and attitude of her citizens should be re-oriented towards achieving a manageable family size, which will reflect in the general population management in Nigeria. The paper further reveals that there must be improvement in primary health care services (and accessing of same) facilities and education especially amongst rural dwellers and their cultural belief systems, improved policy formulation and ...

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has a very high population momentum with an annual growth rate of 3.2 per cent per annum. This momentum can be a panacea for development and economic growth if well harnessed. The focus of the article is to provide an overview of population dynamics in Nigeria with a view to situating this within a broader context of contemporary population and development discourse. The article benefited immensely from secondary data sources and desk review of evidence.

African Population Studies, 2014

This paper made on analytic discourse on the implications of Nigeria's population structure on her economic growth and development. The method is descriptive, using previous works and Nigeria's census data. Attention was focused on the age-sex structure with the age structure attracting more abundant interest. It was found that since 1963, data on Nigeria's population has consistently posted similar trends in the age structure-a youthful age structure, with over 40% under 15 years, over 50% under 65 years and about 3% over 65 years. The dependency ratio is almost at par with the working population and the sex ratio equally almost par with males dominating from 0-54 years and females outnumbering from 55 years and above. The bulging youthful population without adequate employment opportunities and socio-infrastructural facilities has created large burden on the society. This excess youthful population could be turned into a demographic bonus or gain which could result to accelerated economic growth for the country if the government can engage the necessary policy measures and activities as narrated and recommended.

Introduction: The impact of population growth on the standard of living is a major concern in most developing countries, including Nigeria. Nigeria’s unprecedented growth rate and current hidden population momentum are no longer issues of common concern. Any conscious efforts to militate against rapid population growth will improve the standard of living of the people and-this can only happen if the factors influencing population growth are known, leading-to-effective-regulation-ofpopulation-growth. In addition, to evaluate the impact of the population policy, promoting access to reproductive health services and to bring the problems of population to the Nigerian populace require thorough knowledge of forces influencing population growth. Objectives: It is against this backdrop that this study examined the factors influencing population growth in Nigeria. Materials and Method: The study made use of secondary data and variables such as population growth rate, GDP per capita, infant m...

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The Articles published in this Journal are published under a CC BY-NC-SA license and is subject to copyright, reserved by the Department of Educational Foundations (with Educational Psychology), University of Lagos. All works (including texts, images, graphs, tables, diagrams, photographs and statistical data) may be used for non-commercial purpose, citing appropriately the original work.

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Population explosion in nigeria: causes, its effects on educational sector and the ways forward.

This paper treated the causes of population explosion and its effects on educational sector in Nigeria. Various past studies by researchers and personal experiences of the author as a Nigerian were critically examined. Causes of population explosion and its effects on educational sector were fully discussed. The paper went further to propose the various measures to be put in place to control the incoming birth rate by the Federal Government and Nigerians themselves. Among the proposed measures to control population explosion were executive and legislation policies, sex education and among others. The paper concluded that since the Federal Government is desirous to eliminate poverty, hunger, illiteracy, diseases and to provide effective food, healthcare and education to our future generations, then, the government should take the drastic steps to implement the stated measures.

Keywords : Birth rate, Causes, Educational Sector, Effects, Population Explosion, Solutions.

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