W
|
ith Nigeria’s current annual Population Growth rate
standing high at 2.6%, it is a must that by 2100, Nigeria’s population will
have tripled the current value, making her the third most populous country in
the world, only behind China and India. Based on the common ideology about
Population Growth shared in Africa, it won’t be shocking to me if so many
Nigerians – illiterates and intellects alike – rejoice over this news. But
there are dire economic consequences which will dog this astronomical increase
in the size of our population, especially now there is a little economic growth
to cater for the increasing population. Many stakeholders still don’t see the
challenges Population Growth will put forth in the next century, that is, if it’s
left unchecked. Sadly, they still hold on to the old axiom that population is a
blessing rather than a curse. Of course in this scenario, it is not true. A
rise in the population figure, coupled with the current failure in the
country’s ability to produce visionary leaderships, will spell ruins for the
future generation.
Urban dwellers will be
more than 70% of the population by 2100, and to think they will be living in
unplanned cities and slums that will spring up in frightening numbers as the
years come and go. There will be no access to portable water or modest shelters.
Of all these Nigerian cities, Lagos will be most affected by Nigeria’s
unproductive Population Growth. With the population of the mega city projected
to be 25 million by 2020, and further jumping up to 85 million by 2100, Lagos
will be the largest city in the world 82 years from now. This will come with so
many disadvantages, ranging from an alarming increase in the poverty rate; a
complete elimination of the middle class, leaving a gaping rift between the
upper and the lower classes in the social strata; an increase in the number of
slums and shanty towns; pollution of the water bodies; inaccessibility to
portable water; heavy traffic gridlocks and perhaps the destruction of the
ecosystem. When I think about all these every day, I shudder in fear for the
grim fate that waits for the future generation. We should all be scared to
reproduce in a world that thinks little about the safety of the future
generations.
In
addition to the uncomfortable living, crude oil industry, which is currently
the mainstay of the economy, will have become valueless by 2100, with a
consequential result of more than 80% of the population living below the
poverty line. Only less than ten per cent of the population will become super
rich, controlling more than 80% of the national wealth. How horrible such a
life will be for the downtrodden. Is this the kind of life we want for the
future generation? Does anyone apart from me think of the unpleasant conditions
those alive then will be facing? Does anyone think about the high crime rate,
death rate, war, terrorism, among other scary things that await an innocent
generation? I guess no.
The
question now is, how can we steer this disaster off our path? We cannot
continue to hope that one day a great leader will emerge to put things right
economically, because there is none in sight at the moment. Moreover, it is
already too late to plan for 2100 when it is barely 82 years left. Even
developed nations that began planning for their future generations many years
ago are still worried about what the outcome would be. What then is the
solution to this worrisome future catastrophe in Nigeria? I dare to suggest, Population
check or rather in plain term, Birth Control.
At
present, it is not unusual to see a couple, living in a room apartment in the
heart of a costly city and earning a combined wage of less than a hundred
dollars monthly, to give birth to six children as if they are animals. I have
met so many of these persons in my life and when I try to challenge
overpopulation to their faces, there’s a common bland reply they put forth as a
weak defense, “It’s God who gives and takes care of children.” How can a man
earning less than a hundred dollars monthly cater for a family of seven easily,
considering the present high cost of living? Where will these children’s school
fees come from? Where will their clothing, modest shelter come from? Where,
most importantly, will their decent meal come from?
A
fight for the adoption of strict birth control laws, as practiced in China,
won’t be an easy task in a developing world like Nigeria, blinded by faded
customs and dogmas. Population Growth in Nigeria has the support of religious,
cultural and political sentiments. The political elite will be reluctant to
make laws against it because they gain from it during political campaigns. The
religious leaders are against it because they believe a deliberate birth
control measure is sinful to God. The cultural faithful appear even more
conservative in their defense. There is a Yoruba proverb that mirrors this stand:
“A man does not count the number of children he gives birth.” But how can this be valid in the fast-changing world, where resources are becoming slimmer
and rationed? It is time to give a new name to our future generation in terms
of Population Growth, at least by checking indiscriminate births. And the time
for this is now!
