Recently, the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Eze Duruiheoma, while briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the upcoming 2016 National Census informed him that the proposed head count will gulp a whopping N273 billion. The NPC chief also said that N10 billion of that amount will be needed almost immediately. He told the president that the commission intends to carry out a biometric census which will hopefully eliminate cases of multiple and ghost respondents and at the same time make the outcome easy to audit.
We commend the NPC for trying to bring innovation into the programme by proposing to introduce biometrics into the exercise. We admit that census is an expensive venture even as it is very important for any country. The data provide comprehensive information on population growth, social and economic living conditions of the people in addition to being an essential tool for effective planning of government policies and programmes. But we are also worried about the cost implication of this planned exercise given the shape of the economy at this time. In carrying it out, we are not convinced that the commission must necessarily reinvent the wheel as it were.
We note that it is the duty of the NPC to, among other things, register births and deaths in the country, and also obtain and keep records of immigration and emigration. If, indeed, they are doing this aspect of their job well, then adding the information they have to what they can get from the National Bureau of Statistics as well as the biometric exercises by financial institutions and the National Identity Management Commission, will not only make it cost effective but also cost efficient. In which case, in our opinion, the N273 billion will not be needed.
Besides, we think that census everywhere is more of an update exercise of previous population figures particularly the immediate past one. The problem with population figures in Nigeria is that they are often always politicised and invariably controversial. Otherwise, the United Nations’ stipulation that census for countries should be conducted at least once a decade ought to be routine without requiring the kind of money NPC is asking for.
However, we are persuaded to expect that with a new government in office, this census, when carried out, will be acceptable to all Nigerians. There is no gainsaying that an accurate census figure will be to the benefit of everyone as with it, resources can be shared equitably across the country. The current deficits in almost all sectors of the economy – housing, education, employment, infrastructure, health and so on is because we hardly know as of certainty how many we are as a people. The nation’s statistics are essentially based on intelligent guesses and no government makes proper and accurate planning based on guesswork. In our view, while it is obvious that we need an up to date population figure, it must not cost as much as N273 billion.
