• Main News
  • About Us
  • Contact
Premium Times Opinion
Friday, August 19, 2022
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight
No Result
View All Result
Premium Times Opinion
Home Columns

Africa’s Population Explosion: A Ticking Time Bomb, By Ebere Onwudiwe

by Premium Times
June 1, 2020
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

Policymakers on the continent should know that our current population explosion is bad news. That it is a time bomb, ready to be detonated by a palpable youth bulge that is already fuelling insecurity in some countries.


In a clear “Africa Day 2020,” message last Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari warned fellow African leaders that there will be no development, without peace, on the continent. He is perfectly right. But the elephant in the room of Africa’s development discourse is its population. How in the world are we going to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 without controlling population growth?

It is not that population growth has only adverse effects on development and human welfare, we know that it can hinder improvements in both, which was why in 1979, the Chinese government implemented a historic population control policy of one child per family, complete with birth control programmes. Chinese families were even offered economic incentives to have fewer children as well, of course as a coercive birth control policy.

While I am not recommending a one-family-one-child policy for Africa, there is no doubt today that the economic incentives aspect of China’s population policy is a good development policy.

Should governments of African countries that are wallowing in poverty not see this policy as best practice? And should Nigeria, where poverty is most dire, not lead the way in this? As Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics’ recent survey showed, close to 83 million Nigerians are living in poverty. The question is: How is Nigeria going to pull these 83 million citizens out of poverty with population growth unchecked?

Nigeria’s population, for example, is projected to hit over 300 million by 2030. This is not right. It cannot guarantee a strong future for the giant of Africa, because as the story of David and Goliath shows, size is not everything. We must abandon this laissez-faire ‘increase and multiply’ population policy, for a future that we can live with.


Sure, the government is trying through a variety of social investments to rescue some Nigerians from the burden of extreme poverty, in which we now lead the world. Yet, as a matter of public policy, it has done little to address the centrality of population control. But the problems of a rising population and poverty cannot be wished away. Professor Okey Onyejekwe, a noted African expert on governance and a former director at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, was unequivocal when he said, “It is a delusion to think that we can address poverty alleviation or eradication without population control.”

Policymakers on the continent should know that our current population explosion is bad news. That it is a time bomb, ready to be detonated by a palpable youth bulge that is already fuelling insecurity in some countries.

The pyramiding of our human numbers on the continent is an urgent development issue. But foreign philanthropists seem to worry more about this than African leaders. According to a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation survey two years ago, an additional three billion people will be born in Africa by the end of this century, meaning that, according to Bill Gates, the continent will have to “quadruple its agricultural productivity to feed itself.” How are we going to achieve that?
This is the kind of thinking that Africa’s elite should note as another best practice. We do not have enough resources to feed, educate, and provide jobs for this huge future population.

Nigeria’s population, for example, is projected to hit over 300 million by 2030. This is not right. It cannot guarantee a strong future for the giant of Africa, because as the story of David and Goliath shows, size is not everything. We must abandon this laissez-faire ‘increase and multiply’ population policy, for a future that we can live with.

Ebere Onwudiwe is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Previous Post

The Central Bank’s Benchmark Rate and the Rest of the Economy, By Uddin Ifeanyi

Next Post

Governance Ethics: Any Lessons from the African Development Bank?, By Donald Amaeshi

Related Posts

Zamfara Gold As Commonwealth, By Zailani Bappa
Opinion

Sheikh Gumi, Governor Matawalle and the Sands of Time, By Zailani Bappa

February 2, 2021
June 12 As Democracy Day Needs To Be Reconsidered, By Bashir Tofa
Opinion

The Need To Act Now To Stop the Ethnic Conflagration!, By Bashir Othman Tofa

February 2, 2021
Kofi Annan: In Service of the World, By Ejeviome Eloho Otobo & Oseloka H. Obaze
Opinion

Biden’s Likely Policy Orientation Toward Africa, By Ejeviome E. Otobo and Oseloka H. Obaze

February 2, 2021
Agenda for ‘Born Again’ JAMB and TETFUND, By Tunde Musibau Akanni
Opinion

Oyeweso, A Celebrated Historian, Ascends the Sixth Floor, By Tunde Akanni

February 2, 2021
Before Nigeria Burns, By Akin Fadeyi
Opinion

Is President Buhari Presiding Over the Last United Nigeria?, By Akin Fadeyi

February 2, 2021
On A Soyinka Prize In ‘Illiteracy’, By Biko Agozino
Opinion

Obasanjo: Only Those Who Did Not Do Well Went Into the Military, By Biko Agozino

February 1, 2021
Next Post
Why Sustainability Professionals Need Due Diligence Skills, By Donald Amaeshi

Governance Ethics: Any Lessons from the African Development Bank?, By Donald Amaeshi

Ludo and Draught, ASUU Strike, and the Minister’s Leprosy of the Mouth, By Aliyu Barau

Ludo and Draught, ASUU Strike, and the Minister’s Leprosy of the Mouth, By Aliyu Barau

Editorial

  • EDITORIAL: The Urgency of Tackling Nigeria’s Second Wave of COVID-19

    EDITORIAL: The Urgency of Tackling Nigeria’s Second Wave of COVID-19

  • EDITORIAL: Unearthing the Cogent Lessons In the NESG-CBN Economic Policy Imbroglio

    EDITORIAL: Unearthing the Cogent Lessons In the NESG-CBN Economic Policy Imbroglio

  • EDITORIAL: COVID-19: Calling On Nigeria’s Billionaires and Religious Leaders To Step Up

    EDITORIAL: COVID-19: Calling On Nigeria’s Billionaires and Religious Leaders To Step Up

  • EDITORIAL: Bichi Must Go; Buhari Must Halt Slide Into Despotism

    EDITORIAL: Bichi Must Go; Buhari Must Halt Slide Into Despotism

  • EDITORIAL: The Flaws In Governor Emefiele’s Five-Year Plan For Central Bank of Nigeria

    EDITORIAL: The Flaws In Governor Emefiele’s Five-Year Plan For Central Bank of Nigeria

Subscribe to our Opinion articles via email

Enter your email address to get notifications of new opinion articles as they are published.

Join 526,543 other subscribers

Most Popular

  • Wasting Nigeria's Scarce Electricity, By Gimba Kakanda
    Wasting Nigeria's Scarce Electricity, By Gimba Kakanda
  • The Bad Consequences and Dangers of Adultery and Fornication (Zina) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    The Bad Consequences and Dangers of Adultery and Fornication (Zina) In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • World Teachers Day and The Position of Teachers In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    World Teachers Day and The Position of Teachers In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • Islam and the Conditions For Marrying More Than One Wife, By Murtadha Gusau
    Islam and the Conditions For Marrying More Than One Wife, By Murtadha Gusau
  • The Women Prohibited For Men To Marry In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    The Women Prohibited For Men To Marry In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • The Qualities of a Good Leader In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
    The Qualities of a Good Leader In Islam, By Murtadha Gusau
  • You Will Be Held Responsible On What Happened To Your Children!, By Murtadha Gusau
    You Will Be Held Responsible On What Happened To Your Children!, By Murtadha Gusau

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Podcasts

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

  • Main News
  • About Us
  • Contact

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Democracy and Governance
    • Bámidélé Upfront
    • Jibrin Ibrahim
    • Okey Ndibe
  • Economy
    • Ifeanyi Uddin
  • Issues of the Day
    • Adeolu Ademoyo
    • Aribisala on Tuesday
    • Dele Agekameh
    • Pius Adesanmi
  • Politics
    • Ebeneezer Obadare
    • Femi Fani-Kayode
    • Garba Shehu
    • Hannatu Musawa
    • Zainab Suleiman Okino
  • Guest Columns
  • Faith
    • Article of Faith
    • Sunday Ogidigbo
    • Friday Sermon
    • Elevated Sight

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
 

Loading Comments...