14th Annual Lecture of ÆLEX:

14th Annual Lecture of �LEX: Hon. Abike Dabiri, Mohammed Yahya, Nima Akashat, harps on sensitisation, awareness on tackling Nigeria's Population Indices

By Elizabeth Daraojimba

The 14th edition of the Annual �LEX lecture commeced with a "bang" on Wednesday at exactly 2.p.m. with insightful discussions by panelists at the event.

AELEX one of Nigeria's leading lawfirms, which has previously hosted 13 editions of its annual lecture, has as the theme for the 14 the edition in 2020, as :

"Illiteracy, Migration and Security: Nigeria�s Population Time Bomb*"

The Panelists include: Mr Mohammed Yahya, a member of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mrs Abike Dabiri, Nigeria's Honorable Minister for Diaspora Affairs, as well as A girl child advocate Mrs Nima Akashat

Speaking from the Economic view point, Mr Yahya projected that the country's population may hit a bench mark of 7.9 billion by the year 2050.

According to him, while the population of a country continues to grow, the perimeter of the planet remains the same and we must find a way to resolving this situation.

"Large population may be an asset but in a poor or developing nation, it may pose a big problem as it slows down development especially as you now find little economic goods being shared by a large population," he said

Yahya likened the issue of population growth to the situation of China yeas back, but added that the country was quick to execute a reform and transformation which has helped place them in check.

He said that large population of a nation may be an asset due to the size of its capital market but in a developing nation like ours, it may pose a great stress.

Yahya noted that Nigerias  Population since independence has steadily increased by a 2.5% ration from 45 million to over 200 million today.

Highlighting some of the dangers of large population he said that an unchecked population growth has serious consequences in a developing nation such as:

----A High level of unemployment,
----A weak health care system as well as
----A weak capital indices

He, therefore, underscored the need for a structured policy adding that Nigeria has the ingredient for transforming its population growth to becoming a belssing.

"Nigeria needs to think outside the box, and build a strong human capital base," he said

Speaking as an observer, Yahya also said: " I would say what is majorly needed is a change in our mind set.,"

Speaking on the rising spate of migration out of Nigeria, Abike Dabiri expressed sadly, how many people drowned at sea just yesterday, while trying to cross over to Europe.

She blamed the reason for such risk taking on a lack of awareness on the part of the individual, rather than on illiteracy

"So, tackling such occurences bothers more on information and awareness rather than illiteracy.

"Although, India has a large population, but today, they are doing more with themselves," she said

On the way forward, she posited that employment opportunities must be created by government for its people, adding that even where it is clear that such job opportunities may not be exploited by some individuals , it still needs to be created.

On the issue of migration, Dabiri-Erewa said :

"We cannot stop migration whether legal or illegal but it can be managed.

"Our population should not be a tragedy but a blessing but then, this depends on how we harvest what is a blessing to us," she said

On her part, a girl child advocate, Mrs Nima Akashat, noted that Nigeria has one of the largest youth population in the world but the problem stems from how this human capital is being utilised.

She said that sadly, these youths are an easy target for trafficking, adding that unemployment is one of the major reasons for increased migration by Nigerians.

She also blamed the country's rising population growth on the lack of family planning, adding that cultural factors also lends credence as to why people shy away from population control.

"All the talks and sensitisations on family planning is still on paper and not in practice ; as most Nigerians do not believe in having a limited number of children." she said

According to her, due to the absence of an NIMC database, it was difficult to ensure easy distribution of pallatives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We live our people vulnerable when we refuse to take decisions and one of this decisions is placing a limit on the number of children per household."

According to her, we have devalued our people so much that the values for which Africa is known for are being compromised by same people who should know better,"

She, therefore, recommended
 "We need to have top conversation and talks about family planning and population control"

LawParliament reports that at the virtual meeting,  polls were also taken on questions touching on the subject matter

Nigeria is currently estimated to have a population of about 208 million individuals.

The country's population is expected to surpass that of the United States of America by 2047.

The United Nations projects that by 2050, Nigeria's is likely to have a population of 401.31 million people! Indeed the country remains one of the largest black population in the world and is the most populous country in Africa.
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14th Annual Lecture of ÆLEX: