Can the nation manage the population growth?

Population is the total number of persons inhabiting a country, the population of a country is determined through the census. Census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the numbers of a given population.

In 1960, when Nigeria became independent from the British government, the nation's population was 45.2 million but in 1991, when another census was conducted in the country, the population became 88.92 million which showed a statistics of almost 200% growth in the population of the country. In 2006, the population of the country was found to be 140 million, as of today, the population is
estimated to be around 170 million.

Indeed countries like China, India and USA are far more populous than Nigeria. The high population of these aforementioned countries is a source of strength to them unlike Nigeria where the country is struggling to cope with the population growth. The purpose of census is to know the total number of people in a country so that the government can provide the enabling environment for the citizens and non-citizens to provide basic and social amenities like adequate housing, water, power supply and good infrastructure.

In Nigeria, despite the astronomical growth of the population from 45.2 million to nearly 170 million in 2014, it is a shame that the government has failed in her duties to provide the basic amenities for the people. Since her independence, the nation has been governed by selfish and greedy leaders who put their personal interests before the nation. The nation has nothing to show for all the revenues accrued from the crude oil and other natural resources that the nation is endowed with. The road networks are nothing to write home about, the available roads are death traps to the people.

The health sector is in shambles, the hospitals are ill-equipped, also the welfare of the medical personnel are taken with levity, the educational sector is facing neglect from the government. The summary is that the government has failed in her statutory responsibility of taking care of the people.
 Corruption is the order of the day in a nation that is greatly endowed with natural resources. The nation is bedeviled with unemployment, the country keeps churning out graduates annually without jobs for them. The leaders are claiming that the nation's economy is the largest in Africa but what amazes me is the fact that our growing economy is not creating job opportunities for the teeming youths. Even the entrepreneurs are neglected, no meaningful assistance is rendered to them to enhance the growth of their businesses.

Furthermore, the duty of the government is to provide adequate security for the people, this is not the case in our country, people are being killed and kidnapping is the other of the day, a typical example is the over 200 Chibok school girls that were kidnapped in broad daylight last April. The country has degenerated into a situation where no one sleeps with two eyes closed, many people have been displaced from their homes.

In the health sector, the government hospitals are ill-equipped, they don't have modern equipment, also, the nation is facing brain-drain in this sector because the medical personnel are seeking greener pastures abroad because of poor working environment they face in the country. Since 1960, the nation has witnessed geometric growth while country's infrastructure is nothing to write home about. Also, food insecurity and malnutrition is ravaging the country which has led to poor growth and poor mental development of the children who are the leaders of tomorrow.

Recommended solutions

Birth control is a vital tool in the regulation of the population of the country. Birth control includes
family planning, the people must be enlightened on effective family planning system. The masses should be encouraged to give birth to the number of children they can adequately cater for.
In China for example, the people in the urban areas are allowed to have one child while those in the rural areas are allowed to have two children, I am not saying we should embrace this method but serious attention must be geared towards birth control. It saddens me that the infrastructure designed for 45 million people in 1960 is still available to the use of 170 million people. The birth control can be done through proper awareness of the masses.

Furthermore, the government must tackle the problem of infrastructure facing the nation, the task of providing of good road network is for the government, good hospitals must be built, the existing ones must be refurbished and equipped to cater for the health needs of the people, the welfare of medical personnel must be taken with seriousness to prevent brain drain in the sector.

Also, social security must be provided for all and sundry because everybody has a right to good living. The government officials must do away with corruption which has become a norm in the country. The resources of the nation is not meant for the selected few but for all. The national cake must be shared across all the social strata. I think the current population growth must be addressed to prevent a situation where the nation will no longer be able to manage the population because of the
problems related with population explosion.

Long live Nigeria.