- Census 2018 must be credible tool for development
AFTER many false starts, it appears all concerned authorities are prepared to deliver another population and housing census in 2018. It is expected to be conducted by or before April next year, a year ahead of the 2019 General Elections. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Census and National Identity Card, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, is convinced that a properly conducted census would greatly facilitate the conduct of credible elections in 2019.
However, two things stand in the way of conducting the census that was last held in 2006. The President is yet to issue a proclamation that would flag off the exercise, even though the National Population Commission (NPC) is set to conduct the third phase of the enumeration area demarcation from February 20 to March 10. The second clog in the wheel is funding. It was the reason the headcount was postponed in 2011, 2016 and shifted from 2017 to 2018.
The commission’s chairman, Chief Eze Duruiheoma, told equally concerned senators that he was not yet certain it would be held as scheduled since fund has not been released. He said a meagre N4.4 billion was made available last year, while pointing out that the exercise would gulp about N222 billion if it is to be credible. He said the pre-census exercise, including the mapping of demarcation areas would cost N94 billion, and the census proper N120 billion. After the exercise, the commission’s boss said it would cost another N8 billion to desegregate and break the figures down for development planners.
We commend the Federal Government for releasing the N777 million needed for this phase of the demarcation, but warn that it would all come to nought if adequate provision is not made for other components of the census. We are not unmindful of the prevailing economic climate in the country, but the government, various agencies and international partners need reliable statistics to intervene in the various sectors if the nation is to successfully weather the storm.
Recruitment and training of ad hoc staff is very important. This cannot be done when the exercise is at hand, otherwise the fiasco that greeted elections would be invited to the 2018 census. Besides, enlightenment is essential if the people are to divorce census from partisan politics, especially now that another General Election is by the corner.
The commission has proposed amendment of the extant laws, arguing that they are inadequate for this age and time. The lawmakers should urgently look into this. The National Census Tribunal should be constituted before this year runs out and those who might have aided falsification of returns in the 2006 exercise should be prosecuted to drive home the point that it is not business as usual. We endorse the plan by the commission to deploy technology in conducting the exercise. As Mr. Duruiheoma pointed out, the use of biometrics has become inevitable if the quagmire that attended the previous exercises since 1921 is to be avoided. If the technology could be deployed for accreditation at the polling units in elections, in the banks and in capturing data for the driver’s licence and international passport, there is no reason why it should be avoided in counting Nigerians.
We also support the bid to employ high resolution satellite imagery in the demarcation exercise. President Muhammadu Buhari should do the needful now if 2018 is not to become unrealistic once again. The actual census depends to a large extent on what is made of the demarcation.
For once, Nigerians should learn the lesson of planning with adequate and credible facts and data. Only then would the subtle insult by the likes of Wolfburg Stolper who titled his book: Nigeria- Planning Without Facts be disproved.
