According to history, a census was first conducted in the area known today as Nigeria in the year 1866 by the British colonial government within the Colony of Lagos. There were also decennial censuses conducted only for the Lagos Colony in the years 1871, 1881 and 1901, respectively. 10 years later, in the year 1911, the census exercise covered the Southern Protectorate, including Lagos and the Northern Protectorate. Thereafter, there had been a census in 1921, 1931, 1951/53, 1962, 1963, 1973, 1991 and 2006.
A census is very important because it enables the government to plan adequately for the population based on its peculiar needs. The needs of the disabled for example can be known with public policy being skewed in their favour so as to make life better and more meaningful for them.
Despite the immense advantages of a census, some unscrupulous elements in the government also manipulate the figures to give an unfair edge to their tribes so as to have more public funds to pilfer from via allocations and constituency votes.
It is a well-known historical fact that one of the reasons for the collapse of the First Republic was over the census figures which reinforced the numerical advantage of the then northern region with its attendant corruption and misrule.
The last time we had a census was about nineteen years ago and it is high time that we had another one.
The benefits of a census are enormous – it helps in the planning and allocation of resources for all sectors of the economy. The unemployment rate is so high and there is a clarion call on the small and medium scale businesses which is the bulwark of any economy to employ more hands so as to drastically reduce the unemployment rate. A census will enable the government for instance know how many businesses are in existence and tailor policies towards making business friendly policies so that jobs will flow.
A census will also help the educational sector as well. The government will know how many students are in school at any given point in time and how to tailor public policies to ensuring that they study relevant courses especially in this era of artificial intelligence that makes learning obsolete within the speed of light. It will also help the government plan the number of vocational as well as technical colleges that should exist. Take Cuba for example, whose highest source of revenue earning is her export of medical doctors to the rest of the world. The world felt the impact of the Cuban doctors especially during covid 19 when Italians were dying like flies and an appeal had to be made to the tiny Latin American Island for medical assistance. A census helped the government of Fidel Castro plan the number of doctors it would train and the incentives to students for becoming medical doctors as the government saw their training as a very viable investment opportunity.
A census will also help in healthcare as our healthcare sector is worse than consulting clinics apologies to the late General Sani Abacha. A census will help the government stem the tide of the ugly ‘japa’ syndrome and will ensure that all times, the nation has sufficient healthcare personnel to take care of the plethora of the country’s health needs. The number of trained healthcare personnel will be in the database of the government which will make the government able to adequately plan for their welfare. It will help the government get rid of quacks in the sector and aid the citizens in making medications more affordable and abundant.
A census will help the government better plan infrastructural development. It will know the number of roads to build as well as have an idea of the number of vehicles that ply them at any given point in time. In the area of housing for example, we will know the purchasing power of most Nigerians in the workforce and how many would be able to afford mortgages in the future. Homelessness will be better tackled as the census will enable the government better plan for the teeming population especially in the urban centres.
According to popular columnist Jide Ojo writing in the Punch Newspaper on March 12, 2025 ‘It is very heartwarming that President Bola Tinubu has shown renewed interest in conducting a fresh national population and housing census for Nigeria after 19 years. Recall that the last one was held in November 2006. It is also gratifying that the President wants the national population and housing census with biometric and digital components. Tinubu, at the February 24, 2025, meeting with officials of the National Population Commission at the Statehouse, said he would set up a committee to align the census budget to the government’s present financial realities. He said the National Identity Management Commission must be part of the review. The President told the delegation that biometric capturing should be central to the process, with multiple identification features, including facial and voice recognition.’
Tinubu rejected the budget for the census which in his view was humongous opting to use youth corpers for the exercise. The critical question to ask is are the corpers the best trained personnel for this all-important exercise?
I wish the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration all the best in its bid to conduct a census and I hope the figures won’t set the country ablaze with its usual controversy.
All the best Tinubu!
This is the opinion of the writer and not the view of this platform.
