Amidst the prevailing poverty and under-development in the nation, the plan by the National Population Commission (NPC) to spend a whopping N273 billion to conduct a national census in 2016 is outrageous and scandalous and should be shelved. Census statistics are central to political configuration and socio-economic planning indispensable to national development. But to contemplate spending such a huge amount on a census is incomprehensible. The proposal is equally unacceptable for failing to recognize the existence of a subsisting census, and numerous identical and relevant data from which the national population figures can be updated. The NPC should spare the nation another drain-pipe and find a more cost-effective way of conducting the census.
It is just as well that President Buhari has directed government agencies to harmonize biometric data collection to avoid duplication. “It will be more cost-effective if you work together. It helps even the credibility of the election process, as Nigerians of voting age can be identified easily,” Buhari told NPC chairman, Eze Duruiheoma, who led other national commissioners to brief the President at the Villa. The President’s directive was against the backdrop of Duruiheoma’s revelation that the NPC needed about N273 billion for the 2016 national census, out of which N10 billion was required urgently. Duruiheoma told the President that the biometric census would eliminate multiple and ghost respondents, while making the outcome easy to audit. Fair enough!
However, the issue is beyond the national head count. Beside the outrageous cost, what guarantee has the nation that a reliable census will be conducted in a country where census figures are deliberately doctored to suit entrenched political interests? The President struck the right chord by insisting that the relevant authorities must create the enabling environment for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to become the true custodian of data necessary for national planning. To master crucial sectors of the economy, government needs appropriate and judiciously collected data. For years if not decades, the nation has been hamstrung by policy somersaults causing many to describe the country’s leaders as rudderless and clueless. This must change.
Worldwide, population statistics are maintained not by conducting fresh census at intervals, but by using available data to update and upgrade the existing statistics. In Nigeria, such data-base includes the National Identification Scheme, the National Drivers’ License, Voters’ Register and School Enrolment records, among others. Most of these data are normally deposited at the Federal Office of Statistics and other government agencies that at present collect biometric data, including: the NPC, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Similarly, the Nigerian Immigration Service and the vehicles’ registration department are also collating biometric data of Nigerians for international passport and driver licenses.
Most of the database needed for a biometric census in Nigeria is already available. The NPC should use the INEC election database, which currently serves no other purpose as a template. The commission’s challenge is to correct the discrepancies in the population figures of the various zones of the country. In 2015, INEC requested N120 billion to conduct the entire general election, which included a fresh voters’ registration of Nigerians of age 18 and above. INEC collated biometric data of over 70 million registered voters who were issued permanent voters cards (PVCs).That automatically forms part of the population database. Only those below age 18 as at 2015 need to be captured in the new census. The NPC should adopt large-scale data scrutiny and tabulation methods, automatic coding and non-keyboard data entry methods to check double counting. It is absurd to think of capturing the biometric data of every Nigerian all over again. To do so will amount to duplicating what has already been done.
It is worth recalling that in 2012, the then controversial NPC chairman, Festus Odimegwu, asked for N600 billion for the 2016 census. According to him, an “electronically conducted census would centralize data generated in the country as against the current trend where agencies of government generate data independently”. The NPC has not explained how it arrived at the N273 billion from the initial N600 billion; but it sure seem to be another attempt to fleece the nation. This must not be allowed to happen.
It would be expensive to conduct a comprehensive census due to the large documentation, staff, time and logistics required. If all this makes sense to the present government, this raises some bothersome questions: why is it so difficult for Nigerians to get accurate data about crucial issues affecting their country? Beyond the population census, the situation of the oil sector and the state of education are other reference points. Exactly how much oil does Nigeria produce? What ratio of consumption comes from local production vis-a-vis importation? There is virtually no accurate data to this effect.
Despite image-laundering studies carried out by sycophantic international consultants and other allied groups, the Nigerian oil sector has been yoked under the exploitative stranglehold of a cabal of scavengers comprising corrupt officials, oil marketers and international free-wheelers. So sad and embarrassing has the oil sector become that not only are refineries comatose and citizens subjected to the avoidable harrowing experiences of fuel scarcity, but also that Nigeria, an oil producing country, cannot accurately provide workable data about the exploration, production and consumption of the product. This absence of vital information is also reflected in education and employment. How many public servants does Nigeria have? How many graduates does Nigeria produce? How many jobs does this country have in a given sector of the economy? What is the percentage of jobs available in relation to the manpower produced? Has planning been based on reliable data and population projections?
The Nigerian condition as showcased by the logic-defying policies of its leaders, points to ignorance of information relating to the nation’s human and material resources. The time now calls for proper record-keeping, as well as proper data management. The President should jolt the NBS and relevant authorities and institutions charged with the procurement of data to get their act together to ensure continuous update and proper data management of all the tiers of government. The NPC has enough time from now to 2016, to build on what is available to get what is desirable. Rather than hinge the success of the census on expending an outrageous budget, the NPC is in a position to give the country a reliable census in 2016 without squandering scarce resources. That will be in the national interest.
