President
Goodluck Jonathan explained, yesterday, that the former chairman of the
National Population Commission, NPC, Chief Festus Odimegwu was relieved of his
appointment because of certain statements he made, which brought credibility
problem to the commission.
The president,
who disclosed this while swearing in the chairman and two commissioners of the
National Population Commission; a member of the ICPC as well as two Advisers at
the Presidential Villa, charged public officials to be mindful of their
utterances in order not to erode the confidence of the people in the work of
their agencies.
He said: “When
we have a country that the population is growing than the way our economy is
growing, then we must know our population figures, so that government at
federal, state and local levels will be able to plan.
“The population
commission is critical and you also have to be mindful about the statements you
make and that is not limited to the national population commission alone, but
to all of us who are holding offices.
“You must be
very mindful and not make statements that will create problem for the society.”
Addressing the
new chairman, the President said: “I dropped your predecessor because of
certain statements he made.
“He is a fine
gentleman, everybody knows him, very cerebral. But an institution like the
National Population Commission must be one that people will believe in whatever
you do.
“And if you make
pronouncements that will create credibility problem to that institution, the
best thing is for you to step aside for some other person to step in because
the credibility of that institution is critical.
“Perception in
most cases are stronger than real, no matter what you do if the perception is
wrong then society will not follow you,” the president charged.
Odimegwu’s
comments raised a quantum of dust in the polity with the presidency firing him
a query. He also received an avalanche of attacks from many northerners
especially, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Going by the
2006 headcount, Kano is the most populous state in the country.
During a visit
to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Kwankwaso
called for Odimegwu’s sack over his denigration of the 2006 Nigeria census,
saying: “We are not happy about that appointment and think that it was a
mistake. Festus shouldn’t be there in the first place…because he cannot be the
chairman of NPC and at the same time be attacking what his predecessor had
done.”
Odumegwu’s
comments belie Nigeria’s topsy-turvy experience with population census.
Acclaimed as the most populous nation in Africa, the true number of Nigerians
has always remained a matter of estimates. Currently, Nigeria’s population is
between 160 – 167 million based on projections from the 2006 census that put
the nation’s population at 140 million with the North accounting for 73.6
million and the South having 64.9 million.
Population
figures had always been a subject of mudslinging between Southern and Northern
politicians. For Southerners, the belief is that the population of the North
has been “over-counted”.
They argue that
going by simple demographic distribution pattern across the globe, population
increases as one moves from the hinterland (desert or Savannah regions) to the
coast. They wondered why in the case of Nigeria, the North which lies more in
the arid zone, is more populous than the coastal South.
For Northerners,
their extensive landmass and population must not be taken for granted, facts,
said argued that several head counts had confirmed.