AUTHOR: JIDE OSUNTOKUN

The chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Festus Odimegwu said recently that he would need N600 billion to conduct the next census. This is at a time when the Federal Government through its act of omission or commission has shut down all state and federal universities in the country because it cannot find N87 billion being demanded by the teachers. It would not surprise me if this same Federal Government finds N600 billion to give to the census body when you cannot ride on any Nigerian road without running into huge craters and gutters. At the end of each census, we come up with spurious numbers that are not believed by anybody or believable at all. What is apparent in Nigeria is not always real, it is the case of the more you see, the less it counts. At election times, small states produce more votes than states that are much bigger and much more populous if only to get their preferred candidate elected.

Apart from the census of 1956 which put Nigeria’s population at 32 million, all other censuses have been marred by forgeries. During enumeration of people, it is not uncommon for villages to contribute money to give to enumerators in order to boost their population figures and yet we call this a census. Enumeration of any kind in Nigeria is totally without integrity. When states are asked to come up with the number of school aged children, the figures given sometimes outstrip the population of the entire state. Any exercise requiring figures in Nigeria is usually manipulated because of the financial implications of figures in Nigeria. Would it not be better to save N600 billion and just get statisticians to give us projected population of Nigeria based on a baseline of 1952 and rate of increase at 3% per year or something of that sort rather than the spurious figures bandied around dishonestly by NPC?

Nobody can swear on the figures of Nigeria’s population. Today, we are told that we are about 170 million but I do not believe it. I personally do not believe that Nigeria is more than 100 million; the remaining 70 million are ghosts as far as I am concerned. The idea of population count every 10 years should be jettisoned and replaced by population count every two decades. The money saved should be used for development of infrastructure of the country. Imagine what N600 billion can do in the development of Nigeria. Odimegwu and his NPC should be asked to go on holidays and come back 20 years after the last census and give us the chance to use the money saved to develop the country. Census is about people and about development. Arbitrary figures are of no importance whatsoever to the development of Nigeria and if we need to take the next census, we should do it scientifically by calling in experts from the UN to do area mapping of Nigeria and to point out the centres of concentration of people through settlement pattern and then project the overall population of our country. This can be done through area photography without the arduous, primitive enumeration and money guzzling system Nigeria revels in.

We know that elections are around the corner and people are looking for money for election, but we can’t be fooled all the time. The figure of N600 billion for counting Nigerians, many of whom are poor, despairing and despondent such that they would take the money rather than being counted, if given the option is outrageous. There are so many outlandish things going on at the centre in Abuja; recently, the Nigerian Space Authority or something of that sort says it is planning to send Nigerian astronauts into space by 2020. When I read this in the paper, I just laughed that what a country! And I asked myself – how is that important to the ordinary men and even to men who are not ordinary? What direct benefit will sending an astronaut into space bring to Nigeria? Are we going to reinvent the wheel?

Countries that are sending people into space are already developed and have the basic requirement of decent living for their people. Why would a country whose people still defecate in the bushes or in open space and whose people have no potable water to drink or electricity to light their homes and power their businesses, decent educational and health facilities, efficient transportation system be planning to engage in the expensive venture of space exploration when the Russians and the Americans, the two leading nations in this area are deemphasising state participation while encouraging the private sector to take over these expensive ventures?

We make fools of ourselves by pretending to be a big power when in fact we are not. We should cut our coat according to our cloth and face the reality of underdevelopment and try to overcome it. This is the challenge we face, the challenge of husbanding our resources and embarking on rapid development, transformation and industrialising our country while we still have the resources accruing from hydro-carbon exploitation. Our mono-cultural economy cannot be sustained forever and in fact cannot be sustained for too long, we have only about 30 years to transform this economy or die. Future generations of Nigeria will not forgive us if we do not embark on the process of transformation right now. Unfortunately, there is too much politicking in the land, too much talk about election in 2015 when in fact nobody knows who would be around tomorrow. We need to do the first thing first, let those who are in government right now discharge their responsibilities to the electorate, fulfil the promises on which they were elected and let the future take care of itself. Nigerians are a long-suffering people and I admire them for that and there is even wisdom in being long-suffering because revolutions do not always pan out. It is better to be long-suffering and to hope for evolutionary changes rather than wish or engineer sudden changes. But sometimes herd instincts and mob mentality can push a people to the edge of a precipice when they feel that the situation is hopeless. We are getting to this point in Nigeria where the more we spend on power generation, the less power we get. For the past 14 years, power generation in Nigeria has not increased past 4000 megawatts and yet, billions of dollars have been spent on this sector without any appreciable change in our power generation situation. Electricity generation is not rocket science, other third world countries and indeed other African countries like our neighbour Ghana have managed to stabilise their power sector to the extent that generators are not as everywhere in Ghana as they are in Nigeria. Would it not be wonderful if the present regime can tell us categorically when every home in Nigeria will have power 24 hours every day? This is something that is taken for granted in most countries of the world even in countries where the frigid weather should militate against this. If we have a government that can guarantee regular supply of water and electricity, then we would know that we are gradually coming out of the stone-age in which we have been consigned by previous administrations. The needs of Nigerians are not many and not outrageous or outlandish. What we require are basic needs for decent human living and we hope and pray that one day, a government would come that would be able to deliver on this simple needs rather than giving us outrageous budgetary figures on space exploration and demographic enumeration.

http://www.nigeriaintel.com/2013/09/05/n600-billion-census-budget-outrageous/


Personally, we cannot continue like this. FG's biting more than can chew o, all this one that Atiku, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Maku, are playing politics, thinking and acting like they own Nigeria.
I'm not Hausa but Walahi, Nigeria will be worse than Egypt and Tunisia.

China

At today's rate, 600,000,000,000.00 NGN = £2,354,329,044.83 (http://www.xe.com)

Now pay attention folks...

China census could be first to record true population

It will cost around 700m yuan (£65m) to tally China's 1.3 billion citizens. But the government believes the survey is necessary to assess the pace of urbanisation and the needs of its population, helping it to plan for the future and tailor welfare and other services.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/china-census-true-population

East man wants to use 600 billion for census.
Jaguda baba ole

JonaDunce can always borrow from world-Bank ke!
If I call tribe na, some ijjiots will call their MAMA-NAMAS 'a bigot'!
Na so dem dey behave.

600 billion to show in transportation and healthcare, who needs INEC?

Who gave a HUNGRY, BIA****** REFUGEE-CORPSE this office?

JONADUNCE of course!!!! The BIA****** QUARTER-BRED!!!!!

United Kingdom

87p a year per person for UK census.

The total cost of the 2011 Census in England and Wales over the period from 2004/05 to 2015/16 is estimated to be £482 million.[19] This is over double the £210m spent of the 2001 census.[20] This breaks down to a cost of 87 pence per person, per year (over the life of the census – ten years). “The cost equates to about 87p a year per person, demonstrating excellent value for money. The per capita costs in the UK are less than for many other European countries that carry out similar censuses. In summary, this census will meet crucial requirements for statistical information that Government and others cannot do without.” Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Angela E. Smith).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2011

Nigeria needs a data base. This country self.

Enumeration of any kind in Nigeria is totally without integrity.

True talk.

Jesu!

You know I thot it was a joke when I heard Festus Odimegwu is the new NPC chairman.
This man is a first class money doubler and talking machine.

The way this arzhole praise-sang OBJ's name made me have headache throughout OBJ's tenure. He should have been a juju musician.

One thing we can't take away from him is that as he chops, he's good at getting the work done. So, if N600b is worth it...why not.

This time abeg, if we must count cows in the north...then S/Southerners must count fish while Osun state should go ahead and count goats.

Tenks!

Brazil - digital census.

$909 million, which is roughly £583 million for 201 million people.

It's a massive undertaking. Between August and November, about 225,000 census takers will poll about 58 million households—many living in overcrowded cities, others scattered in some of the world's most remote places. Each census taker will carry a handheld personal digital assistant, about the size of a smart phone, equipped with GPS technology. Data will then be uploaded to a national broadband network,

Brazil a High-Tech Force

With an estimated 201 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth most populous nation, behind China, India, the U.S. and Indonesia. The Brazilians say that this fall's count will be "the most accurate, comprehensive and technologically sophisticated undertaking," certainly since the country's first count in 1972 and perhaps in the history of census-taking everywhere.
Only four other countries--Oman, Cape Verde, Uruguay and Colombia—have conducted an all-digital census, according to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

Digital Census Advantages

The all-digital census showcases the country's IT sector. Bevilacqua said a paperless census provides these key advantages:

Accuracy: Errors from transcribing paper forms or using optical character reading software are eliminated because data is transmitted directly from the census interview into the IBGE's data processing center in Rio de Janeiro.

Speed: In the first 30 days of data collection, IBGE managed to count 48 percent of the Brazilian population, around 92.7 million people.

Cost: The count will cost about $909 million, roughly the same as if it were to be done on paper. But digital equipment purchased for the census can be reused in other surveys, saving money down the line.

Any disadvantages? Not really, Bevilacqua said. IBGE officials had worried that training people to use the new technology might be difficult, but "the widespread use of mobile telephones throughout the country has made people familiar with portable electronic devices," he said.

Source: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2010/ts_100410.html

This is little of what we should be doing to this polithiefians


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKW319SOzO4&hl=en-GB&gl=GB&guid=&client=mv-google

600billion!!

India - 2011 census

$350 million == £224.53 million for 1.2 billion people

Spread across 28 states and 7 union territories, the Census covered 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,742 towns and more than 600,000 villages. A total of 2.7 million officials visited households in 7,935 towns and 640,867 villages, classifying the population according to gender, religion, education and occupation.[1]The cost of the exercise was approximately INR2200 crore (US$350 million) – this comes to less than $ 0.5 per person, well below the estimated world average of $4.6 per person.[1] Conducted every 10 years, this census faced big challenges considering India's vast area and diversity of cultures and opposition from the manpower involved.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_census_of_India

It seems the predators have assembled to discredit Mr Festus Odumegwu as to continue the culture of census rigging and manipulations.

It will not work this time, we must get it right now or never.

Initial true census and credible national database will engulfed tangible sum of money while the subsequent ones will be cost effective.

Nuzo':
Jesu!

You know I thot it was a joke when I heard Festus Odimegwu is the new NPC chairman.
This man is a first class money doubler and talking mmachine.

The way this arzhole praise-sang OBJ's name made me had headache throughout OBJ's tenure. He should have been a juju musician.

One thing we can't take away from him is that as he chops, he's good at getting the work done. So, if N600b is worth it...why not.

This time abeg, if we must count cows in the north...then S/Southerners must count fish while Osun state should go ahead and count goats.

Tenks!

Im only aware he was in private sector previously hence he will be working within some framework with professionals and the scope for 'chops' is limited- BUT here it is on a national scale where he wont have full control and majority of theose involved will be from the Nigerian public sector!!! so chops galore and wuru wuru to the answer!!

Obiagelli: Abeg someone should convert this money to dollars na, the thing dey give me headache, is 600 billion not roughly 4 billion dollars? Abeg I no know book o

As at today's conversion rate
NGN600000000000 = USD3,669,724,770.64

Front page biko

Ngwakwe: It seems the predators have assembled to discredit Mr Festus Odumegwu as to continue the culture of census rigging and manipulations.

It will not work this time, we must get it right now or never.

Initial true census and credible national database will engulfed tangible sum of money while the subsequent ones will be cost effective.

I totally agree with you, the only way to get it right is with a southerner!! anything else na manipulation

Dis Guy:

I totally agree with you, the only way to get it right is with a southerner!! anything else na manipulation

So 600billion is what its going to take to make it right, when schools have been shut for over 3months because of just 87billion.

I'm sorry sir, but you must be dumb if you think so.

Obiagelli:
Omg, is this census for unborn children or every living organism

Dont you know they have to invent every single machine that will be used, eveything wil be imported including those that will do the sums -specifically from Overseas, the result will be verified by UN,WHO,AU,EU,ECOWAS

Obiagelli:
Omg, is this census for unborn children or every living organism

It probably could be for the whole of Human race

A breakdown of this figure gives an average of N660,000 per Nigerian!!!

If this does not reek of salacious bare-faced robbery,then nothing else will

No one is saying we shouldn't enumerate properly but to use this proposed census to ruin the treasury is to me the height of kleptomanic lunacy

Please respect yourself and add decency to your participation in this board.

Don't deceive and delude yourself by thinking that every forumite falls in the same category that lacks respect and etiquette.

Obiagelli:
CHOI WHERE IS MY CANE, in fact go and lneel down there.

Obiagelli: Abeg someone should convert this money to dollars na, the thing dey give me headache, is 600 billion not roughly 4 billion dollars? Abeg I no know book o

Obiagelli:
CHOI WHERE IS MY CANE, in fact go and lneel down there.

Obiagelli:
Omg, is this census for unborn children or every living organism

Dis Guy:

Dont you know they have to invent every single machine that will be used, eveything wil be imported including those that will do the sums -specifically from Overseas, the result will be verified by UN,WHO,AU,EU,ECOWAS

I know that the issue is very serious, but I can't stop laughing.

Omg, #600bn??
That figure dey give me goosebumps ooo....

Obiagelli:
Bro and not buying that crap, you mean other countries didn't buy new equipment, you should check the Indian example and how they did theirs. This figure is still giving me headache, i would post a link for you later, btw the way are they going to weigh us, check our hiv status, scan us for cancer and check our future?

Lool, its because of people like that Nigeria is what it is.
Mediocrity is a disease.

DisGuy is being sarcastic (how can they invent every single machine that will be used?).

I will only support this action if my advice is accepted. I, in my opinion will say that the population census thing should be design to in cooperate the data bank of all the Nigerian citizen.

And to achieve that, I will suggest that N200b be mark out for all the procurement of counting machine for all centers in all local govt of the federation. Local govt. should be able to handle all the exercise (as in all the staff).

Then, assuming Nigeria population is estimated to be 200m, therefore, when the remaining N400b is divided, I think each citizen should be given a minimum of N2000, both old & young.

Anything fall short of this, is a crab, and Nigeria should know that the PDP are at it again. I'm very sure they are either desperate for money for there 2015 campaign or, they want to mob up the treasury knowing fully well that they will lose come 2015.

Obiagelli:
Bro and not buying that crap, you mean other countries didn't buy new equipment, you should check the Indian example and how they did theirs. This figure is still giving me headache, i would post a link for you later, btw the way are they going to weigh us, check our hiv status, scan us for cancer and check our future?

Abegi those countries bought new equipment but WE the giant of Africa, We are going to INVENT ours in German Research Centers with World class researchers from China, Russia, Israel and the western world.

You have to appreciate the fact that counting people has never been done before in sub-saharan Africa; In fact research from Nsukka has shown that western countries dont get it right-they guess! The Commander in Chief will be the honorary first individual to be 'counted' in this country with his amiable wife Dame Ebele Jonathan in the Waterside Country home in Otupke* where the international media will grace the epoch making event- they might even call some international raggae stars to attend at various region of the country to promote this census

it will be record breaking i tell ya!!

In some countries will come and learn from us

_{pass me the bucket}

naptu2: DisGuy is being sarcastic (how can they invent every single machine that will be used?).

as if they want to count dead Nigerians in heaven and hell