By Iliya Kure
A Commissioner at Nigeria’s National Population Commission (NPC), Dr. Mohammed Abdulmalik Durunguwa, says Nigeria is on its way to becoming the most populous country in the world by 2050, unless deliberate plans are put in place to check the trend.
Durunguwa, currently vying for Governorship position in Kaduna State, stated this last weekend, in a chat at the breaking of Ramadan fast he organised for journalists in Kaduna, added that any country’s leadership claiming ignorant of such population explosion is not fit to be one.
“It as a time bomb waiting to explode,” he said.
According to him, the country’s population is currently growing beyond the geometrical progression compared to available resources, attributing it to the different crisis in Nigeria.
He added that until Nigeria changed the narratives beyond religion, ethnicity and focused on who they’re, there’ll be no lasting solution to the country’s multiple challenges.
Durunguwa said, “Honestly speaking we have to change our narratives, look beyond our religion, ethnicity and focus more on who we are rather than our differences, am telling you by doing this, we will find solution to the problems of Nigeria. Let us begin to look at ourselves as Human being and that is what will move all of us forward.
“The National Population Commission where I belong to or my primary assignment now, which I will sooner or later quit from it is trying to do its best with the brain of the new commissioners we have that President Muhammadu Buhari sworn into office and with our National Chairman I am telling you that we are doing whatever is humanly possible to change the narrative for Nigerians because if we don’t know how many we are, we will never get it right.
“Another huge challenge we have at hand as a Nation is our population. We are doing everything possible at the national population Commission to change our narratives else in 2050 if we are not careful, Nigeria will become the most populous country in the world because Nigeria’s population is growing more than geometrics, compared to the resources we have and that is why we are having different crisis in this country.
“The Youths that are involved in criminal activities, like the Boko Haram in the North East, Bandits, #EndSars protesters, and IPOB in the South East, are all our children. This is where we begin to manage the kind of people we are. Honestly speaking, we should continue to think about this thing and I am telling you, that you Journalists, God has blessed us in Nigeria with good Journalists, who can write things. In fact, some can even write things that can turn this country upside down, either positive or negative.
“So, we must begin to send in the signal, so that all of us can be able to sleep well in Nigeria, and concentrate well, because if we don’t manage our population, to God who made me, I don’t know where we will be running to.
“Any leader in this country that is not looking at this time bomb that is moving in this country, wallahi, he is a liar, and is not a true leader, such don’t even know what he is doing.
“All this nonsense that is happening in Nigeria, .it can be stopped. But we need sincere leaders, honest Leaders. If we don’t have leaders with these qualities, I am telling you these things will not stop.
“And most of our leaders, including we that are sitting here, I have come to understand that some of us have forgotten about the village. We ran away from them to the city and left them to their own fate.
“Nobody is advising them, as a result, they are doing whatever they like. So, we have to go there from time to time and correct whatever that is going wrong. Where I came from in Durunguwa, I can bet you, you can never see a thief. Despite all the threats to make our community vulnerable like others, we had to stand our ground because we don’t have any other place to go from our community.
“Every person in Nigeria no matter how big you are, find time once in a while and go to your root and find out what to do to make sure the people there are sleeping well. If you cannot do that, am sure you are not a leader yet. Most of us have abandoned the village to their fate, no hospital, no road, no school, most of them have scattered from their homes. Go to places like Birnin Gwari, you will know the importance of what am talking about.”
