World Population Day: NPC Identifies Population Explosion As Threat To Unemployment, Security

By Ayobami Agboola

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world  to mark the World Population Day, the Chairman, National Population Commission, (NPC), Chief Eze Duruiheoma has described high rate of child birth as one of the factor responsible for the menace of unemployment in the country.

Chief Duruiheoma represented by his State Director, Mr Ayodele Onnikan to observe the day in Osogbo, the state capital of Osun also suggested adequate penalty for any parent who bear numbers of children beyond available resources.

Onnikan, who bemoaned the rate at which  crime ravages the society and the menace of unemployment in the country occasioned by the overpopulation posited that there should be a policy on childbirth management.

According to Onnikan, over population is one of the factors  contributing  to the menace of unemployment in many African countries, calling on the traditional, religious and community leaders to propagate the use of family planning among their subjects to achieve a healthy, prosperous  and developed society.

Onnikan said resistance to the family planning has  been deeply rooted in the cultural norm  and wrong interpretation of the religious injunctions.

He however attributed some of the crises in other parts  of the country to high rate of childbirth, saying crimes are inimically reduced in Southwest because of moderate population.

“It is incumbent upon every parent to control their birthrate in akin to their wealth. Family planning and birth spacing is the first and the right step to population management central to saving the lives of women and adolescent girls; to enhace womens empowerment.  Key to poverty reduction; partway to achieving demography dividend, fundamental for realising 2030 agenda for sustainable Development and Strategy for National progress.

“Accordingly, accessibility, affordability of accountability, availabilty of quality and safe full range of family planning, product/servises, distribution and Timely Delivery at convinient locations guided by equality and non discrimination through innovative technology and sin-qua-non for excercising this Basic Human Right. “

Speaking on the significant of the day, Onnikan said the “day provides an opportunity for us as a nation to reflect on effort made over the five decades to empower the relivant population group to excercse this right.”

According to him, this year theme “Family Planning as a Human Right” go along way with commission bid to educate the people on the need to important of childbirth rate.

“Basic human right to reproductive choice encompasses two other human right. Right to imformation about and access to intraception , education and the means to determine the number and spacing of children, and right decide freely the number and spacing the children without coerson or compulsion and discrimination.”

“The extent to which this right is promoted and excersiced explained the impact of fertility of social welbeing of the population , particularly of women, adolescent girls/ Yong people   and infant”

“The present situation in which access to family planning information and services limited is unacceptable and definitely counterproductive to our march towards suitable development.

“In spite of the immense benefits of family planning and child spacing to the individuals and the nation, there are still wide unmet needs globally and nationally.