by Zirra Banu

On the public perception of overpopulation in Nigeria, there seems to be a common misconception: that our country is not overpopulated; Most of us refuse to believe that compared to other countries of the world, Nigeria is overpopulated. To the Nigerians who have taken in to this trending idea, here’s a wake-up call: It is. Our country is not only over-populated, it is hyper-populated. How else can a country of over 170 million people living within considerably less than one million square kilometers of land— 923,768 sq km to be exact —be explained?

The thesis of this argument argues that compared to all the other countries of the world, Nigeria’s population simply cannot sustain itself: monetarily, economically, socio-commercially and otherwise. This thesis also argues that Nigeria’s overpopulation is a major cause of its underdevelopment.

Quite honestly, Nigeria is one of the most grossly overpopulated countries in the world. Now, I will not waste your time with pointlessly fancy terminology and complicated sentences, (which also seems to be the trend with Nigerians writing on the subject) I’ll simply go straight to the point with logical reasons, data, and empirical evidence. We’ll start with fig. 1.1:

World Rank (land mass) World Rank (in pop.) Country Population Land Mass (in square kilometers)[i] 1 9 Russia 138,082,178 17, 098, 242 2 36 Canada 34,206,710 9,984,670 3 3 The United States 313,847,465 9,826,675 4 1 China 1,343,239,923 9,5,96,961 5 5 Brazil 205,716,890 8,514,877 24 68 *Mali 14,533,511 1,240,192 32 7 Nigeria 170,123,740 923,768 7 2 India 1,205,073,612 3,287,400 15 4 Indonesia 248,216,193 1,904,569 36 6 Pakistan 190,291,129 796,095

*Fig. 1.1[ii]

This data shows comparisons between the largest countries of the world; large in terms of land mass, and also population. Nigeria’s population has successfully surpassed that of Russia, the country that occupies the largest amount of land on earth. Put in scale, our entire population of over 170 million resides in significantly less than the area occupied by two states in the U.S.: California and Texas[iii]. Yes people, our entire populace is compressed into (more than 2,000 sq km less) area occupied by about 60 million Americans.

Opposing opinions might argue that Nigeria, an African country, is being compared to the U.S., a western state. So let’s put this in context: Mali. Africa’s largest country, with a total land mass of over 1.2 million sq km, is currently occupied by less than 15 million people. In Nigerian terms, Lagos!

Our land is clearly overpopulated. Now other opinions might maintain that Nigeria is doing just fine with its population; people can survive with the country’s resources (from oil). So we’ll compare it to another large country in with oil: Saudi Arabia. Both countries’ oil boom took place at about the same time, in the 1970s. The current GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of citizens living in Saudi Arabia is $24,000 while that of Nigeria is $2,600. And you can blame the considerable dearth in the financial wealth of the country on overpopulation.

And how about the effects of overpopulation?

The Economy Resources are limited. They will always be. An increased population puts stress on already limited resources. Basic economics. Development Relative to its resources, Nigeria is underdeveloped. The increasing amount of people place higher demand on the country’s underdeveloped state, heightening its underdevelopment. Overpopulation negatively affects development. Unemployment Because Nigeria is overpopulated, there are limited resources, and it is also underdeveloped, an excessive amount of people are unemployed. Many of them will not be employed, because our economic infrastructure cannot support our entire people. Even oil money cannot solve this. Rural-Urban Imbalance Our people move to the urban areas for employment, most remain unemployed, but remain in the rural areas, further populating overpopulated cities, putting tension on city resources and the environment. The Environment Every person on the planet takes up space. Every living person produces waste (carbon, and all) that causes pollution of water systems (Lagos floods), terrestrial lands (your local market), wildlife space, and also endangers wildlife. Socio-economic Issues High crime rates, religious wars, armed robberies, gang violence, high death rates, and much more. These problems arise from various issues, a prominent one being overpopulation. Health Overpopulation also negatively affects our health. More people produce more waste, disease and infectious outbreaks spread more easily and are harder to curtail Politics & Governance Believe it or not, overpopulation has negative effects on politics. Governing an overpopulated country is tough work. The economy is stretched beyond belief, civil and religious wars break out, and the government could essentially fail. *Ahem* Our country. Too close for comfort?

Now honestly, the analysis could go on, but we can no longer continue to be in denial. Our country is well overpopulated, and we are suffering the effects of it. A few might look at their personal situations and think: “Well, people might say we’re overpopulated, but we aren’t. I’m not struggling for space with people when I walk on the streets,” but as you go through your daily life, just think about it: Think about how you virtually have to play twister when sitting in a bus; think about how long you have to wait in line at banks and offices, and even in private hospitals! Think about how you or your cousin or friend has had to stand outside a university hall to listen to lectures. That, my friend, is overpopulation. And it affects every one of us. Problem is, we don’t even know the difference between overpopulation and precise population, because we’ve never actually lived in a Nigeria that’s been precisely populated! Since our independence in the 1960s (at about 60 million people) our country has been the most populated African country. We were, always have been, and always will be an overpopulated nation, (to the detriment of our society) if we keep at it. Nigeria’s population simply cannot sustain itself.

Understandably, the major (and probably most convincing) argument against the fact that Nigeria is overpopulated is that the country is underdeveloped. Other opinions argue that once Nigeria is developed, it will be able to meet the needs of all its citizens. This isn’t quite true. Proponents of that argument need to understand this: overpopulation is a major cause of underdevelopment to Nigeria, particularly socio-economically and politically. As basic theories in economics explain, resources are and always will be scarce. Too many people clamoring for scarce resources further limits them, and prevents them from being distributed effectively. Our government will not be able to effectively distribute resources if the country is overpopulated and working below the balance; but placing the blame on our government—stating that it is ineffective and corrupt and rotten—(which is, in effect, true) does not change the fact that our country is overpopulated, and an overpopulated country will only increase national issues.

According to Geoffrey D. Dabelko of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,

Current global population growth rates and consumption patterns are not environmentally sustainable because rapid population growth strains resources and contributes to environmental degradation. Integrated population and environment approaches allow governments to effectively address these at both a macro and micro level.

Our government has issues, but so does our social perception of the situation, with regard to overpopulation. Nigeria will be a much better place with a few less citizens clamoring for resources. The needs of more children would be met, equal education could be a possibility, and we could possibly live up to the potential of our vast human resources.

So how can we curb this population issue? First of all, we have to get real about the situation; next, we have to make sure that our citizens are making a conscious effort to limit the strain overpopulation places on our society and resources. It takes only common sense to understand that every action has a consequence. We all need to think about what we’re doing here. Children are expensive and living is expensive. Every living person will generate expenses to the state and to society: monetarily, economically, socio-commercially and otherwise. Now we don’t need to pull a ‘China’ and regulate the number of births per couple, but we need to understand the responsibility behind every child born as (and to) a Nigerian. Human activity causes overpopulation, and we need to take responsibility for our actions, or at least, control them.

And I’m not the only one that argues this. This article published just recently in The Guardian points out that Nigeria’s fertility rate is too high and nothing is being done to curb it. Another article argues that Nigeria’s conflicts can be linked to climate change, a growing burden on our already limited land and resources.

For this reason, Nigeria, we need to control our population! Let’s stop blaming God for creating too many kids! Nigerian adults need to come to terms with the fact that we have caused these problems (politicians and peasants alike) and we can do something to curb it (not necessarily stop it all together). Let’s start with tackling teen pregnancy and wedlock births, and let’s realize the fact that children cost a lot of money (to their parents and to society).

Finally, let us make better efforts to control our population growth rate, reconcile with reality and move our country forward.

Follow Zirra on twitter @ZazaBee

[i] Land mass includes total sq km, including that of water bodies (which humans cannot actually live in) [ii] Source: The CIA World Factbook [iii] Source: The US Census Bureau