Over-Population, Threat To Nigeria’s Development

CHIOMA UMEHA Nigeria’s population is currently estimated at 190 million. Experts claim that if nothing is done about the unusual population explosion in the country, by 2050 it could hit above 400 million. Yet, Nigeria is special as it is already the most populous African nation and on the seventh rank in the world. If its population of 200 million people continues to grow at the current rate of 3.2 per cent each year, the country will have the third largest population worldwide with 411 million people by 2050. “Although Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, population growth is outpacing the economic growth and increasing the poverty risk for many Nigerians!”, explains Professor Robert Zinser, CEO of the Rotarian Action Group for Population and Development (RFPD). “More than half of the population already lives below the poverty line, while women and children continue to die from preventable causes.” In 2012, the government pledged to increas