A former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concern over the country’s rising population, fearing that it could become a problem if not well managed.
The former Nigerian leader stated this while addressing a mentoring session with students of some selected schools across the federation in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Mr Obasanjo was of the view that national development has been slowed in the country due to the geometric population explosion without a corresponding socio-economic development.
“We have moved from 120 million to over 200 million. We have added the population of France to our population and if we continue the way we are going, by the year 2050, we will be the third-largest country in the world,” he said.
“If we still continue, by the year 3000, we would be the largest country in the world. What are we going to do to handle that, how are we going to handle that population? If we do not start getting it right now, we will not get it right by the year 2050,” he added.
“Population by itself may not be a liability if we do what we have to do. But if we don’t do what we have to do which we are not doing now, the population will be a liability.
“What we need to do is education about population management. Some people don’t like saying family planning but, whatever you do, you must manage your population to the benefit of all that is living within your nation.”
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