U.N. Complains World Has Too Many Nigerians

Women queue to cast their vote during the Osun State gubernatorial election in Ede, in the
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John Hayward

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released a report with great fanfare on Tuesday that estimated the world’s population has passed 8 billion, with most of the growth occurring in low-income regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

The U.N. specifically advised Nigeria to bring its explosive population growth under control, arguing that its economy and health services cannot sustain such a large population.

The Nigerian capital city of Abuja hosted the UNFPA conference where the latest population report was introduced. Speakers at the conference noted declining birth rates in many demographics but said advances in medicine are dramatically reducing mortality rates, enabling the world population to grow from 7 to 8 billion in just 11 years.

According to UNFPA’s estimates, sub-Saharan Africa will account for over half of global population growth by 2050. Nigeria is the most heavily populated nation in Africa and the sixth most populous in the world. By 2050, it will be in third place globally.

UNFPA observed that Nigerian fertility rates declined over the past decade, but are still among the highest in the world at 5.25 births per woman. Sub-Saharan countries have very high rates of teen pregnancy and child marriage, with some regions marrying off 40 percent of girls before they reach 18 years of age, according to U.N. estimates.

The global average as of 2020 was 2.39 births per woman. The highest rate in the world is currently Niger, with a rate of 6.8 births. The top ten highest birth rates in the world are all found in African countries.

The U.N. recommended more money for contraception and family planning in Nigeria, increasing spending to at least $35 million per year.

The Premium Times of Nigeria noted last week that access to contraceptives has improved in recent years, but women can still be harassed and even arrested for buying emergency contraceptives without prescriptions.

“When a guy walks into a pharmacy to get a condom, everyone looks at him as a big boy. But if a woman tries such, she is a prostitute,” said reproductive health specialist Dare Olagoke-Adaramoye.

The Premium Times recounted the experience of Princess-Ekwi Ajide, executive director for a foundation that helps abused women, helping to report a rape case to a female police officer who assumed Ajide herself was the victim.

“Look at what you’re wearing to report a case. Why wouldn’t they rape you?” the officer said, even though Ajide was dressed modestly.

“One of the things that concerns us as the U.N. is that this progress is not received equally across board. There are some citizens within countries who are denied access to basic healthcare, education, the whole overall quality of life is affected negatively. We see this as an opportunity for the global community to come together to see that 8 billion of us have quality life,” said Erika Goldson, Nigeria’s deputy representative to UNFPA. 

The World Bank projected in March that Nigeria would have 95.1 million citizens living in poverty by the end of 2022, against a total population of 216 million. At least five million more were pushed over the poverty line by the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic, strongly disputing President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims to have lifted over 10 million Nigerians out of poverty over the past two years.

The World Bank critiqued Nigeria’s economy for being too heavily dependent on oil, a highly volatile product that does not create a large number of jobs for Nigerians. 

“Any growth due to oil production would not necessarily be shared among workers and households: less than 1 percent of working Nigerians are employed in mining and extractives, with the share being even smaller among those from poor households,” the World Bank observed.

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