Below is a summary of the Presidents statement to the stakeholder�s conference held yesterday at State House:
President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that there would be restriction of movement of people for two days (Friday March 24 and Saturday the 25th) out of the five-day census billed to begin next week Tuesday.
He said that declaring all the days earmarked for the census as public holidays would encourage �census migration� as people would end up travelling from their places of abode to places of their birth, adding that the exercise is a test case for the country.
The President, who noted that some state governors have already announced the census days as public holidays and some are on the verge of doing so, all in their bid to ensure a successful exercise, has however, and appealed to the governors to kindly understand the need to restrict movement of people for only two days.
Speaking during the Presidential Stakeholders� Forum on the State of Census 2006 Preparations, President Obasanjo also emphasized that the National Population and Housing Census expected to begin next week Tuesday must be a success if Nigeria is to be taken seriously by the international community and make inroads in its development drive.
The President however, regretted that it is indeed disheartening that Nigeria is yet to have a true figure of its population and as such has found it very difficult to plan and ensure sustainable development.
While emphasizing that the Federal Government has always encouraged the National Population Commission to be transparent as it plans for the census that is just a week away, stated that �we are now in a democratic dispensation and we all owe it a duty to ensure that the 2006 census succeeds. The 2006 Census is a test case for Nigeria and we must ensure that Nigeria passes this test in flying colours�.
He also said that �in this modern era, it is embarrassing for any nation that aspires to greatness, stability, growth and sustainable development to be without an acceptable census figure. With the giant strides that we are currently making in all spheres of our development, we must make the census a priority�.
President Obasanjo also pointed out that �the smooth conduct of the 2006 population and housing census is of great importance to the present administration and to our future planning for development. Planning for sustainable development is not a game of chance but a conscious effort aimed at balancing the totality of human needs with the available resources. This requires, of course, up-to-date data on the total number of people living in the country.
�Good governance under a democratic dispensation must be data driven. Indeed, the relevance of the data to be generated in the 2006 census is critical to the reform agenda of the present administration in the spheres of agriculture, employment, water supply, energy, education, health and other facets of our national life�.
The President also said that �this leaves the Administration with no other option than to ensure that the 2006 population and housing census is not only smoothly conducted but that its results enjoy wide acceptability among the stakeholders. It is in recognition of this that the Federal Government has always supported the National Population Commission to conduct a truly scientific and modern census�.
COMMENT
This in theory should mean that if you have not been enumerated in the first three days you are not allowed to leave your residence for those two days up until the time you get enumerated. Evidence of enumeration will be indelible ink which will be placed on the tip of your thumb. Chairman of NPopC is confident that the police and security forces that will be enforcing the restriction would have been properly briefed to allow people to move about if they have indelible ink on their thumb. We will have to wait and see how this works in practice.
If staff are enumerated in the first four days of the census then there should be no reason for them not to come to work on the Friday or earlier. Apparently the enumerators will be working around the clock so it would be possible to get enumerated outside of working hours. If an enumerator arrives at your residence and you are not their he/she will leave a calling card with contact details etc which should enable you in theory to agree a mutually convenient time to be enumerated. How this will work in practice I guess we will find out next week.
We will continue to monitor developments and report when we have any further information.