Politics

Nigeria postpones population census 17 years after last one

Published

1 year ago

April 29, 2023

The Nigerian government has postponed the national population census initially scheduled to hold between the 3rd – 7th of May 2023.

The current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is set to hand over on May 29 and has decided that the decision on the census should be made by the incoming administration.

According to a statement by Nigeria’s Ministry of Information and Culture, the President gave the approval for the postponement after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.

Also in attendance at the meeting were the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami; the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha.

“The meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people. The President noted that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, the conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of ad-hoc workers,” the statement read.

However, the president directed that preparations for the conduct of the census should continue.

It is the second time that the exercise will be postponed. It was earlier scheduled for March 29, but was postponed due to the general elections.

Meanwhile, one of the major opposition candidates in the last presidential election, Peter Obi has lauded the decision to postpone the census.

“FGN’s decision to postpone the 2023 Population and Housing Census, scheduled for 3-7 May 2023, to a date to be determined by the incoming Administration is a propitious and welcome development,” Obi said in a statement.

Nigeria last had a population census in 2006, even though population size is a strong consideration in Nigeria’s federal arrangement, being one of the principles considered for revenue allocation from the national purse to constituent units – the 36 State governments, the 774 Local governments, and the Federal Capital Territory – Abuja.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

17 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.

Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.