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Census’ Further Delay Amounts To Waste Of Resources

Published

2 years ago

September 26, 2024

By Joel Ajayi

One year six Months into the government of “Renewed Hope“ coordinated by President Bola Tinubu has yet to announce a date for Nigeria’s long overdue, long-awaited National Population and Housing Census, which many believe is paramount to better national planning and exceptional governance.

The delay comes after former President Muhammadu Buhari postponed the 2023 census indefinitely, leaving the responsibility of setting a new date to his successor.

Despite pledging support for the census, Tinubu has yet to confirm when the exercise will take place, leaving key stakeholders anxious about the impact of further delays.

The last census in Nigeria was conducted in 2006, recording a population of 140 million. Since then, the country has relied on estimated figures for policy decisions, which has left many concerned about data accuracy for resource allocation and representation.

A year after taking over power, Tinubu is yet to announce a date for the exercise. Nigerians who know the importance of the census are bothered by the delay in the announcement of the new date. They are more worried that no provision was made for it in the N27.5 trillion 2024 federal budget.

Stakeholders in the number frowned at the delay in conducting the much-awaited census while many tag the delay as a waste of resources

Furthermore, information in the public domain shows that before the rescheduling, the National Population Commission had concluded the implementation of all the necessary preparatory activities. They include the Enumeration Area Demarcation, conduct of pre-test and trial census, recruitment and training of census field staff, procurement and configuration of Personal Digital Assistants, and the establishment of Information and Communication Technology infrastructure across the country.

According to the NPC, all the processes of the census are going to be technology-driven. As the enumerators are getting information in the field using the PDA, it would be transmitted automatically from the system to the server.

The use of technology would make the fresh census more credible, transparent, and acceptable than previous censuses conducted in the country.

The Commission equally conducted robust advocacy and publicity campaigns across the country, to sensitize Nigerians to the exercise. They were in the process of recruiting enumerators when the immediate-past administration rescheduled the exercise. Given that Tinubu promised during the campaigns to continue where Buhari stopped, many Nigerians, including this writer, thought that the census would be handled with a sense of urgency, considering its immense benefits to the country. So far, our expectations on the exercise have not been met.

Conducting a census is a capital-intensive exercise. There is no doubt about that. The United States Agency for International Development described the census as “the most expensive data collection activity a country can undertake, involving thousands of workers and millions of dollars of cost.”

The process of conducting a census involves many events and stages. However, in considering the cost and the rigour, we should also look at the numerous benefits.

The census is the spine of the national statistical system. For example, development planners need population information for all kinds of development work, including assessing demographic trends and analyzing socio-economic trends and economic conditions. Similarly, data generated from the exercise are vital to budgeting and the implementation, monitoring, as well as evaluation of the effectiveness of government programs and policies, including immunization and Universal Basic Education programs

Likewise, census data could be used for tracking the progress towards national and internationally agreed development plans, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, designing evidence-based poverty reduction strategies, and empowering local communities with information to enable them to participate in decision-making. In the political sphere, census data are used for the creation of federal and state constituencies to enhance effective representation in government.

Nigeria practices representative democracy and the constitution makes population a prerequisite for the creation of federal and state constituencies, which constitutes a critical basis of representation in the country.

The Senate and House of Representatives have passed resolutions, asking the Independent National Electoral Commission to carry out its mandate of creating new federal constituencies in line with Section 73 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. The electoral umpire has often used the prolonged non-conduct of population census as an excuse for refusing to do so.

In addition, data generated from a census could be used for academic research and feasibility studies by research and development departments of companies and corporate organizations, for promotions, programs, and projects. These are to mention but a few. Regrettably, Nigeria, the widely acclaimed “Giant of Africa” has been deprived of these benefits for almost two decades, as a result of its inability to conduct the census. The last population enumeration in the country took place in 2006. Since then, Nigeria has been planning based on population estimates and projections, using outdated data. We should also not lose sight of the fact that the last census was marred by controversies like the previous ones.

By international convention, a census exercise should be held in a country at least once every 10 years. The United Nations recommends at least once every five years to guarantee better and more current data. Nigeria held its last census 18 years ago.

Going by the UN recommendation, Nigeria ought to have held at least three censuses and should be preparing for the fourth one by now. We are, however, lagging behind our peers.

However, NPC proposed November 2024 for the census but is still awaiting presidential approval.

Experts on Friday warned that further delays could waste resources and impede critical national planning.

According to the information from NPC, the commission is “99 percent ready” to carry out the census.

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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