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TRIAL CENSUS: TOWARD A BETTER FIRST DIGITAL 2023 CENSUS

Published

4 years ago

July 5, 2022

As National Population Commission, NPC began the census dress rehearsal in preparation for the 2023 general housing and population census in the country Joel Ajayi takes a critical look at the impact of trials, commission preparedness, security, and importance of the population in general.

Despite the challenges here and there, the coast is now clear for the conduct of the 2023 population census across the country as the trial census began.

The Population Census, scheduled for 2023, will be coming shortly after the general elections, no doubt about it, next year will be a crowded season for the entire country.

A census is a procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population.

As part of preparatory activities for the census, meetings, workshops, and training were organized across the nation.

The Commission has done a lot to achieve this feat, it has carried out the Enumeration Area Demarcation which is the division of the entire land area of Nigeria into small unit areas that can be covered by a pair of enumerators during the census period.

So far, 772 Local Government Areas as of December 2021 have been demarcated.

Given the scope of manpower required, the Commission had to source personnel from outside the Commission bringing on board thousands of young Nigerians during EAD to enable the commission to have a better, reliable, and acceptable headcount.

On Monday 27th of June 2022, the commission took another bold step and began its trial census in preparation for the 2023 general housing and population census.

Their trial census would cover the 36 states of the federation and the FCT and this is going to be taking place simultaneously across the federation.

Also, six local government areas were selected from a state in each of the six geo-political zones have been full enumerated which include, Toungo Local Government Area, Adamawa State – North East, Daura Local Government Area, Katsina State, North West, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, North Central.

Others were Imeko-Afon Local Government Area, Ogun State, South West, Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State, South East, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, and South-South.

However, the importance of the census is endless and ranges from Knowing the size of the population; Determining the number of taxable adults; Forecasting possible economic needs; Determining the number of unemployed citizens, and the standard of living of the citizens in the country.

Another census advantage is to reveal the level of manpower; estimating the number of migrants and immigrants. Determining the population density. Providing social amenities as well as assisting the government and international agencies in helping the country.

Though, the outcome of the ongoing trial census will not form the basis of the 2023 census. Data generated during the trial census will not be used to arrive at figures for the 2023 census, which is going to be zero-based and from information collected in April 2023, but would go a long way to help the commission measures its preparedness, loopholes for conduction the better, accurate and acceptable population census come 2023.

The trial census will test all aspects of census operations, from planning to implementation including logistics arrangement and management, questionnaire design and format, training procedures, fieldwork operations, publicity, payment system, data processing, data tabulations and analysis.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Chairman, NPC, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, during a media briefing on the commencement of the trial census exercise also known as the “census dress rehearsal”, revealed that trial census is another key preparatory activity ahead of the census

He stated that it would run from June 27 to July 30, 2022, with coverage of about 7,718 enumerated areas.

“The population census is key to achieving national planning and consequently overall development.

“The selection of the coverage areas has been scientifically and purposefully carried out to achieve the objectives of the Trial Census.”

However, he applauded the support of the media for always disseminating information and Educating reports as well as in-depth reports on census preparatory activities which has placed the 2023 Census at the center of national discourse as well as mobilizing Nigerians for its successful conduct.

“As the Commission takes the next crucial steps towards the 2023 Census, the Commission will continue to count on the collaboration and partnership of the Nigerian media.”

He, therefore, appealed to all strategic partners to join hands with the Commission in realizing the dream of providing the needed demographic data that will facilitate and place our country on the pedestal of sustainable development.

He reiterated that the commission will leave no stone unturned to ensure an accurate, acceptable census that will be essential to national planning and development.

Also, NPC Boss tasked newly recruited enumerators to ensure accuracy in data gathering during the trial census.

Kwarra underscored the need for enumerators to be thorough, painstaking, and accurate in the data gathering, adding that accurate data would foster quality planning for national development.

He said the conduct of the forthcoming census will be digital, as a result, it is imperative for the enumerators to learn the nitty-gritty of the process to guarantee accurate data.

He said: “We want to have accurate data. Please, give maximum attention to facilitators as they train you.

“Get acquainted with these hand-held devices. Without accurate data, we cannot plan adequately in this country.

“Without census data, anything a country is doing is just to make up. This is why every country, including Nigeria, is trying to do whatever they can to make sure that the census process is efficient because the outcome of that process is going to sustain the country for years to come.

“If we don’t get data accurately, we will mislead planners. That is why it is important that we get it right.”

In her remarks, Mrs. Patience Mbagwu, Acting Director-General of NPC, reiterated the need for quality and accurate data, urging the enumerators to carry out the national assignment conscientiously.

Mbagwu charged them to utilize the 12day training period to get acquainted with the entire process, urging them to commit themselves to the success of the trial census.

She restated that a digital, paperless census would be conducted, just like their recruitment was done electronically to ensure transparency and promote merit.

Though all might be set for the 2023 headcount exercise, there are many militating against it?

The phenomenon of ethnicity and religion brought to Nigeria among other negative impacts includes discrimination, corruption, and politics of federal character.

Similarly, economic development and social and cultural development could be regarded as major problems in Nigeria.

Also, the security of life in Nigeria is nothing to write home about and for Nigeria to have it right, safety must be guaranteed.

Another reason to believe that records doctoring, Insufficient and Ineffective Census Educational Campaign and Falsification of Population Census Result: In the counting of population census in Nigeria due to past experience of the census conducted in 2006, the demographic data were said to be deliberately falsified, thus the population was exaggerated in the published results.

Meanwhile, early planning, proper organization, and deployment of modern and improved technologies for data collection must be adopted by National Population Commission

In conclusion, if Nigeria must get it right and plan with facts, it must get it right and plan with facts, it must strive to conduct credible and widely acceptable censuses in the future

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Business

Turning Africa’s Raw Materials Into Wealth: The ARMS 2026 Industrial Agenda

Published

4 days ago

September 29, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

For decades, Africa’s vast natural resources have powered industries and economies far beyond the continent, while many African countries have remained largely exporters of unprocessed commodities and importers of finished products.

That familiar pattern is now coming under renewed scrutiny as policymakers, researchers, investors and industrialists seek to change the direction of Africa’s resource economy.

At the centre of that conversation is the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026), scheduled for October 19 and 20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, under the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”

Organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the summit is being positioned as more than another gathering of policymakers and industry stakeholders. It is intended to provide a platform for confronting the structural challenges that have kept African raw materials largely disconnected from local manufacturing.

Africa has for years operated largely within a “pit-to-port” economic model, exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished products.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the event would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, technology providers and industrialists to develop practical strategies for transforming Africa’s abundant natural resources into industrial wealth.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply the abundance of resources, but the continent’s ability to transform those resources into industrial value, employment, technology and wealth within Africa.

Nigeria alone, according to the RMRDC, has more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while the wider continent possesses substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural raw materials and industrial feedstock.

Yet, the benefits of this resource endowment have often been constrained by inadequate processing capacity, weak infrastructure, limited technology, financing gaps and fragmented regional value chains.

From Dialogue to Industrial Action

ARMS 2026 builds on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from across the world.

The inaugural summit also witnessed the unveiling of the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034) by the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owen Enoh.

The roadmap was designed around areas including technological capability, climate-resilient processing and backward integration, establishing a policy framework for greater domestic utilisation of Africa’s raw materials.

The second edition is expected to move the conversation further by bringing policy, capital, technology and industrial stakeholders around practical mechanisms for turning raw materials into locally manufactured products.

One of the major proposals highlighted by the RMRDC is the 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.

The Council says the proposed framework could support job creation, import substitution, foreign-exchange conservation and increased manufacturing contribution to the economy.

Building the Infrastructure for Value Addition

The industrial transformation envisaged by ARMS 2026 goes beyond legislation.

A major concern is the “missing middle” between where raw materials are produced and where factories are located.

Poor transportation networks, inadequate cold-chain facilities, weak rural roads, limited testing and certification infrastructure and border-related delays can make locally sourced materials more expensive and less competitive.

Consequently, logistics and infrastructure constitute one of the five principal pillars of the summit.

The objective is to develop more reliable corridors connecting farms and mines with processing centres and manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing losses and improving the movement of industrial inputs.

The Digital Dimension

Technology is also becoming an important part of the Council’s strategy.

The RMRDC says it has developed the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), described as a digital repository containing information on feedstock deposits, specifications, production outputs and industrial absorption rates.

The Council has also highlighted its transition towards paperless operations and its certification as a Data Controller/Processor of Major Importance by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Such digital infrastructure could provide investors and manufacturers with better information about the availability and characteristics of raw materials while supporting more informed industrial planning.

Turning Waste Into Industrial Inputs

Another major component of ARMS 2026 is the proposed expansion of the circular economy.

The summit will examine how agricultural by-products, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass can be recovered and reused as inputs for new production processes rather than being treated simply as waste.

The RMRDC argues that such an approach could lower raw-material costs while supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient manufacturing systems.

For Africa, where industrial expansion must increasingly balance economic development with environmental considerations, waste industrialisation could become an important part of the continent’s manufacturing conversation.

From National Production to African Value Chains

The African Continental Free Trade Area is another important element of the summit’s agenda.

The RMRDC sees AfCFTA as an opportunity to create regional value chains in which raw materials sourced in one African country can be processed and supplied to manufacturers in another.

Under such a model, Africa would move beyond simply exporting commodities to external markets and develop stronger internal networks for supplying chemicals, refined minerals, agricultural inputs and other industrial materials across national borders.

This approach places regional integration at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

Bridging Research and Capital

A recurring weakness in many developing economies is the gap between research and commercialisation.

Innovations may emerge from universities, research institutions and laboratories without receiving the financing, equipment or market connections required to become commercially viable.

ARMS 2026 intends to address that gap through technology commercialisation and capital linkages, connecting research outputs with investors, development finance institutions and industrial off-takers.

The RMRDC has also cited partnerships with the Bank of Industry for commercial-scale post-harvest processing and a South-South technology-transfer partnership with the National Innovation Centre par Excellence in Shanghai, China.

A Larger Industrial Conversation

The scale of ARMS 2026 is expected to be significantly larger than the maiden edition.

The organisers project more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries and global industrial partners.

The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical panels, an advanced raw materials and technology exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.

The exhibition, in particular, is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing machinery, advanced domestic materials, green chemicals and engineered commercial inputs.

Beyond the speeches and exhibitions, however, the real significance of ARMS 2026 will ultimately depend on what happens after the summit.

Africa’s challenge has never been a shortage of raw materials. The more difficult question has been how to transform those resources into factories, products, skilled employment, technology and sustainable economic opportunities.

For Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the proposed shift from “pit-to-port” to “feedstock-to-factory” therefore represents a broader debate about the future structure of African economies.

ARMS 2026 seeks to place that debate firmly on the industrial agenda — with value addition, technology, finance, infrastructure, circular production and regional trade at the centre.

If the commitments and partnerships generated by the summit translate into measurable industrial activity, the event could provide another platform for Africa to examine how its enormous resource base can support stronger domestic manufacturing.

The message from the organisers is clear: the continent’s raw materials should not only leave African soil as commodities; they should increasingly become the foundation for African industrial production

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