What The Papers Say
Time for population policy
National Concord, Nigeria
At the end of its conference at Ile-Ife recently, the Population Association of Nigeria (PAN), called on the Federal Government to formulate a policy that would ensure a reduction in birth rate in the country.This call, which echoes similar sentiments expressed by Vice-President Alex Ekwueme, last month, and also articulates a muted but growing body of opinion in the country, invites the highest consideration from the Federal Government.
True, no one can say for sure at what rate the country's population is growing. But if statistics available from the United Nations and other sources are anything to go by, the tentative but informed guess is that it is growing at the rate of about 3.2 percent annually. This rate of growth, which implies that the country's population will have doubled within the next 22 years, is definitely high by whatever standard and ought to arouse serious concern regarding the country's future.
Even in the richest countries and under the rosiest conditions, the consequences of such a high rate of growth are not exactly heartening. Unless the growth rates of food production, income and employment opportunities are correspondingly high, such a rapidly growing population will depress income per capita, intensify the shortage of social facilities like health and housing and ultimately lower the living standards of the populace.
As this rate of growth may also result in increasing youthfulness of the population, it increases the burden of dependence borne by the economically active adults who then are reduced to a minority.
Moreover, in the choice of investment or development policies, this youthfulness of the population would compel a bias in favour of consumption and social services, particularly education, leaving relatively less resources for investment in the directly productive sectors of the economy, such as agriculture and industry. While it may be contended in some quarters that the country's assumed population density of about 85 persons per square kilometer lends no ground for despair about overpopulation, it is our view that the concept of over population goes beyond such a simplistic consideration as density, and more realistically involves the essential question of balance between the size of a population and its ability to meet its needs.
Under the country's currently gloomy economic climate, the end of which is nowhere in sight, there can be no doubt whatsoever that from family to federal levels of consideration, our ability to maintain this balance is now in serious doubt. We believe therefore, that it has become not just desirable, but indeed urgently necessary, for the government to evolve an explicit policy aimed at curbing the country's population growth rate. Beyond the vague statement of desires embodied in the Fourth National Development Plan, such a policy should of necessity, concretely stipulate the goals and targets that are to be pursued, the programmes under the framework of which the policy shall be prosecuted, and the measures of appraising the degree of success attained after a given duration of time.
An equally important consideration should also be given to increasing public awareness regarding the possibilities of family planning and assisting non-governmental organisations (like the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria) that are already providing family planning services in some parts of the country.
Finally, as the rationality of any country's population policy depends largely on the availability of accurate demographic data, the Federal Government should address itself to the challenge of providing such statistics for this country.
The tongue and the teeth
Daily Graphic, Ghana
The visit of Flt-Lt Rawlings to the Ivory Coast last Friday is a significant one. On the one hand, it can be seen as a continuation of the policy of the Government of Ghana to develop, strengthen and further the existing relations between Ghana and her neighbours in the sub-region.Indeed the seriousness with which the policy is being pursued can be judged from the fact that since last August, the PNDC Chairman has visited Benin, Mali and Upper Volta. Following these visits, Joint Permanent Commissions for Co-operation have been set up and some of them have already started working.
However the Ghana-Ivory Coast Joint Permanent Commission had not met since 1979, and there is the need to do this, especially in view of the economic potentials of the two countries and the benefits which co-operation in trade and commerce would bring to their peoples. On the other hand, the visit to the Ivory Coast is significant in two other respects. The two countries produce the bulk of the world's cocoa. In March next year, the Cocoa Conference comes on in Geneva, and there is the need for the two countries to get together and think out a common strategy to obtain the best returns for their peoples.
But this is not as simple as it looks. There are many self-exiled Ghanaians in the Ivory Coast who may want to use their stay there for hostile activities aimed at destabilising Ghana's revolutionary process. This would create unnecessary tension between the two countries.
Again the two countries have different political systems which may not be necessarily compatible with each other.
Because of this, those who seek to keep third world countries divided and weak so that they are unable to offer any common opposition against the unfair economic world order fan these differences. The result is misunderstandings and suspicions between the two countries.
We are therefore pleased to hear the assurance from President Houphouet-Boigny that the Ivory Coast would not permit its territory to be used for hostile activities aimed at destabilising Ghana's revolution.
We are also happy to note that efforts are to be made to reactivate the Ghana-Ivory Coast Border Demarcation Commission as a means of resolving any inherent difficulties in the exercise, for we dare not give outside economic interest any pretext for fanning our differences.
There is a lot to gain from inter-state co-operation between countries of the West African Sub-Region and it is the hope of this paper that such co-operation will be pursued and sustained by all for the well-being of the region.
