Sustainable and Proven Solutions For Population Growth

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When it comes to population two things are involved. It's either a productive workforce such that population growth becomes an asset to the economy or a controlled birthrate such that population growth does not become overwhelming for the available resources.

Each government of the developed nation chooses either of the two to work with depending on their economic agenda. Unfortunately, when it comes to underdeveloped economies it becomes a problem of corruption and sabotage. Thus, it's a question of whether population growth is the problem or the mismanagement of resources and embezzlement of funds.

Another question becomes, if the funds from available resources are being utilized appropriately and spread evenly amongst regions, would population growth still be an issue? Certainly, with wealth creation comes productivity, and where productivity is present, there is human capital such that numbers become substantial, and quantity marries quality.

So it's not about placing an embargo on the number of children because this policy has a lot of loopholes, especially in Nigeria. For instance, will the policy be per couple or gender? How about regions like Northern Nigeria where polygamy is heavily practised and a man is entitled to four wives? There was a time when the enforcement of the Four Children per Household policy was quite rigid in Nigeria, but despite the effort put in, it did not see the light of day, especially due to the questions I have raised.

Moving on, we saw how the Chinese government, over the years, aggressively controlled their population growth rate, starting with the one-child policy. Over time, in 2021, they understood the role of population growth in wealth creation, and we saw them take a U-turn in relaxing the population control policy. I have even read that they are currently encouraging their citizens to have more children. It's no longer news that China is the new industrial nation of the world, and as such, its motive is greatly understood.

So for a country like Nigeria that already has a population increase, the government should be looking into investing heavily in industrialization and also ways to utilise its population growth productively. We need equal distribution of the nation's wealth.

Currently, a Four billion Naira monthly project is being awarded to an Ex militant leader to curb oil theft through pipeline vandalization in the Niger Delta region. To carry out this project, he created a company where he employs able-bodied youth as security to these pipelines and companies attached. Each of these youths receives Two hundred and fifty thousand Naira monthly.

To a non-economist, this is a good development engaging the population, but as an economist, my question is, is it a productive venture? Because certainly, all that four billion won't go into the project. So, for starters, we already have mismanagement of funds, which further aggravates the biting issues of overpopulation and available resources.

For a more suitable and effective approach to dealing with population growth, third-world countries should adopt the Chinese government policies in this regard. In the Nigerian economy, an investment in the power and transportation sector will go a long way in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

In the long run, the more FDI established in the country, the more positively productive the youth becomes and, as such, the more developed the nation will be.