The Yoruba Global Alliance, YGA, on Sunday, faulted the proposed plan to conduct a census in 2023 describing it as a self-serving political miscalculation and misadventure
In a statement by its President and Chairman of Council, Dr Amos Akingba and Chief Tola Adeniyi, the group questioned the rationale for a national headcount approved by the Council of State noting that the Census is a mischief towards a predetermined end.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a story making the rounds that the Federal Government is planning a population Census in April 2023.
“It is inconceivable that any serious-minded government should ever consider human population enumeration amidst an atmosphere of unprecedented insecurity, mistrust, unbridled corruption, and pervasive economic woes. It would be like a similar exercise conducted in 1974 which the subsequent Murtala Muhammed Military junta immediately jettisoned on assumption of office in 1975.
“What on earth could be the rationale for seeking to do a national headcount at this point in time, especially amidst rumours and permutations that the Unitary government in Abuja may have other tricks up its sleeves regarding holding national elections slated for March next year?
“The programmed Census is an ignominious mischief towards a predetermined end of imposing false demographics on Nigeria to the advantage of the Fulani hegemony. Nigerians cannot be deceived any longer.
“Human population Census requires meticulous planning, including but not limited to cartographic capturing, enumeration of houses and other dwelling places, comprehensive physical counting of human heads all over the country and, of course, a huge man-power outlay.
“In a situation where guardians and parents have stopped allowing their children and wards to proceed to mandatory National Youths Service Corps outside their immediate environment, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homesteads because of pampered marauding human butchers, euphemistically tagged bandits, where will the government import enumerators from?
“We should admit the obvious fact that Nigeria is at war with itself. Census exercises are never conducted in a war situation.
“More than 4 million Nigerians are scattered in Internally Displaced Persons camps all over the country most especially in the far Northern states of the country and Niger state. Who is going to count people who have been sentenced to humongous suffering by their own people in a country where suspicious terrorism holds sway?
“There can only be one reason for this unreasonable scheming: come up with terribly skewed census figures and plunge the uneasy country to further confusion, infighting, insurrection and catastrophic implosion and ultimately full-blown Civil War.
“We call on well-meaning Nigerians most especially respectable elders who knew Nigeria when it enjoyed a good measure of civilization and civility, to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to halt this unwarranted assault.
“We equally urge the National Assembly to deploy whatever balls they have to stop this open invitation to anarchy.
“Finally, we warn those who are the puppeteers, the faceless advisers and mis-advisers to keep off, and stop leading the government to a certain ruinous end.
“Before the final breakup of the Lugard Contraption, which is certain to happen, and Indigenous nationalities go their separate ways as Sovereign nations, we urge this deadly Government to let our dehumanized suffering women, helpless children and millions of unemployed youths breathe.”
