BY: WISDOM NDISIKA.
Nigeria as a nation has been bedeviled with the issue of high population since its inception till date. The situation was intensified under the military government led by Ibrahim Babagidan Badamosi. There were commissions set to regulate the number of children parents should give birth to as in the case of China.
Though, the idea wasn’t successful as many Nigerians kicked against it, The Courage.
Today, the projection of the United Nations data on July 1st 2023 shows that Nigeria has population of 224,588,394. Economist advocates that when an individual’s expenditure get higher than his income, poverty becomes inevitable.
Family size simply means the total number of persons within a household. There are basically two types of family size as such, it’s normal for parents to give birth to only the number of children they can cater for.
When a family gives birth to more than what they can manage, they are many chances that some of these children may turn out to be street urchins, illiterates, and constitute nuisance to the society.
Historically, our ancestors adopt large family due to it’s benefit such as to increase the family’s labour force, for protection, fear or death, quest for a male child among others. The truth is that the world is developing and the above factors have become archaic and delusional argument.
The dysfunction of adopting large family size is such that it increases the rate of unemployment in the society, opportunity imbalance, and unhealthy competition among others.
Meanwhile, Muslim, Christian and even African Traditionalist believe that children are naturally favor and blessing to mankind. The writer is not debunking such assertion but rather stressing that it is a big crime for couple to give birth to a large number of children they can’t take care of.
A parent may decide to train few of their children in school and pay little or no concern on others due to their financial capability. It is hazardous hence, the untrained ones may feel cheated and therefore pave way for disunity. Such children are like vulnerable ticking time bomb waiting for any slightest chance to engage in deviant behavior or been use as instrument against good governance. It is therefore requisite for parents to sit together, plan on the number of children they will bear as a couple in order to placate the menace and the unemployment rate that is bedeviling our dear nation.
