Like many of us in the world today and in our individual countries, the last few months of this year have been very much a rollercoaster for us. Looking at the trends of the government and the effects of their decisions on the government, it doesn't feel like the interests of the people are at heart. I'm the people, at least, and it's been anything far from convenient lately for me, so I am now often skeptical about any decree they make.
When I think about the population rate of Nigeria, it wouldn't be a surprise if our government started to do something about it, and it would be totally understandable. I think what I would be mostly concerned about is how such a decree to control the birth rate would be carried out, its effect, and how the people would respond to it.
We're over 220 million people in Nigeria now, and our population rate is about 2.5% per year. 2.5 is actually one of the highest percentages in the world.
Already, as it stands, the resources that we have aren't exactly managed in the best ways that they can be, and there are so many people in daily need. Although our population has economic and social benefits, such as an increased workforce and market size, the challenges we face probably outweigh them.
In the city of Lagos, Nigeria, one of the things to dread in your everyday life when commuting is traffic jams. At this point, it has now become a plague that doesn't seem like it's going anywhere soon. What most people face going to and returning from work daily is spending many more hours than they should because the roads just get clogged up sometimes, especially during rush hours.
Surely, if there were way fewer people in Lagos, there would not be that many people needing to drive their vehicles or commercial buses on the roads for them. The same idea applies to markets and environments that are often overcrowded with people. There are often too many people. And that's something that's all over the country, but I like to think that Lagos has it the worst.
Notwithstanding, with the population density of the country, I don't see anything the government is doing to maintain balance and reduce the rate. Do I think that they should be involved? Honestly, it's a tough question to answer. I think that it'll be totally awkward to regulate the number of children families have. More importantly, though, how would we even begin to carry that out? I wonder. And from events in recent years, we've not had the nicest experiences with previous government developments.
Will it all be worth it in the long run? I mean, if a truly effective means of controlling population density can be developed and implemented, perhaps certain aspects of the country can progress and some of our national problems may be lifted. There'll be more sustainable use of resources, at least, and even better economic planning. That, I think, would only happen if the people's interests were at heart. It's not straightforward to implement, though, but I guess it's worth a try for the progress of the economy.
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