WITH Nigeria’s population on a continuous rise, and as the government struggles to provide amenities for the teeming population, if human capacity development is not prioritised by the government and private sector players, the situation can only get worse. Chief Tokunbo Omisore, CEO of Top Services Ltd, and former president of the Africa Union of Architects gave the above advice as a participant at the recent UNFPA at 50 celebrations in Lagos where population matters were discussed. He said people may not realise how critical harnessing population growth is until they understand what the population growth rate is in real figures. He told Tribune Online that, “Population growth as reported on Tuesday, June 18, we now have an estimated 200.9 million people at a growth rate of 3.2 per cent annually.”He pointed out that 200.9 million people at 3.2 per cent provides a yearly growth of 6,428,800 people; that is 17,565 people daily which translates to 732 people per hour! ALSO READ:“Is this sustainable if our GDP struggles between 1.9 to 2.1 per cent depending on whose data we adopt?”He made reference to the June 12 Democracy Day speech where President Muhammadu Buhari spoke of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Source: Nigerian Tribune June 24, 2019 12:33 UTC