Uncontrolled Birthrate and Overpopulation in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
The main aim of this research work is to identify the reason why Nigerians give birth in an uncontrolled manner. To be specific, the researcher sought to;
Determine whether age influences uncontrolled birthrate. Ascertain if literacy level contributes to uncontrolled birthrate. Determine how culture influences uncontrolled birthrate.
Ascertain government role in population control.
Determine if tribes contribute to the level of uncontrolled birthrate within the country.
Examine other factors that can contribute to uncontrolled birthrate.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
For smooth reading and understanding the review of this literature has been created out under the following sub-headings;
Uncontrolled child birth/over population in Nigeria
Scholars are torn between three theories; (a) that population growth helps a nation’s economy by stimulating economic growth and development; (b) another that bases its theory on Robert Malthus’ findings. Malthus (1798) stated that population increase is detrimental to a nation’s economy due to a variety of problems caused by the growth. Finally (c) that population growth does not have any impact on economic growth.
Malthus (1798) pointed out that population tends to grow geometrically, whereas food supplies grow only arithmetically. According to the Malthusian model, the causation goes in both directions. Higher economic growth increases population by stimulating early marriages, high birth rates, and reducing mortality rates from malnutrition. On the other hand, higher population depresses economic growth through diminishing returns. This dynamic interaction between population and economic growth is the centre of the Malthusian model, which implies a counter balancing effect on population in the long-run. According to Malthusian theory, a high population growth is associated with food problem, i.e., malnutrition and hunger. However, Bloom and freeman (1998) differ with the theory noting that food problem is more of a problem of poverty and inadequate income than a matter of high population growth. The population and food problem can be solved when income is enough to buy adequate food as prices provide adequate incentives to produce. On the other hand, developing economies would have to export more, receive foreign aid or borrow overseas to meet their increased demand for food by increased imports. A high rate of population growth not only has an adverse impact on food supplies, but also intensifies the constraints on development of savings, foreign exchange, and human resources (Bloom and freeman, 1998).
Rapid population growth tends to depress savings per capita and retards growth of physical capital per worker (Gideon et al, 2013). The need for social infrastructure is also broadened and public expenditures must be absorbed in providing the need for a larger population rather than in providing directly productive assets. Population pressure is likely to intensify the foreign exchange constraints by placing more pressure on the balance of payment. The need to import food will require the development of new industries for export expansion and/or import substitution.
CHAPTER THREE
Methodology Wood carving:
Wood carving which is a division of sculpture is a form of working wood by means of cutting tools (knife, chisel, gouges etc). It is one of the oldest or earliest forms of art known to the word as its history date back to the 16th -17th century. It is considered as the direct opposite of modeling as its technique involves subtraction from the bulk of a wood mass. The nature of wood being carved limits the scope of the carver in that wood is not equally strong in all directions; it is an anisotropic material. The direction in which wood is structured is called ―grain‖ (grain may be straight, interlocked, and wavy or fiddle back, etc.) thus the design of a wood work should be arranged along the grain instead of across it. The nature of wood selected for carving depends on the nature of carving one has in mind, but however the some preferred wood includes; Ebony, Mahogany, Obeche, Iroko, etc. But Ebony is generally accepted in this part of Africa because of its tensile strength. Some styles of carving are; Whittling carving, carving in the round, relief carving etc.
CHAPTER FOUR
Evaluation
Title: Uncontrolled birthrate Medium: Wood
Size: 5.9 feet
Description/interpretation
This art piece is a semi-realistic representation of a mother and two kids. She is seen in a distracted pose trying to feed her infant baby why her other kid is calling for her attention.
The work is a vivid representation of some Nigeria family system, where giving birth is the ultimate goal, the husband provides for the family why the wife duty is to seat at home, cook, and get pregnant. The woman in most cases is referred to as a ―full house wife‖. What this implies is that she is told not to do anything other than house chores. The above has reduced a lot of potential women to baby delivering machine and the consequences has resulted into disaster. Poor health care, poverty, poor infrastructure, poor sanitation, low standard of living, high unemployment rate, congestion, over crowdedness, inflation, crime, stress on the part of women and their children, malnutrition and high maternal mortality. Her first child is just a year and five months old and she has another already. The effect of this is such that the need of the former is neglected for the younger one and this result into low self-esteem, rejection, isolation etc. on the part of the children. A recent literature in economics has considered the effects of birth order and found that later-born children have lower educational attainment, receive less parental time investment, and in some cases have worse labor market outcomes (Black, Devereux, and Salvanes 2005; Price 2008).However, the age difference between siblings (spacing) has received much less attention in the economic literature—despite the fact that child spacing ―may well be the most important aspect of fertility differentials in low-fertility societies‖ (Wineberg and McCarthy 1989). The research that exists in other fields has focused primarily on the effect of small gaps (less than two years), and on very early outcomes such as birth weight and infant mortality. The stressed mood of the mother is symbolic to Nigeria been stressed out because she has too many a mouth to feed. Her body stature (flat breast, thin body size, bushy hair), is also symbolic to the rate of poverty, hunger, stress, malnutrition just to mention but a few’ within the country. Her distracted pose suggest a state of confusion, and chaos.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY
This paper has extensively reviewed and linked uncontrolled birth rate in Nigeria to population overgrowth and determined that high fertility/ birth rate positively affect high population growth. Further findings reveal that high population in Nigeria exerts negative consequences on the Nigeria’s economic growth. These consequences can be appreciated by high poverty, inadequate housing, poor sanitation, low standard of living, high unemployment rate and inflation, high pressures on existing infrastructural facilities, sophisticated crime, pressures on the part of women and their children, malnutrition and high maternal mortality etc.
How can Nigeria’s population growth be managed? A nation that does not know her accurate and current population figures cannot plan well for her people. With almost 7Billion, the world population is placing a huge strain on natural resources, (Latimer, & Kulkarni, 2013).
Nigeria is the 7th most populated country with an annual population growth of 31,405,530 with China and India taking the lead. This however, affects family standard of living as many people now compete for the limited resources because the population growth is growing more drastically without a commensurate growth of the economy over same periods.
This paper therefore, takes into account the effects of uncontrolled fertility on population growth and the overall impact of population growth on economic growth in Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
The relationship between uncontrolled birthrate and over population is very close.
As discussed above the number one factor that influences overpopulation is child birth. Child birth is a good thing if done properly, but how many is too many? Poverty is not the cause of population explosion. It is the effect. It is always threatening when the population of a people keeps exploding without an observable increase in the resources available too and this has posed a serious challenge/worry to Nigerians. When there is uncontrollable increase in human population there is bound to be struggle for survival in terms of the scarce and limited resources which will imply the survival of the fittest/strong and such has posed great change on human survival on earth as there are many mouths to feed yet few resources. It can be deduce from the above report that the reason Nigeria is still where it is today in terms of development is because it has too many mouth to feed.
The policy implication of this study is for the government to develop a comprehensive fertility control program, so as to balance the country’s population with its available resources.
If the Nigerian economy will move forward, then all hands must be on deck, starting from to the government to the governed.
Recommendations;
For fertility rate control to be possible in Nigeria;
There must be changes in fertility norms towards smaller family size.
Women’s education and empowerment should be encouraged across the country
The introduction of sex education into the curriculum, at all levels of education in Nigeria. This will help to enlighten the young people on the issues of sex and reproduction.
On the other hand families should be enlighten in areas such as family planning, as this will enable them give birth to only children they can train at all levels.
Instead of Nigerian leaders to allow war, (Boko Haram), extreme poverty, starvation, maternal mortality, which will inflate pain and sorrow to act as population checks, they should strive to initiate a population control programme
just like China. The era when population increase is seen by many in Nigeria as the key to political power and resources should be discarded, and a pro-active approach developed.
Equal relationships between men and women in matters of sexual relation calls for a review and harmonization.
A functional welfare scheme needs to substitute total economic dependence of women on their husbands and later on their children at old age.
Expanded health facilities and intuitions should incorporate family planning education (sex education). It should also be taught in schools.
There is need to encourage monogamy as against polygamy and a check on early marriage.
Creation of more jobs in the rural settings as this will mean rural development.
References
- Adediran, O. A.(2012), Effect of Population on Economic Development in Nigeria: A, Quantitative Assessment‖, International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, Volume 2, Issue 5 pp 1- 14.
- Robert L. Worden, Andrea MatlesSavada and Ronald E. Dolan, editors. China: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987.
- Asian Development Bank (1997), Emerging Asia. Manila: ADB.
- Westoff, C. F. (1990),―Reproductive Intentions and Fertility Rates‖, International Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 84-96.
- Asogwa, S. N., &Ugwunta, D. O. (2013). Effects of Uncontrolled Fertility on the Nigerian Economic Growth. International Journal of Social Sciences, II(2), 1–15.
- Akawa, Pearl.C, Anyanwu, Emmanuel Uwazie; and Ossai-Onah, Oyemike Victor. (2013). Population Control in Nigeria: Implication for Liberians, Paper 1031, pp.3- 7.
- The Borgen Project (2015), Nigeria’s struggle with Overpopulation.
- kaseys. buckles andelizabeth L. munnich, university of notre dame, birth spacing in sibling outcomes.
