Population: Clerics Call For Responsible Parenthood

Some clerics on Thursday called for responsible parenthood among Nigerians to regulate population growing at 2.9 per cent per cent yearly.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on recent UN report that Nigeria is the sixth most populous country in the world, the clergymen called for prudent management of resources for the growing population.

NAN reports that the world’s population hit seven billion on Monday and Nigeria, home to 167 million people, ranks sixth in world population, queuing behind China, India, U.S., Indonesia and Brazil.

Monsignor Gabriel Osu, spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese, asked Nigerians to bring forth only children they could cater for.

“There must be control of the population through responsible parenthood; that is the preaching of the church.

“The language of the Church is that you do not just bring forth a football team you cannot take care of; you do not just have babies that are destined to suffer and to die,” said the Catholic spokesman.

He said it was irresponsible for parents to have children more than they could cater for, adding that such children ended up on the streets.

The Catholic spokesman, however said that birth regulation should not translate into glorifying single parenthood or test tube babies.

According to Osu, the reported population growth in Nigeria portends hunger, poverty, sickness and disease.

Also speaking, Pastor Joseph Ojo, the Presiding Bishop of Calvary Kingdom Church, Mebamu, Lagos-Badagry Expressway, said that what Nigeria needed was good managers of the nation’s resources.

According to him, Nigeria’s growing population could become an asset if the country’s resources were prudently managed to increase per capita income and raise the living standard of average Nigerians.

“We are not over-populated, India is there, China is there, America is there, the truth is, those people were able to manage their economy and the people don’t feel they are over-populated.

“The problem is not being over-populated, what we want is good managers to manage Nigeria’s resources well,” he added.

Prophet Solomon Alao, of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Surulere, told NAN that the era of people having many children to work on the farm was gone.

He called for a more effective population control measure to prevent socio-economic vices associated with population