2023 CENSUS: THE JOURNEY SO FAR. . . (1)


 By Stanley O. Nwosu

As the National Population Commission gears up to conduct the first digital Population and Housing Census in Nigeria that will generate up-to-date and reliable data for the country’s development planning, many activities have been implemented and many arrangements put in place to ensure a successful and hitch-free exercise. In the process of preparing for this important national exercise, the Commission has recorded giant strides that will enhance the quality of the census data. However, despite the efforts of NPC to give the nation a guide for evidence-based planning and policymaking, quite a number of Nigerians have shown that they are not aware of the amazing works the Commission has done so far coupled with phenomenal achievements made in preparing for the census exercise through their feedbacks and scathing criticisms of the desirability and readiness of NPC to conduct the next census hence the need to educate those people to be informed and appreciate the good works of the Commission. Although the census message has been preached in every part of Nigeria, some people were uninterested in receiving the message of development or allowing it to sink in.

Yes, from afar, it may look like the Commission has not done enough in terms of preparation for the next census but anyone who pays close attention to what NPC has been doing ends up being an advocate for the census to be conducted. They all marvelled at the remarkable achievements and the mechanisms set up by the NPC in its journey to conduct the 2023 Census. Anyone whose eyes have been opened to see the extent of work NPC has carried out in the last few years preparing for this census always confesses that indeed, the Commission is rewriting the history of census-taking in Nigeria. The Founder and CEO of The Albino Foundation (TAF), Amb. Jake Epelle after seeing the extraordinary and impressive works the Commission has done ahead of the next census during the official presentation of the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) Report, was filled with astonishment and told the NPC Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra to stop ‘commonizing’ the uncommon achievements of the Commission. He noted that the Commission has recorded unprecedented achievements but is under-celebrated.  

In line with the UN recommendations for the 2020 round of censuses that countries should leverage digital tools for the conduct of Censuses, the Commission introduced technological innovations and procedures to enhance the quality of the census data. These digital tools have been adopted and integrated or envisaged to be used in Census processes including in the Enumeration Area Demarcation, pretesting of tools, recruitment, data quality management, monitoring & evaluation, project management, communications, main data collection, fieldwork monitoring and dissemination of census data.

The methodology for the next census has been designed to produce not only accurate, reliable and acceptable census but also inclusive and user-friendly census data. 

The Commission has demonstrated assuring confidence, capacity and readiness to conduct the forthcoming census even before the postponement of the exercise by the last administration of Muhammadu Buhari. Repeatedly the Chairman of NPC has assured Nigerians and the global community that the Commission is irrevocably committed to conduct the best census ever in Nigeria. A detailed look at the preparatory activities implemented by the Commission and the successes achieved in the build-up to the next census attest to the fact that indeed, NPC is well prepared to deliver a credible and acceptable census.

The journey for the upcoming census started in 2014 with the Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise which is the process of delineating the entire land area of the country into small (mutually exclusive) geographical and demographic units called Enumeration Areas (EAs). EAD which provides the baseline data for the census was done in phases from 2014 up to 2022 due to funding challenges and the sheer size of Nigeria’s landmass. Step by step, the NPC functionaries traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria and visited all the nooks and crannies of the country using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to successfully demarcate the 774 LGAs into 601,707 EAs (onsite and hybrid) and in the process captured all buildings, roads and water bodies with their geo-coordinates. It was an unparalleled achievement in Nigeria to have information on buildings (types, uses, owners, number of households etc), roads (types, class, names etc) and water bodies (types and names) in digital format. No agency in Nigeria nor any African country has such a large and complete volume of geospatial resources the Commission has generated for the country. Even Google map data is not as rich, detailed and complete as the EAD geospatial data. It is a game-changing accomplishment that produced various datasets such as digital EA maps, INEC ward boundary map, mobile network map, Nigeria postcode system and post office mapping, boundary dispute map, rapid relief intervention map, infrastructure proximity and planning map, current security risk areas in Nigeria etc for census and development planning of the country. The value of the geospatial resources produced from EAD is in trillions of naira and billions of dollars. The uncommon feat earned the Commission ESRI Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award 2022 in San Diego, USA. 

The Commission conducted the Census Data Users Workshops to generate inputs into the design and development of the census questionnaire. Stakeholders across a wide spectrum of society including government officials, policymakers, traditional institutions, Civil Society Organisations, the private sector etc were invited to a series of workshops on the questionnaire and their inputs incorporated.

Another major achievement was recorded when a home-grown bespoke hybrid Census App was developed to facilitate the collection and integration of rich geospatial and statistical data on a single platform - an invention of sorts that will certainly be replicated or adopted by other countries. One half of the hybrid system is the CensusPad which handles the geospatial component of the system and is used for building numbering and household listing while the CSPro, the other component of the hybrid program which is form-centric is used for the enumeration of persons. The Census App was developed by a young officer in the Commission and the cutting-edge and trailblazing app reduced the long period of about 6 months it would take to profile and upload maps on the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to just 3 minutes.

To test-run the census instruments and methodology, 1st and 2nd Census Pre-tests were conducted from 31st May to 13th June, 2021 and from 24th November to 10th December, 2021 respectively in selected Enumeration Areas across the 36 States of Nigeria and the FCT. 
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
©️ Stanley O. Nwosu, is a Political Economist, Public Affairs Analyst and the Social Media Manager of the NPC in Abuja
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