Media
executive and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Leadership Newspapers, Mr Dele Fanimo, has
warned on population explosion impact on family planning, urging Nigerians to
ensure they have family they can cater for comfortably, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Speaking
during an advocacy visit to his office by members of the Family Planning Media
Advocacy Working Group (FPMAWG) in Lagos, Fanimo dispelled myths and
misconceptions around family planning in the country.
According to
him, Nigerians must learn to plan their lives especially families so as to make
certain they enjoy family lives to its fullest.
He also bemoaned
the recent revelation by the National Bureau of Statistics indicating that the
country now has some 198 population, describing it as a time bomb.
“The Nigerian
population is 198 million and this figure has an implication on the country in
all aspects of the economy. A quarter of this population is almost twice the
population of Republic of Benin. The central of this is uncontrolled birth,” he
said.
The COO said
the implication of the Nigerian huge population can lead to increase in crime
and prostitution, adding that with social dislocation, what a country gets is
underdevelopment and a failed nation.
“Uncontrolled
birth is unacceptable because when a man has a big family he cannot cater for,
he will have to deny child A to send child B to school, leading to more
miscreants, thieves, thugs and hoodlums on our streets, and the vicious circle
continues.
“This is a
huge problem, if we want to help the country, we must promote FP. Churches need
to do more. Some of these things should form part of the Sunday sermon and
mosque service.
“They need
to demystify the myths and misconceptions to their members. Imagine a woman
attaching child birth to inheritance. Some will say, if you live in a man’s
house and no son, you will suffer when the man dies.
“Not able to
cater for a large family can also lead to corruption because when you have more
than you can care for, you would be force to steal,” he said.
He however
called on traditional leaders, religious leaders and political leaders to help
and demystify the myths and misconceptions of FP as the media cannot do it
alone.
As part of
contributing its quarter in creating more awareness on FP, Fanimo assured
FPMAWG that Leadership Newspaper is ready to work with them.
He however
urged the FPMAWG to see beyond newspaper publications but go to the rural
communities, community leaders and other stakeholders to sensitize them on the
importance of FP, they in turn will now be an advocate of FP.
Earlier in
her address, the working group chairperson, Mrs. Umeha, noted that Family
Planning (FP) has been a worldwide issue, hence the reason why world leaders,
local and international donors and advocates from around the world gathered at
an FP Summit in London on July 11, 2017 to discuss efforts to reach the FP 2020
goals and ensure that more women and girls around the world are able to plan
their families and their future.
Nigerian
government, she pointed out, made a commitment to increase the Contraceptive
Prevalence Rate (CPR) from 15 percent to 27 percent by 2020 at that meeting,
stressing that government at both the Federal and State have shown commitment
to the provision of free FP services to the entire women of child-bearing age
in the country.
The reason
for this is not far-fetched as different statistics and surveys conducted
around the world, have revealed that FP program when effectively done, can lead
to a reduction of maternal deaths by up to 34 percent and newborn death by
about 15 per cent.
The chairperson was
accompanied during the advocacy visit by some members of FP Media Working Group,
including Chioma Obinna of Vanguard Newspapers, and Remmy Nweke of DigitalSENSE
Africa Media, publishers of NaijaAgroNet and Pastor Olusegun Omotayo Adeboye as well as
Mrs Shotomiwa Olubunmi, both of Lagos Advocacy Working Group (LAWG) and Public
Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative(PHSAI), while the acting General
Manager, Southern Operation at Leadership, Mrs. Angela Tony Iji, was also on
attendance.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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