LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin - Commission marks World Population Day
By Oyebola Owolabi
The National Population Commission (NPC) will be launching its e-registration portal soon to ensure ease of registration for Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora.
Federal Commissioner representing Lagos State, Mrs. Saidat Olayinka-Oladunjoye, stated this at a news conference to mark the 2024 World Population Day, themed ‘Embracing the Power of Inclusive Data Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for All’. The day is marked every July 11.
According to her, the e-registration will help to monitor fertility, migration, births and deaths of Nigerians wherever they may be.
She said: “The NPC in Lagos State will launch its E-registration platform soon following the launch by President Bola Tinubu last November. This initiative will be a self-help portal so Nigerians anywhere in the world can easily register the birth of a child and death of a loved one.
“We are doing this in tandem with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) such that a NIN number is generated automatically for every birth registered. This means a child will have a NIN at birth and does not necessarily have to visit any physical office to register.
“We can also use this E-registration portal to monitor fertility, migration, and know the number of Nigerian births anywhere because you will be in the database once registered, and such children will be put into consideration during planning.
“It will also help to preserve and retain the authenticity of certificates we issue out. We always get requests to authenticate the hard copies we give out, which most times come out as fake due to human interference. So this portal will help to eliminate all forms of mutilation and forgery of our certificates.”
Mrs. Olayinka-Oladunjoye noted that the theme of the 2024 World Population Day reflects the outcome of global and regional reviews and evaluations of progress and achievements attained in the last three decades of the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (PoA); a decade of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD); and almost two-decades of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
She added: “It is also the outcome of reports at national, regional and global levels, particularly in Africa, showing a dearth of data/information and sufficient evidence to explain situations, track implementation, measure achievements, assess extent of progress and identify benefits and improvements on peoples’ well-being or general socio-economic transformation.
“This year’s theme therefore hinges on the golden rule of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda with the promise to leave no one behind. Realising this promise first requires the existence of data that are timely, credible, reliable, verifiable, comprehensive, well-disaggregated and geo-referenced to enable a better understanding of who the people that make up the numbers are, where they are located/reside, under what circumstances/situations do they exist/operate, what their ages and needs are, and how data generating institutions or researchers can capture them in their diversity during data collection processes.
“Next to that is how these data can or are readily available to all – decision-makers, planners, civil society organizations, businesses and citizens, to shape policies, direct actions, advice on development options, and permits governments to be held to account, in a way that truly reflects the needs of everyone.
“In essence, the 2024 World Population Day (WPD) offers opportunities to look beyond patches of improvements in data collection and analysis, but to ask ourselves as data producers whether during data collection in censuses, surveys and registration of civil events the right questions are asked. Is our data collection safe for all people? Who is still going uncounted and unaccounted for?
“To have the right data for measuring and predicting likely demographic shifts, we need to hold a census that will deploy modern technology to generate timely, reliable and acceptable data required for addressing the different needs of the various population groups and implement interventions that will create opportunities for progress and removes barriers and inhibitions. This will guarantee individuals realizing their full potential.
The State Director, Bamidele Sadiku, noted that the World Population Day is celebrated to call attention to the impact and effect of population on development.
According to him, this year’s theme focuses on the need to pay greater attention and more understanding on the essentiality of inclusive data which should give account of all people, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity and location.
“It is about closing the data gaps that unintentionally aid inequality; allows the risk of groupthink, blind spots, biases, etc, that can impair decision making and distort outcomes, among others.
“It is the Commission’s believe that commemorating this Day will keep population and the importance of data gathering in the front burner of national consciousness, and also be a reminder to different tiers of governments to renew their commitment to the eradication of poverty and general development of the citizenry, thereby placing the country on the path to enhancing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by year 2030.
