May 26, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Figures released by the United Nations Population Fund earlier this month projected Nigeria’s population to skyrocket from 160 million this year to 730 million by 2100 – behind only India and China.
In the wake of these seemingly staggering figures, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, special advisor to the UN Secretary General, expressed his alarm, calling for huge population control methods in the West African country.
“It is not healthy,” Sachs told the AFP new agency. “Nigeria should work towards attaining a maximum of three children per family.”
Head of the Earth Institute and the Millennium Project and author of the popular book “The End of Poverty”, Dr. Sachs has built a legacy for himself as a population control advocate. Recently, the American Life League revealed his concerning connections with the U.S. Round Association for Diocesan Social Action, which includes partnerships with Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Relief Services, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Sachs’ statement was echoed by Isaac Ogo of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria who noted that, while controlling the country’s population was advisable, convincing Nigerians to reduce their family size would be a difficult task.
According to UN statistics, which have often been shown to be inflated, about 145 women die daily in Nigeria as a result of pregnancy or childbirth.
Yet, Nigerians themselves have argued that controlling their country’s population is not the answer to internal problems, such as maternal and infant health, poverty, and unemployment.
“We Nigerians are rejoicing [in high population projections],” said Chinwuba Iyizoba, an electrical engineer in Enugu, Nigeria. “Africans love children.”
The growing and expanding Nigerian economy, as well as social security depend highly on population growth, adds Iyizoba. “Nigeria and other African countries stand a good chance of becoming world leaders in the coming decades. They will help Europe and the US to fill gaps left by acute shortages of manpower.”
Dr Philip C. Njemanze, chairman of the Global Prolife Alliance (GPA) and for the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) would concur. In a recent press release on the National Health bill, Njemanze decried the push for population control programs.
“In the face of deteriorating healthcare services, unpaid medical personnel, it is shocking that the Ministry of Health would define as national security priority the killing of Nigerian children through abortion and contraception, initiated by the so-called Development Partners – UNFPA, IPPF, IPAS, USAID, WHO, Gates Foundation and all others,” said Njemanze. “These organizations do not see as urgent, the health care needs of the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Rather, they [prioritize] population control for their own purposes.”
“The excuse that population control measures involving use of abortion and contraception may help lower maternal mortality rate is fallacy,” he added, emphasizing that it would only reduce the number of women “called mothers” through “measures that are not acceptable”.
Njemanze noted that throughout history, development has only occurred in countries comprised of at least 300 people per square kilometre. Nigeria, with a population of 110 people per square kilometre, is “grossly under-populated” when compared with Europe (350-550 people sq/km), the U.S. (300-550 people sq/km), and Asia (300-5500 people sq/km).
“The depopulation of Nigeria program by the so-called Development Partners is a sabotage of our National Development and a threat to our National Security,” concluded Njemanze.
To express concerns to the United Nations