The Emir of Kano, Mohammadu Sanusi II has blamed the increasing spate of kidnapping, drugs, banditry and armed robbery to the huge population of Nigeria.
Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, made the remark during a roundtable session on ‘Nigeria in 2050 – Boom or Bust?’ at the ongoing 25th Nigerian Economy Summit in Abuja, on Monday.
The monarch insisted that all the current social vices, including the Boko Haram insurgency, herdsmen/farmers clashes, drug addiction, out-of-school children had direct bearing to the consequences of population.
Sanusi said: “I think we should get away from this question of it (population) is an asset or liability- it is a liability.
“And all the issues you have from herdsmen/farmers clashes, Boko Haram, drug addiction, out-of-school children- these are all tied to the population we have and the question is how do you turn that into a productive one?”
The monarch also lamented the high rate of divorce between husbands and wives and called on the authorities to create an obstacle to divorce.
Sanusi observed that the process of a divorce appeared to be too cheap for a man who oftentimes, gets away with no responsibility given him to cater for the family he left behind, thereby leaving a trail of poverty.
“This population problem is perhaps the most important developmental challenge we have to face. If we don’t have a demographic transition, we will never have economic transition,” he said.