Nigeria’s increasing population poses some threat to the nation’s food security and economy, the Federal Government has said.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Ewa, during a sensitisation programme and exhibition on the socio-economic uses of tiger nut and walnut in Abuja.
He said population explosion had led to economic difficulties in the country, stressing that Nigeria’s continued dependence on crude oil for revenue had aggravated its predicament.
“The current global phenomenon of population explosion, coupled with degrading resources, has led to environmental and economic woes, putting most countries and our nation in particular under threatening challenges of food security, poverty, diseases and unemployment, among others,” Ewa said.
According to him, the development has led to the flooding of Nigerian markets with imported goods, while the country exports crude oil as its major foreign exchange earner.
The minister said, “The implication is that we are exporting labour or jobs to other countries, while serving as market place for them, and this has aggravated our predicament of increasing unemployment and poverty incidence.
“The current situation where we import virtually everything and export mostly crude oil negates our aspirations for economic emancipation. The Nigerian nation is, therefore, at a critical point in its quest for economic growth and development.”
Ewa noted that economic diversification would mitigate against the effect of population explosion, stressing that the present administration was doing all it could to make this a reality.
He stated that agricultural productivity and wealth creation would be achieved by giving the right support to industrial and manufacturing sectors.
The minister said his ministry was focused on contributing and impacting the country positively by embarking on science, technology and innovation activities.
“The basis upon which developed countries built rapid economic and industrial growth is dominantly the application of science, technology and innovation, which enabled them to export a strong mix of value-added goods and services. There is actually no shortcut to economic growth rather than the application of technology,” he said.
