Fashola Cautions against Manipulation of 2016 Census

Tinubu, APC leaders shun book launch

Gboyega Akinsanmi

Former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday asked Nigerians to prepare for the 2016 National Census, noting that their preparation would prevent manipulation of figures.

He gave the advice at a book presentation in Lagos, citing that the last population headcount was fraught with gross manipulation, which defeated the purpose of providing authorities with useful data.

However, the frosty relationship between the two former governors of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu and Mr. Babatunde Fashola was glaring yesterday, as the launch of the three books on Fashola was boycotted by Fashola’s former boss and APC chieftains from the South-west.

As Chief of Staff to former Governor Bola Tinubu in 2006, Fashola recalled that the census exercise was deliberately rigged and was the reason the government could not adequately plan for its population or project growth.

He said the population size “has changed from 160million to 170million and sometimes we now hear of 180million. But given the type of people that we are, and with the people who did our last national census now owning up that figures were falsified, the onus is on us to get it right in 2016.

“I say this, because data, in my view, is important. If the work of government is to provide services to people, its’ efficiency will be determined by its knowledge of how many people need service. And therefore without accurate census figures, it may seem that we are not determined to head on the path of development,” Fashola explained.

The immediate past governor explained that because the state officials worked parallel with National Population Commission (NPC) during the exercise, it was easy to see-through the manipulation.

“When the NPC returned with a number of over nine million for Lagos, it was clear that it had become, in Fela’s words, ‘government magic’. Because I recalled very clearly that for 11 nights and 11 days, we did not sleep.

“It was my office as the then Chief of Staff that led, including all the Local Government chairmen. The population commission told us that they were going to enumerate households and the definition of a household is one family; of husband, wife and children.

“At the end of the exercise, we enumerated 4.5m households in Lagos. Yet, they returned with only nine million as Lagos population. It meant that all households in Lagos have only husband and wife, and no children. But that is a matter for us to take seriously this time and play our roles when the time comes.”

Fashola added that it was important for the citizenry “to remain where they live and be counted there, because census is not about where one comes from. The number aggregated in a place is the data that would be used to plan lives of the residents and that of the next generation.”

The book presentation of three new titles compiled and edited by former aide to Fashola, Mr. Hakeem Bello and Mr. Dapo Adeniyi, chronicles major achievements and speeches of the former governor.

Fashola drew on the census issue in reflection on one of the books, titled: The Lagos Blow Down, which accounts for the historic and hitch-free demolition of partially-collapsed 25-storey Bank of Industry (BoI) building on Broad Street, Lagos, on September 21, 2008. The building partially collapsed during the 2006 census exercise.

Meanwhile, most of the members of Fashola’s cabinet as well as his two former deputy governors and members of the State Executive Committee of the APC were absent at the presentation the books titled, ‘In Bold Print’, ‘ The Lagos Blowdown’ and ‘ The Great Leap’ authored by Fashola’s media aide, Mr. Hakeem Bello; and Mr. Dapo Adeniyi.

Although Tinubu, sent a representative, Prof. Tunde Samuel, the book presentation was in sharp contrast with that of the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The absence of former governors and leaders of the party renewed speculations that all was not well between Fashola and Tinubu.

However, a testimony to Fashola’s credentials among the technocrats was evident as the occasion had a surplus of technocrats from various sectors of the society.