The politics of population policy in a plural society: The case of Nigeria

Type Thesis

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This thesis examines the issues raised by the promulgation of an explicit population policy in Nigeria, a country characterized by immense ethnic, religious, economic and socio-cultural diversity. The thesis addresses the question of whether there can be an equitable population reduction policy given the provision restricting births to four children per woman in a polity with diverse ethnic/religious cleavages having different marriage patterns and where ethnic/religious jostling for power is intense since acquisition of state power is the main source of private wealth accumulation by the elite groups. It is argued that differential reduction in fertility consequent on the absence of uniform set of marriage laws would tilt the basis of political power and thus aggravate political antagonism. In such a situation, socio-economic development is a more appropriate vehicle of achieving fertility decline than direct government intervention (where it is proven that population growth constitutes a problem which is by no stretch of the imagination settled) since it enables couples to consciously limit their family size. Finally, this thesis sheds light on the extent to which other policies and programs of the Nigerian government, particularly the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), contradict its population policy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)