President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Daura took part in the first phase of Census 2023 trial exercise, and urged officials to justify the confidence of the government by returning accurate, verifiable and dependable data.
Receiving accreditation from the National Population Commission, NPC at the commencement of the exercise, President Buhari said he was delighted that the process had begun in earnest.
Chairman of the NPC team, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, explained the modalities and technicalities of the Population and Housing Census to the President Buhari.
President Buhari had been designated number one on the list, from Daura, Katsina, and his house was also the first.
Timeline for the exercise
Alhaji Nasir Kwarra said exercise would last until the end of this month, and cover a total of 7681 Enumeration Areas, EAs, in the 36 States and the FCT.
He explained that six Local Government Areas, LGAs, had been selected from the six selected states in the six geo-political zones of the country for full population enumeration.
Alhaji Kwarra explained that 45 EAs in nine LGAs across three senatorial districts had been selected from each of the 30 states and the FCT for Enumeration.
According to him, the Trial Census fieldwork includes, building numbering and household listing from 13th to 15th of this month, validation of EA frame from 16th to 18th, person’s enumeration from 19th to 25th, and enumeration mop-up from 26th to 30th.
Alhaji Kwarra said the trial census exercise would address the methodology, work load, challenges of data collection in peculiar areas, as well as the adequacy of the preparation of enumerators.
Responsibilities of Parents
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari has implored parents to inculcate right values in children, including fear of God, respect for constituted authorities, and living a purposeful life through continuous education.
The President also charged the youth to be serious with their education and fight poverty, to be able to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
The President, who was at the Emir of Daura’s Palace for the Sallah homage, said more time should be given to the coaching of future leaders, with basic knowledge and moral values.
He stressed that the fast changing world, driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding.
“My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting a first degree”.
“They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated,” he said.
The President emphasised that the youngsters should guided and urged them to be patriotic, responsible and respectful.
“Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes”. President Buhari stated.
“We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs. We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming more smaller, nimble and efficient. He noted.
President Buhari called on Nigerians must make sacrifices to move the country forward, especially public servants, urging for more selflessness and inclusion.
“At the end, it is only God that can reward your efforts, not man,” he said.
Buhari’s Achievements
Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari had listed the achievements of the President to include social security, which was created to cater for the poor, and ensure that they received some monthly stipends.
“No government in the history of this country has done more to reduce poverty like President Buhari’s administration. He asked religious and community leaders to bring enlightenment to bear on successful government programs such as the Social Investment Program, SIP through which 120,000 poor citizens in 12 Local Government Areas of the state receive a monthly payment of N5,000 and this is happening in all the states .Governor Masari stated.
“Today, we have over 863,000 children in the state being fed under the school feeding program. This has created 10,000 jobs for women cooks, 14,000 young men and women enrolled in N-Power.
“We have food vendors who are engaged and earning their livelihood. All the foolish talk on social media is by those who only think of themselves. Our elites are never happy or appreciative until something gets to their pockets,” he said.
Governor Masari said security in the country had improved considerably, compared to when the President came into power, reminding the Daura Emirate Council, title holders, political leaders in the state, and citizens across the entire federation to remember the bombings of mosques and churches before 2015 that hindered worship,.
“Human beings forget easily. It is true that we have not reached where we want, but efforts are being made to ameliorate the situation”. He added.
Emir of Daura speaks on infrastructural development
The Emir of Daura thanked the President for the infrastructural and institutional developments in the state, saying that generations will remember and remain grateful to President Buhari.
Dr Faruk urged the President to exercise extreme patience and tolerance, as he begins to countdown, knowing that the ultimate reward for all his sacrifice will come from God.
“All Nigerians, both good and bad, know you are doing your best. In life you will have people who like you, and those who do not like you. If you have many wives, or many children, they will not like you equally”. He noted.
Dr Faruk urged the President to Keep doing his best, and remain tolerant as a leader.
The Emir acknowledged the presence of government and development in Daura, thanked President Buhari for impactful projects in the state.
Reporting by Abdullah Bello; editing by Adeniyi Bakare
Photos of the first phase of Census 2023 trial exercise in Daura below:
