Edewor, Patrick

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APPRAISALS OF THEPREPARATION FOR2006 POPULATION ANDHOUSING CENSUSIN NIGERIAEdited ByFelicia Durojaiye Oyekanmi&Peter Bola OgunladeAppraisals of the PreparatIOn for 2006 Population and Housing Census In Nigeri" --ImlCHAPTER 9Cultural Values and Successful Census OperationPatrick A. Edewor,Department of SocJOlogyCovenant University, Ota, Ogun StateAbstractIn this chaptcr which is on cultural valucs and succcss/ul ccnsusoperatioll, we shall tirst c!arij); thc conccpts oj cultllut! valll!!sand succcss/i.t! ccnsus and therea/ier tl)' to identifi speCificclIltural valuC's in Nigcria and thCll !!.wlllinl' hov\' thc.\' call ('ith!!!"lIIake O!" ilia!" theIo!"t!1collling census.THE COI\CEPTOFCllLTURALVALUESv.allles are one of the clements of culture. ~hcy constitutepart of the non material aspect of culture Edewor (2003).According to Haralambos and Heald (j 980). '"a value is abelief that something is good and desirable. It defines what isimportant, worthwhile and worth striving for." Similarly, Johnson(1995) considers a cultural value as "a shared idea about howsomething is ranked in tenm of its relative social desirability.worth, or goodness."Values are important part of any culture because they int1uencehow people choose and how social systems develop and change.In actual fact Talcott Parsons has argued that a social systemcannot exist without a concensus around values (and byIml--- Appraisals of the Preparation for 2006 POpulillion and Housing Census in NigerIaimplication, the norms that support them) It is unlikely thatmembers of society would cooperate and work together if therearc no shared values. Ifthere are ditfering and conflicting valuesin society, the members would be pulling in different directiol1sand pursuing incompatible goals. Ilowever values vary fromsociety to society.WHAT IS POPULATION CENSUS?One widely accepted definition of population census is that givenby thc United Nations (1975). It sees a population census as "thetotal process of collecting, compiling, and publishingdemographic, economic and social data pertaining at a specifiedtime or times, to all persons in a country or delineated territory." Itinvolves the enumeration of all the people living in a country or adefined territory at a particular time. Information on the size,distribution, composition and other social and economiceharacteri:;tics of the population arc nom1ally collected andcollated during a census. There are four important requirementswhich must be met by any modem census. These are: (i)individual enumeration, (ii) universCllity within a definedterritory, (iii) simultaneity, and (iv) defined periodicity.An official census is normally sponsored by the government ofthe area concemed or some larger region within which the areat:1IlS. The Federal Govemment of Nigeria is committed tofunding the 2006 Census to the tune ofFol1y-eight percent of thetotal cost of the census while the remaining fifty-two percent isbeing provided by development partners especially the EuropeanUnion. Other development partners which have assisted in cashand kind include United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), Department for InternationalAppraisals of the Preparation for 2006 Population and Housing Census in Nigena --ImlDevelopment (DrID), and Chinese National StandardCertification &Accreditation Association (CNSCA).The precise definition of the area covered by a census is essentialand the principle of universality must be applied. By the principleofuniversality, we mean the need to include every individual in thedefined territory. The principle of simultaneity and definedperiodicity must also be applied. In other words, enumerationmust be done simultaneously and censuses should be conductedperiodically. Usually, at least in the developed countries of theworld, censuses are conducted decennially (i.e. every ten years).Some countries even conduct census every five years.Unfortunately, most less developed countries, including Nigeriahave not been able to apply this principle ofdefined periodicity.The history of Nigerian census dates as far back as 1866 when thefirst organized attempt was made to enumerate the population ofLagos area. Since 1866, there have been 14 documentedattempts to enumerate the population of either part or the entireterritory of Nigeria. The earliest attempts were throughconjectural estimates or through tax returns. These were laterfollowed by partial censuses and later, complete nationalcensuses.CULTURAL VALUES AND CENSUS OPERATION INNIGERIANigeria is a culturally diverse society with a multiplicity of ethnicgroups. Ethnographers have estimated that there are between 250and 400 ethnic groups in Nigeria (Edewor, 1993). With suchethnic and cultural diversity, it is expected that cultural beliefs andvalues will vary widely from one cultural group to another.Viewed as the totality of a people's way of life that completes tbedesign for living, culture covers all aspects of human life rangingfrom economics of a society to its technology, religion andpolitical dimensions.Be it in economic or political spheres, it is undeniable that cultureplays an important role. The values that people hold and theirbeliefs may influence their receptivity of enumerators or censusofficials. In certain cultures in Nigeria, for example, among -theYorubas, the counting of people, especially chIldren, isconsidered a taboo. It is believed that children should not becounted for their owners. The belief is that when children arccounted, they would die. This is a myth and a wrong notion thaltthe counting of children affects infant and child mortality.Similarly, in some societies, it is traditionally held that childrenare a gift from God and as such should not be reduced to the levelof chickens or other animals which are counted. In suchcommunities, it is believed the counting of infants and childrcnspells doom for families. Whenever there arc unfortunate eventssuch as death, epidemic or other epidemic occurring after apopulation head count, such are normally attributed aspunishment from the gods who are angry for the head count. Theimport ofthis notion can better be appreciated when one considersthe fact that in most Nigerian cultures parents place high value onchildren, not only as a means for perpetuating the lineage but alsoas a source of social prestige and a means of old age security andsupport (Isiugo - Abanike 1994; Orubuloye, 1987; Edewor et ai,1997, Edewor,200 1a; Edewor 200 1b). Of course, a belief thatpeople or children should not be counted certainly serves as aserious impediment to a successful census operation if there is noeducation and awareness or enlightenment campaign.Appraisals of the Preparation for 2006 Population and Housing Census in Nigeria --1011Similarly, in certain parts of Nigeria, as among the Urhobos andIsokos, visitors are normally welcomed with gifts. Enumeratorsor census officials who reject such gifts from their hosts may beconsidered unfriendly or arrogant. The Nigerian society variesgreatly bet\veen urban and rural areas, between levels ofeducationas well as between ethnic and religious borders. In northernMuslim communities, women are confined to the home and kept inpurdah. This is the practice of keeping girls and women inseclusion from men and from public view. The consequence isthat grown-up males are not pennitted to enter into houses andquarters where women are kept in purdah. This implies that maleenumerators cannot be allowed to see women in purdah. Thisconstitutes a challenge, especially as the National PopulationCommission will adopt the de-facto method ofenumeration whichrequires physically sighting the individual to be enumerated, Inorder to avoid the problems usually associated with countingwomen in purdah, the National Population Commission hasdecided to engage female enumerator for this purpose. Anothercultural practice which is found among the nomadic clans ofnorthern Nigeria is that nobody attends to visitors when the headsoffamilies and households are not present.There are other myths about a population count which have theirorigins from the traditions, misconceptions and suspicion aboutthe intentions of governments. For example, it is erroneouslybelieved that a census is meant for taxation, military conscriptionor that it is an invasion of individual privacy, racism or diversionfrom economic development efforts. While it is true that ancientcivilizations conducted census for taxation purposes and to accesspotentials for military conscriptions, modem census are not forthese purposes. Neither do census questionnaires containsensitive questions that may constitute the invasion of the privacyIml--- Appraisals of the Preparation for 2006 Population and Housmg Census m Nigeriaof individuals (PAN, 1990). In the same vein, population censusis not a racist idea; it is not a ploy by the white race to convinceNigerians to accept bilth control as some claim. Similarly, theargument that census-taking is a diversionary tactic to avoid thereal issue of social and economic development is erroneous.Indeed, census data are needed for social and economicdevelopment planning especially in the area of education, health.employment, housing foreign policy, and the evaluation ofdevelopment programmes.ConclusionIn the light of the foregoing discussion, especially the culturalvalues myths which may hinder a successful census operation.the only solution is the mounting of public enlightenmentmachinery to overcome these problems. Census should not bepoliticized and all Nigerians must cooperate with the NationalPopulation Commission and with enumerators and censusofficials so that we can have a successful census exercise.Appraisals of the Preparation for 2006 Population and Housing Census In Nigeria --ImlReferencesEdcwor, P.A., 'Old-age security expectations and family sizeamong the Isoko of Nigeria', in UNILAG Sociological Review,Vol. vii, December 2006.National Population Commission, 1991 Population Census of theFederal Republic of Nigeria Analytical Report at the nationallevel, Abuja: National Population Commission (NPC), 1998.Oyekanmi, FD., "Census taking and public awareness in Nigeria".in FD. Oyekanmi, L. Olurode & J. Tawose (eds) Viable NationalPopulation Association of Nigeria, (PAN) Proceedings, Nov. 7.1998, pp. 156-169. Revised version published in Ideas for ASuccessful Population Census in Nigeria, PAN Census in Nigeria.PAN. 1991, ISBN 978-31077-2-0, pp. 45-53.

Cultural Values and Successful Census Operation

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Cultural Values and Successful Census Operation

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