SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, ENGR. ABDULLAHI A. SULE, FNSE, EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST ANNUAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION, INSECURITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN/ALMAJIRI PROBLEM, ORGANIZED BY THE NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NASARAWA STATE GOVERNMENT, LAFIA: TUESDAY, 26TH NOVEMBER, 2024

(Protocols)

It is my pleasure to address you today on the occasion of the First Annual Regional Conference on Population, Insecurity, Climate Change and Out-of-School Children/Almajiri Problem in Northern Nigeria, organized by the National Population Commission in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Government. 

2. Let me specially welcome their Excellencies, my colleagues, the Executive Governors of Northern States, Members of the National Assembly here present and other critical stakeholders who found time to be with us at to this auspicious occasion. I salute this display of solidarity in our collective determination to provide good governance and purposeful leadership to our people.

3. Let me commend the National Population Commission for conceiving the idea of organizing this all-important Conference, aimed at evolving workable solution towards addressing some peculiar challenges of the Northern region. I also appreciate the National Population Commission for the choice of Nasarawa State to host the Conference.  

4. Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I note that the decision to organize this Conference is necessitated by the activities of the “End Bad Governance Protest” that took place in August, 2024.  It is nostalgic to recall that during the protest, innocent people were ignorantly mobilized to partake in the act with the resultant threat to stability and peaceful coexistence. The consequences of the protest led to the arrest and prosecution of some minors.  I must say that those affected were mostly Almajiris and Out-of-School children who are commonly found in the Northern region. 

5. Perhaps, this informed the initiative and the theme of this all-important Conference which is “Population, Insecurity, Climate Change and Out-of-School Children/Almajiri Problem” considering that Nigeria’s demographic challenges are amplified more in the Northern region of the country due to obvious socio-cultural, religious, economic and educational factors. 

 

6. I believe that this Conference will provide the platform to share ideas on salient and critical issues on the best ways to manage our population and the effect of climate change on our demography, not only in the Northern region but the country at large. 

 

7. It is important to reiterate that Nasarawa State is known as the “Home of Solid Minerals” and also blessed with fertile land for agricultural activities. These economic potentials have made the State vulnerable to the effect of climate change.  The closeness of Abuja to Nasarawa State has resulted to influx of population especially in the Mararaba-Karu axis.  This situation leads to an explosion in the population of the State that if not properly taken care of by all will result to high rate of out-of-school children /Almajiri/insecurity and their consequences.  

8. It is rather appalling to point out that the population growth in the region and the Northern Nigeria has largely contributed to the issue of out-of-school children. This phenomenon constitutes threat to security, as most of these children are Almajiris who are being used for heinous activities.  This is why the Government of Nasarawa State in the recent past made effort and repatriated the Almajiris and reunited them with their parents in various States of the Northern region.         

   

9. I need to state that, aside the stemming of Almajiri phenomenon, we also signed an Executive Order to ensure effective implementation of the Child Rights Law in Nasarawa State to enhance their protection.  This is because, our Administration acknowledged the fact that children have constitutional rights to be protected and catered for. I must add that in our determination to ensure sustainable peace in the State, Government introduced various initiatives, ranging from Community Based Conflict Resolution Mechanism, domestication of the Community Policing, establishment of the Nasarawa Youth Empowerment Scheme (NAYES), among others.  This is in addition to our sustained effort on the provision of logistics support that will further enhance the operation of our security agencies in the State.

10. It, therefore, becomes necessary to continue to evolve multi-stakeholders approach in addressing our peculiar challenges, by embracing geospatial data for impacts assessment to be conducted by the National Population Commission. 

 

11. Let me take the opportunity of this occasion to state that the National Population Commission in 2018 and 2023/2024, conducted the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), a nation-wide survey conducted after every five years. In Nasarawa State, the survey captured Health and Demographic variables such as Fertility and Family Planning, Maternal Healthcare, Child Health and Nutrition, Early Childhood Mortality, Malaria, Immunization, as well as awareness of HIV/AIDS. The exercise also captured Prevention Methods and Information & Domestic Violence. It also introduced the Disability Module in both surveys. This, no doubt, gave the Commission the opportunity to collate information on Disability and Sickle Cell Diseases. 

12. Comparing the 2018 and the recently conducted 2023/2024 preliminary report of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey across the country and notably, Nasarawa State revealed significant improvements in health indicators for the State.

13. This improvement is a testament to the efforts made by this administration to enhance the health and well-being of the population. 

14. Key highlights of the improvements for Nasarawa State include:

- Fertility Rate: Decreased from 5.3 to 4.3 per woman between 2018 and 2023.

- Antenatal Care: Improved from 77.7% to 84.4% within the same period.

- Under-Five Mortality: Decreased from 160 deaths per 1,000 live births to 106 per 1,000 live births.

- Vaccination: Increased from 17.95% in 2018 to 23.1% between 2018 and 2023.

- Birth Registration: Improved from 38% to 43% within the same period. 

Our government will continue to strive to improve on the health outcomes of our people.

15. As a follow-up to the 2023/2024 NDHS, I understand the Commission is also conducting the 2024 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) Study in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and other key partners. The study is designed to investigate the causes and factors contributing to deaths among children under five years of age and women of reproductive age. It is expected that this effort will provide the country with essential data on the biomedical, cultural, behavioral, and healthcare-related determinants of mortality. This information will enable better planning and implementation of targeted interventions to save the lives of our children and women while strengthening the healthcare system to address preventable deaths effectively.

16. I note with appreciation that the National Population Commission is desirous to conduct the Nasarawa State Survey on population dynamics, security, climate change, out-of-school children and other vulnerable children in lumbering and mining as a corollary to this Conference.  The Survey is expected to generate data-driven insights that will guide policy development and programmatic action.

17. It is imperative to state that the conduct and understanding of this Survey is prerequisite to any meaningful planning and management of population and climate change, not only in Nasarawa State, but the country at large.   I wish to state, therefore, that Nasarawa State will support the conduct of this survey in order to support our desire of ensuring a better society.  I am hopeful that the success of the survey will facilitate its’ replication in our sister States and other States of the Federation.   

18. Your Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, let me inform you that the Nasarawa State Government has made adequate arrangements for the success of this Conference. I urge you to feel at home and enjoy the hospitality of the Government and the good people of Nasarawa State while the Conference lasts.

19. At this juncture, let me once again, commend the National Population Commission for being proactive in carrying out its statutory mandates. I also commend you for the staging of this regional Conference.  I urge you to extend the conduct of this Conference to other geo-political region of the country to ensure overall benefit of the Nigerian people.

 

20. It is expected that the resolution to be arrived at the end of this Conference will provide the needed roadmap in addressing the phenomenon of out-of-school children/ Almajiri programme and challenges associated with climate change and other sundry matters. 

21. On this note, it is now my pleasure to declare the Regional Conference on Population, Insecurity, Climate Change and Out-of-School Children/Almajiri Problem, open. 

22. Thank you and may God bless us all.