Nigeria's population boom - curse or blessing? | Edith Kimani in Kano 

Are you pro or against family planning? We welcome your views on this topical issue.

I am a Muslim myself, but this imam is outta touch with reality.They should stop child marriages, very simple.

Edith Kimani is a solid journalist. Fantastic moderation on a very important topic.

Common sense beats religion. Look at your children and be the judge. As a Nigerian it isnt ok to be born to beg for food.. family planning is not "evil", it offends no one. Not even God. It is ignorance even among the educated because of religion and cultural norms to feel its otherwise

This is why we need to separate religion and politics. They dont mix together

The north really needs to educate it's people on family planning. Oan, Nigeria is actually VERY diverse!

Nigerians need to change their mindsets immediately,this issue has reached critical levels and it's mind boggling to me that inspite of the glaring challenges over population will bring about, people still lay so much emphasis on child bearing,it doesn't cease to amaze me that people can't on their own look at the situation and decide to have one or two children at the most for the time being until the population issue is in check.We need an intervention and we need it now,our beliefs are creating situations that are not sustainable, keep culture and religious beliefs aside and become practical because having kids you can't take care of and who will just be frustrated in so many different ways when they grow up is ridiculous.

Separate laws and religion and do what right for the nation

And it happens to be in a area dominated by Islam. Leave little girls alone, and let education alone as well. Learning the Quran will not create architects, engineers, doctors etc..

"The truth is, There is no law when it comes to child marry in (Kano) the northern Nigeria, When girls speak they are silence with islamic Sharia laws."

This is the most intelligent conversation I have ever heard from African people on RU-vid. Good job guys.I'm Nigerian, based in the United states and I'm indeed very impressed.

Nigeria will never develop and become rich when it has so many mouths to feed.

Look at what religion has done to my African people!

Just want to commend the journalist. She is smart and clever. As for the Imam, Religion must be done with common sense. If the government resources are not yet there, use common sense to limit the number of children you have in order to reduce suffering and death of women and children.

Some nigerians stay complaining about the government and not doing what they can do for themselves. The population is growing too fast, when the government refused to give stable electricity, Nigerians bought their own private generators for their homes and businesses. When the government refused to provide clean water, Nigerians got their own boreholes. When the quality of education in public school started depleting, Nigerians started sending their children to private schools. Please help yourself and don't wait for this nonsense government

I am pro family planning. I have a big issue with Africans having a mindset of giving birth to children for the government to train (That is so 1960). Like one of the contributors said, we should start taking responsibility for the education of our children as well as the living condition of our families. Taking responsibility will help them to live above religious sentiments and do what needs to be done. Also, It’s high time the society stopped limiting the significance of wives to just pleasing their husbands and birthing children even to their own detriment . The dreams of a woman are still valid even in marriage ; FYI taking care of children is a full time job and a whole lot will have to be sacrificed to take care of many children.

I never thought about it that way. It's easy to blame the government for all your problems but everyone individually has the power to make change.

The Iman sounds ridiculous, he said "Allah will determine how many children you should have"....Islam and Christianity has ruined the minds of our people globally.

Thanks for this panel Edith. I enjoyed hearing what the women, the ones actually giving birth, had to say. Also, if you can’t afford to feed, house, educate, clothe, and give medical care to one child and mother, what makes you think having more is a good idea???

I can't understand why they want so many children when they can't feed,educate or even have decate medical care

The government in Nigeria should just put laws to stop 🛑 these child marriages and safeguard from these child abuse. Any men who marry children must be arrested. I applaud these women who are speaking up on the panel.

Firstly, very interesting, secondly, the young woman who asked the questions, a very smart woman, I ask myself and many others this question, why is there so much poverty in Africa? Africa is the most resource-rich continent in the world, but the people are the poorest in the world. I am a father myself. I raised 5 children, part of the time I was a single father, my children were close to my heart, I only went to 4th grade, if a father can't earn enough money to support his family, he shouldn't force his wife to have children if the child is not getting enough to eat and is malnourished, their brain cannot develop properly and the child is unlikely to do well in school. The child cannot become a businessman, then the situation in the country will never get better.

I am so worried about the population explosion. I actually feel ashamed to be human sometimes. Forget corona, WE are the virus. This video gives me a shred of hope for us though. It seems more and more Africans are growing concerned with the population problem.

The reason the northern part of Nigeria is able to sustain this population boom without check and balance " is because they are getting free lunch from the south" and they are very comfortable with it.

Lagos is actually the most populous state in Nigeria.

Amazing debate, you can feel the passion of these people for a better Northern Nigeria. We need more outspoken and action-driven individuals across the nation.

And most of their population is in South Africa.

100 billion people can live in Africa and still have enough space to live and food to eat at longs as the West does not interfere.

Today in many states families want 1 or 2 kids to look after, and for a better future for the kids.

Not Africa just say Nigerian are increasing especially in the north Nigerian

Fantastic discussion. Well done Edith Kimani ❤. I watch a lot of 77 Percent and i think this is my favorite 😍 ❤

Nigerian we get such imam ....i can't believe ....that degree of illiteracy to my beloved Nigerian? Giants of África? God ......i can understand why is easy of any Nigerian to say anything. Good job my Kenyan sister for the interview and patience .... isn't easy to hear somethings.... No wonder i am not journalist

Edith Kimani a fantastic journalist, I'm rooting for her success

Having kids you can't afford is a fast track to poverty. Also, having fewer children you can focus on them and put more resources into them to ensure a better quality of life for the outcome of that child.

Thank you so much for this video... letting us know people's ideas on these topics brings conversations that will over time help us make a neutral decision.👏

Nigeria is NOT YET over-populated, but with the population boom seen since year 2000, where 60million children were added, there is a chance in 2040, the population would be 400 million. That should scare u because governance and development is not catching up with the growth. No consistent electricity, in 2020, roads are still poor, imagine doubling the population in these conditions.

Keep growing, that's great. Just do it over there

I love this debate it's really put a sauce in my soul how wish we can have this information constantly get to my peoples all around Nigeria 🇳🇬 🇳🇬 it is going to give us the quality view of what it take to move our country forward God bless Nigeria 🇳🇬

Fertility rate: Lagos 3 kids per female North Nigeria 6 kids per female

It's gender inequality, patriarchy within our families, community, religion, the government (corruption) etc so if those things can be tackled in Africa as a whole we could prosper

To be honest the presenter came across as biased in some instances, the conversation was supposed to be a debate so normally there will be people supporting a motion and the others opposing it, instead she tried to push her opinions on those that opposed the motion. People need to understand that the problem is not religion, it is the people. Islam is straight forward, direct and logical, it allows you to marry and and give birth “ONLY” if you can take responsibility of the household, this is the Islamic teaching. The problem is we have a lot of people who who try to justify ignorance and lack of education by misinterpreting the Islamic teachings to suite their desires to reproduce in large numbers for their selfish reasons. If you analyze this situation, you’ll find out that this problem is most prevalent among ignorant and illiterate people who have a distorted understanding of the purpose of reproduction, you rarely see a middle or upper class educated and Islamic household giving birth to a lot of children that they cannot cater for. I may not have the numbers to back my claims, but anybody living in the Northern part of Nigeria can understand my point. It is reasonable to deduce that the population boom in Northern Nigeria is as a result of poverty, ignorance and lack of education in rural areas, therefore it is of utmost significance that we address the issues of orientation or mentality as stated by Khalifa one of the speakers and also the topic of adequate education both religious and general.

Great interviewer, she knows what questions to ask!

This was beautiful. Keep it up and it's good for Nigerian unification.

More power for the woman to take control of their future, they should not be treated as a man property but as a individual with equal mental capacity as a man.

Parents ought to take charge and raise their kids properly, it doesn't always have to be western education and govt help. Basic morals, parents being role models of working ethics(be it farming, shoe making, keeping guard, bricklayer, barber, trader etc) will help their kids to be a blessing to their community. The problem is parents do not want to accept their responsibilities. Family units make up a nation, if they are not in order, you get a country like Nigeria. All the corrupt politicians are also family units, were they raised by their parents properly or taught to go fastlane and hammer by hook or crook?

i feel like the north and south will split because of this issue one day

I'd say it's a curse, like 100M Nigerians are in extreme poverty, what good will more people do if Nigeria can't fix its poverty and infrastructure problem

Great journalist!!!!!!

With quality education population is good for a nation!

I'm not really interested in this debate, but I can't stop watching this aesthetically pleasing woman, who's intellect is impressive, her demeanor, her enclothed cognition, her articulate responses, her open ended questions opening dialog for critical thinking and analytically reasoning, encouraging new solutions through different Perspectives.

I am very happy you took this debate to Kano because from what I hear the government of kano state is directly involved in organising mass marreiges for it citizens without properly employing them.

Very scintillating discussion. Well organized. More of such is necessary.

Religion has really affected Africa and Nigeria in particular in a negative way that we can't use our brains , but am happy we can still see light among darkness .

Why did not talk about India or China oor Japan or Brazil, why so much talk hell media international about Nigerian population

Discovering this 77percent channel just upgraded my respect for DW

I just love this anchor. She coordinates her questions well. Her abilities make me love her to the moon and back.

Brilliant and I am impressed with the discussants.

The guy at 0.21 and his ilk are Nigeria’s biggest headache. The one at 2.02 is spot on. The first lady with the red scarf put it brilliantly.

This is one of the best Nigerian journalists I have seen. Was very objective and let everyone Express their views without imposing her opinions in questioning. Awesome interview 👍🏿👍🏿

My heart goes out to all the women of the world that are seen as nothing but breeding cows by their husbands and religious leaders. To see the women forced to birth child after child against their will when they can barely feed or care for themselves is heartbreaking.

"Brother. Ismail Thanks so much for the statistics And saying the facts. peace bro."

Africans must learn how to manage, admin and operations of the economies. Population explosion is a good thing but Africans must learn equity, righteousness, order, justice and truth. That’s what brings prosperity, peace, harmony and tranquility. The truth is that everything in Africa is in chaos , disorder, corruption, poverty you name it.

Very educative

The media man from the govenor will never say anything against the government... he knows deep down in his conscience that the government is not doing the needful... Thank God down here in the south we're educating more women than even men... I'm proud of we the southern part of Nigeria...we don't have high illiteracy, early marriage and the most problems they have down there

If Europe's birthrate is dwindling, that is not Africa's concern? DR Congo alone is larger by far than the whole damn Europe put together. Africa is, in fact, underpopulated period. No one should scare us to reduce Africa's population due to the lack of food if 60 % of the arable land for food production on our planet is right here in Africa. Europe's fear should never be our fear. Enough of the DW BS.

Not only the government is the problem but society, religion etc

I like this discussion. I think more of this should be done in the North. I am happy this is happened in Kano

Nothern Nigeria is the problem of Nigeria. They reason with their foot

The reporter is so beautiful.

That imam is same as the senator who has 28 children am from the south am scared of getting married cause I don't have enough resources to take care of 2 kids spoke with my fiance that I want 2kids max she said 3 and my monthly income is 300k naira and someone in the north with just 15k monthly has 8 children what is wrong with this northern people sometimes I just feel like supporting people who wants the country divided

Nigeria isn't overpopulated, the resources are simply being mismanaged. There is no logical reason why poverty exist in the country

Would be better if you were able to feed or accommodate 90% of the population otherwise it's just total madness

Remove islam .... Peace in nigeria

Impressive conservation

I love what DW is doing to expose the problems and challenges of Nigeria in the open both in North and South Nigeria. People are coming out to speak. The issue of inequality of population and resources on ground, corrupt government, japa(emigration)...etc

In my opinion If you don't have economic conditions to create 6 children,have only two ou three,it is better to give a better conditions of live.

Hello Ms kiman, I as Kenyan I really feel bad for my Africans when I see people around me having many as 6 to10 children & they are poor, Now what do you expect to happen is killing each other because of land 🤔🤔🤔

We are not saying for Africans to stop having children, but it is not sustainable for every family to have 5, 6 or 7 children. At least try to limit the number of children to 3. The population would increase sustainably without depleting the natural resources.

Are people honestly pretending this is a good thing?

Gambia is a Muslim country,but girls cannot marry until 18. Northern Nigeria can do this too. The Imam is not that wrong,the population could be a blessing if utilised.

This lady is so good but also help uncover our country, here in kenya there is alot of monopoly by the government and corruption and what have you which should be bursted open by these interviews.

The issue is how does the country cater for the population. Solve the corruption problems and people will manage themselves automatically. Free education, free healthcare, improve agriculture, create employment and entrepreneurship. The government cannot force birth control on people. The culture will not allow it. As long as people see children as their retirement plan, nothing will change. Population control is population time bomb in the future. Look at Europe with the baby boomers retiring and look at China and Japan. They now rely on immigration to cater for their older generation. Japan is a dying nation. And China has realized the time bomb coming for them and they have reversed their one child policy, but the damage is already done. Africa should not look outside our culture to solve the problem. Africa is blessed in so many ways. Our resources should be made available to the people and care for all our children.

Thank you, DW, for going on the ground in Africa!

"We have everything poor" has the answer! Please stop comparing Nigeria to other African countries. They have strong cultures, they speak their own language, they own and exploit their resources. Nigeria is at that level "just because" successive leaders don't care about doing better dot.

19:00 was heart breaking. You can hear the pain in her voice. I wonder if she was forced into a marriage.

We need a follow up video for 2024!!!

Wow the accent in northern Nigeria is unique

The problem is the countries that surround Nigeria. They are very poor and the people feel like Nigeria can fix their own problem. But it can't. Nigeria doesn't really have the infrastructure to help people on the bottom. That is why the people on the bottom find themselves in worst shape than where they come from. And Nigerians find themselves being squeezed even more, so in return, they force to leave their country to find better pastures.

Nice piece.

Mass education would help check population growth. Democratize education!

It's going to be a curse.. trust me on this.. I m n indian..

"You agreeing with the with mallam or imam in China. China government has putting a law of how many children you can give birth to."

If Allah is commanding you to have too many kids, then Allah (not the EU taxpayers) can take care of those kids.

Religion is blaming the government, government is blaming the people vise vise. I think everyone is rite and wrong.. And I don't see any reason why a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria would be collecting 50m a month and the Nigerian teenager can't have 20k a month attach to his or her name

Edith is soo good!👌🏾

if anything Nigeria should be making more kids. the real problem is demanding our government to be useful. statistically, Nigeria has enough resource to carter for its people but the management of this resource has failed us continuously. the imam is right, even if there are fewer people in Nigeria if its resources are mismanaged there would still be problems.

Blessing. Blessings of GOD Maketh Rich, He added no sorrow To It... everything GOD Maketh is Beautiful....

Interviewer speak English clear and well❤❤

Well I dont have a say for 200 million population. + But India has "Balika Vadhu" *Tv serial* for addressing *Child Marriage* for very crucial state like Rajasthan. + Even Muslims in India is now enough Educated, *Muslim Fertility rate* is 3.1 not much higher then India Average. + Govt job is governance. They dictate, they currupt, they do everything. *Suffering of* Farmers in India, and Hong Kong in China + *Population Densitty* is the game, China have out of proportion area then India. (Including Fertile Land and Land Resource) + Yet, India is suffering, cus they dont have proper population policy till now, *India Giving Birth to 25million children as compared to China 15million children every year.* - Indian women does need to have affirmation of their husband, cus he might creat brawl if there is any *surgency for Birth Control.*

With due respect, the Imam representing the conservative voice is clear indication that there is need for reeducation. The malams may have good intentions, but out of lack of interaction, they felt to understand other interpretations of Islam.