By Vera Chinonso Aliyu and Okereke Udoakpuenyi, YeyeNews.com, October 9, 2021
The governors of southern Nigerian states, in a communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting held at Kwale in Delta State, have asked citizens of southern states to procreate more so to can catch up with the population of the north.
“The meeting frowned at the tendency of our northern colleagues to intimidate us with their large population size whenever there is a political dispute. Though we consider the acclaimed large population as suspicious, we have nevertheless drawn up measures to commensurately increase our population over the next 20 years”, part of the communique seen by YeyeNews.com reporter reads.
A source who is privy to the discussions told YeyeNews.com that the southern governors are not happy about the threat by their northern colleagues to mobilise their population to vote in another president of northern extraction ahead of the 2023 general elections. So “the governors have decided to put measures in place to forestall such intimidation tactics in future”.
“The meeting therefore resolved that each southern state will give an incentive of N100,000 to households for every child born after the third child and N200,000 for every child born after the fifth child. We shall sponsor the marriages for any couple between ages 18 and 25 who desire to get married but lack the finance and provide them with a Keke NAPEP (tricycle) to start a transportation business. Also single ladies who become pregnant are encouraged not to opt for an abortion as the government will provide them with free medical care and a stipend of N40,000 for 18 months after their pregnancy. These are drastic measures that we are instituting to ensure the population of the southern states exceed that of other regions in the next 10 to 20 years”, the communique concluded.
On the issue of encouraging younger men to have more than one wife, the meeting did not take a decision as some of the governors were opposed to having more than one wife. Some of the governors were of the opinion that if they were to tell people to do it, then they should start it themselves. One governor from the Southeast told them that he loved his wife and would not think of being with another woman. Another governor was said to have chipped in “Tell it to the choir” and everybody started laughing. The issued was shelved for the next meeting.
However, an aide of a former governor of Zamfara State has boasted that the south can never catch up with the population of the north. “Look at them talking about marrying between ages 18 and 25. At that age an average northern girl is already a mother of 2 to 4 children. They are stipulating 18 years for marriage when in the north our girls are already ripe for marriage at 12 years. Also we don’t need to bribe our people to breed children. They have been directed to do so by the prophet. And if they cannot provide for the children, they can just send them to an Almajiri enclave and go straight back to making more babies. The production line for children in the north is always in full operation. Nothing can stop it and no one can beat it.”
