Not a census of beer bottles!

In the query, the man was asked to explain why he has been making inflammatory statements and questioning the outcome of the previous census instead of concentrating on the job at hand. Since that query, Odimegwu has kept quiet; he is beginning to see the wisdom of working silently to reverse the figures he objects […]

In the query, the man was asked to explain why he has been making inflammatory statements and questioning the outcome of the previous census instead of concentrating on the job at hand. Since that query, Odimegwu has kept quiet; he is beginning to see the wisdom of working silently to reverse the figures he objects to, instead of continuing to openly indicate his intentions. Odimegwu’s brief is simple: discredit the 2006 census – and even the exercises before it – so as to set the stage to reverse the population advantage of northern Nigeria.
By the ebullient manner he went about discrediting all previous censuses, especially that of 2006, Mr Odimegwu himself did not help matters. Every time he spoke, he came across as somebody out to embarrass the very people who assigned him; rather than drawing attention to his commission, he drew it to himself. In Mr Odimegwu’s estimation, it is impossible for the northern part of the country to post the number of people counted for it in 2006 or at any previous census. “There was no census” he said gleefully, and went on to allege that the 20006 census officials “shared three million Pounds and N90 million in a hotel room.” If Mr Odimegwu and his sponsors have their facts, why can’t they press charges against those concerned? Sadly, Mr Odimegwu has neither the qualification nor the experience to conduct census of people anywhere in this world.
The more tragic aspect of his shortcomings is the fact that Mr Odimegwu lacks the credibility to conduct acceptable census in Nigeria owing to his unedifying, ignoble and treacherous role as one of the arrowheads of those that sought to subvert the constitution so that their godfather (you can see that Odimegwu has already moved on), Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, could remain president for life. Recalling that shameful role, Odimegwu said: “Obasanjo made me to be spokesman of organised private sector during his eight years … and in the process, my company benefitted here and there but nothing for me as a person.” Cheeky Odimegwu!
Mr Odimegwu’s tactless salvoes alienated a number of critical stakeholders; firstly, Nigerians are aware that 22 of the NPC Commissioners have dissociated themselves from his penchant for controversy and suspicious methodology for predicting the answer before working out the sum. If 22 Commissioners, 22 of your colleagues are opposed to you, who is really left with you? Chances are that the members of staff of the commission would also be alienated from you, more so because a so-called technical committee that Odimegwu is said to have formed has allegedly usurped the work of other commissioners.
Secondly, if you single out such an important part of the country as the north and say that their population figure is inflated, it would be read to mean that you have come to “correct” the equation by jacking up figure for your own particular section of the country which has popularised the word marginalization. Has anyone noticed that the word marginalisation, invented by Festus Odimegwu’s people, has suddenly disappeared from the newest edition of their dictionary? Well, Odimegwu’s people are no longer on the margins; they are in the thick of it. By making deliberate efforts to discredit the last census, Mr Odimegwu has antagonised and lost the cooperation of his predecessors; yet Mr Sumaila Makama has superior expertise and experience for conducting census compared to Mr Odimegwu.
There are other critical stakeholders Mr Odimegwu has antagonised, even though they will not speak now, the donors. With his crazy bill of N600 billion to conduct the 2016 census, Mr Odimegwu will surely need the cooperation of America, Europe and the United Nations. All of these bodies had contributed money to execute the last census and adjudged it fair. Are they going to cough out additional money to bankroll Mr Odimegwu’s impossible, fanciful exercise in 2016?
The federal government had long before now accepted the outcome of the 2006 census, it would therefore be silly for any government functionary, including Mr Odimegwu, to turn around and reject those figures.
The government should be ashamed of how Mr Odimegwu has been conducting himself since his appointment. The government should be doubly ashamed of keeping quiet while Mr Odimegwu pooh-poohs census figures.
“Festus shouldn’t be there in the first place…..he cannot be the chairman of NPC and at the same time attacking what his predecessor had done…..he has already killed the 2016 census before it even started”, Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State fumed, calling Odimegwu’s appointment a ‘mistake’.  But those who appointed Mr Odimegwu did not make mistake. They deliberately searched for and saddled Mr Odimegwu with the census assignment so that he can “correct” the figures. There is a carefully laid treacherous plan to undo northern Nigerian census figures as part of an unfolding political agenda to stymie the region and devalue its human assets. What they didn’t expect from Odimegwu was that he could publicly disclose this agenda, which was why they needed to gag him. Meanwhile, those who appointed Odimegwu appear to be sucked in by the silly and chimeric plan to establish “solar kiosks” to create census data and provide “five million jobs”. If Odimegwu can do this, then he should exchange jobs with Jonathan!
Not long ago someone woke up in stupor and caused his principals to approve contract to install CCTV cameras in Abuja and Lagos. The multi-billion Naira contract has obviously been abandoned and the money gone under the drain. The hitherto jobless Odimegwu appears to be leading the country on another merry go round on account of census by asking for a crazy sum of N600 billion. Meanwhile, the last census amounted to less than N50 billion plus and former NPC chairman, Sumaila Makama, had made it clear that all those who led the teams that validated the final figures of the 2006 census were either Nigerian Christians or foreigners – and they couldn’t – and had no reason to favour northern Nigeria. Just because you were a former managing director of a brewery doesn’t mean that you can conduct an acceptable census.
If Mr Odimegwu goes on with this poisoned mindset of a hatchet man, he risks having his 2016 census rejected. This is not a census of beer bottles!