Keep politics out of census, Nigerians told

ABUJA – Nigeria began its first census in 15 years yesterday with President Olusegun Obasanjo, eager to avoid a repeat of previous fiascos, appealing to his countrymen to leave politics out of it.

Headcounts have been controversial in Africa’s most populous country because rival ethnic and religious groups have tried to use them to assert their numerical superiority and claim a larger share of oil revenues and political representation. “Census-taking is not politics and should therefore not be a contest for political supremacy,” Obasanjo said in a morning television and radio broadcast to launch the census.Disputes over census results between competing interest groups have discredited several counts since independence from Britain in 1960.- Nampa-Reuters”Census-taking is not politics and should therefore not be a contest for political supremacy,” Obasanjo said in a morning television and radio broadcast to launch the census.Disputes over census results between competing interest groups have discredited several counts since independence from Britain in 1960.- Nampa-Reuters