Introduction
According to Fred (2009), population is the total number of person inhabiting a country, city or any district or area. Population is people living in the same geographical area and have the capacity of interbreeding. In the South African Medical Journal (2010), population is the body of inhabitant of place and also the body or inhabitant of a particular race or class in a place. Population means the number of people in a geographical area. It can also be used for subgroups of people or animals.
According to Robert (2001), the word population is derived from the Latin meaning populous “people”. To remember that population is connected to people and know that this world is derived from population. Popular, populist, populate. Over population according to World Population Prospect (2009), is a general undesirable condition where an organism number exceeds the current caring capacity of its habitant.
Dhirubhai (2013), Stated that overpopulation occurs when a population of specie exceeds the caring capacity of its ecological nuclei. He further said that overpopulation is a function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as the water, food, Housing and electricity that they need to survive. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, and an increase in immigration.
Andrew (2011), opined that the biggest single change on earth in the past 2000 years, is the explosion in the human population. Bellary (2007), state that lack of sex education for the girl child, lack of birth control policy, low death rate, low level of resources distribution on some reason of overpopulation in Asaba town. Overpopulation as noted by the inter-Academy Panel Statement on population Growth Circa (1994), Said it has many environment problems, such as rising levels of atmosphere Carbon dioxide, global warming and depletion. Overpopulation also increase demand for resources such as fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition consumption of natural resources such as fossil fuel faster that the rate of regenerations.
However, some believe that waste and over- consumption, especially by wealthy nation, is putting more strain on the environment that is overpopulation. In Nigeria, it has become the policy of the National population Commission to ascension size of the country periodically, normally every ten (10) years.
Presenting the rising scourge of overpopulation in Asaba town has lots of challenge and implication for National Population Commission which includes security threat, inadequate fresh water for drinking, depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuel, increase levels of air pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution. Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that valuably contribute to global atmospheric Oxygen and Carbon dioxide balance, loss of infant mortality rate, increased chances of the emergency of new epidemics and pandemic diseases which is the outbreak and the study of diseases in Asaba town due to overcrowding, malnutrition and inaccessibility to sound health care, poverty, low life expectancy, unhygienic living condition, conflicts or war over scarce resources.
Conceptual framework
Overpopulation is undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceed the carrying capacity of the Earth; African Medical Journal (2010) they proceeded by stating that Overpopulation is caused by number of factors, reducing mortality rate, better medical facilities, depletion of precious resources are few of the cause which result in overpopulation, it is possible for sparsely population area to become densely populated if it is not able to sustain life.
According to Fred (2009), population is the total number of person inhabiting a country, city or any district or area. Population is the summation of all the organisms of the same group or species which live in the same geographical area and have the capability of interbreeding. The World Population Clock (2010), opined that population is the body of inhabitant of a place and also the number or body of inhabitant of a particular race or class in a place. Population means the number of people in a geographical area; it can also be used as subgroups of people or animals.
According to Robert (2001), the word population is derived from the Latin meaning populas ‘’people’’ to remember that population is connected to people. Andrew (2011), opined that the biggest single change on Earth in the past (250) years is the explosion in the human population. Bellary (2007), state that lack of sex education for the girl child, lack of birth control policy, low death rate, low level of resources distraction in Asaba Town. Population means the number of people in geographical area.
Overpopulation as noted by the Inter-Academy panel statement on Population Growth Circa (1994), it has many environmental problems such as arising level of atmospheric carbon-oxide, global warming and population. Overpopulation also increase demand for resources such as fresh water and food, starvation and malnutrition, consumption of natural resources such as fossil fuels faster that the rate of regeneration and a deterioration in living conditions. However, some believe that waste and over-consumption especially by wealthy nation is putting more strain on the environment that is overpopulated. Overpopulation lead to poverty, overcrowding, population of air and water these factors together with increasing unemployment and food storages will decrease the quality for millions of people.
George (2002), view that overpopulation occurs when a population of a species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche; he further said that overpopulation is a function of the individual compared to the relevant resources such as the water, food, housing and electricity that they need to survive. It can result from an increase in birth, a declined in mortality rates and increase in immigration or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. Advanced of technology in each coming year has affected humanity in many ways; one of these advancement has been the ability to save lives and create medical treatment for all, a direct results of this has increased lifespan and the growth of the population in the past fifty years, the growth of population has boomed and has turned into overpopulation, in the history of spices the birth and death rate of human have not been able to balance each other and maintain a population growth rate that is sustainable. In Nigeria it has become the policy of the National Population Commission to ascertain the size of the country periodically, normally every ten (10) this is called population census of which the last head count held in (2006) end was put at one hundred and forty three million, one hundred thousand (143,100,000).
History of over-population in Asaba town
According to Obiora (2012), Asaba town before 1991 was relatively ‘’Sleepy’’ small town of the bank River Niger best known only as a doorway to the busy Onitsha Market, but in 1991, shortly after the creation of Delta State with Asaba named as its capital, the population of Asaba began to grow as a result of influx of different government parastatals and civil servants working in the different government parastatals.
Umeh (2010) stated that the entrance of different government parastatals gave birth to different types of business such as trading, hoteliers, churches, banking etc. in the quest to meet up with the need for Asaba to accommodate its new status of a state capital, several development projects and buildings came into existence, giving birth to influx of people working in these in building, construction and fabrication works. The presence or perceive of employment opportunities became a full factor which drag people from different parts of the state and beyond into Asaba town thereby leading to the present state of overpopulation in the town today.
People who have political ambition or who for one reason or the other wanted to be close in the seat of power in Delta State believed that living in Asaba town will give them an upper hand in propelling their ambition with the arrival of this various groups of people has led to population explosion in Asaba which has exerted enormous pressure on the amenities and infrastructures in the town. Asaba in Igbo is from Ahabagom meanings have chosen well, a quote from the founding father Nnebisi of Asaba.
Asaba was once the colonial of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate; it was founded in 1884, it hosted the royal Niger Company which the British authority set up to stimulate trade and the exportation of goods to England. That company has grown today into the UAC Nigeria Plc.
The traditional ruler of Asaba is known as the Asagba of Asaba. The town of Asaba is the capital of oil rich Delta State of Nigeria which is strategically located on a hill of the Western edge of the majestic River-Niger. The River Niger is a trans-African link beginning from West Africa and down into the Atlantic Ocean. Asaba forms a connector between Western, Eastern and Northern Nigeria through the River Niger from the North and via the Asaba Niger Bridge, an East-West link and a Nigeria land mark. Asaba lies approximately 6 degrees North of the equator and about the same distance East of the Meridian about 160 kilometre (100 miles) North of where the River Niger flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the greater Asaba occupies the area of about 300 square kilometres. It maintains an average tropical temperature of 32oC during the dry season and an average fertile rainfall of 2,700 millimetres (106) during the rainy season.
The composition of Asaba is mainly the Igbo people other groups in the city consist of Itsekirio, Urhobo, Isoko, Ukwuani, Ika, Ijaw, Hausa and Yoruba people. According to Anioma Essence (2010), no doubt, the changing face of Asaba is a welcome development even as we look forward to more development because the emerging face of Asaba is a confirmation that indeed Asaba (Asaba is beautiful). However one question on the lips of people is when will Okpanam and Ibusa own transformation by virtue of the fact that they are also part of the capital territory. The question which begs for answer from the government because the effect of Urban Spiral in Asaba has led to population explosion in these communities’ requisite amenities and infrastructures to improve their standard of living.
Asaba as the capital of Delta State has come with socio-economic evolution for the community and people with countries fortunes for Anioma hand as a whole but the neglect the various past and present government of the state has visited on their nearby communities to the capital city is of dolefulness. It is hard to explain why these governments have the for limiting the development to Asaba we question this humbling attitude which is inimical to Okpanam and Ibusa especially because when seeming developments visits more hardship on the people, it becomes difficult to differentiate between suicide development and leadership. Asaba has transformed from a local government headquarter status that it was before 1991 to a state capita which had lead to the present state of overpopulation in the town. It is also the same story for Ibusa and Okpanam which are nearby communities. People who want to live in the town to work in Asaba because of high cost of accommodation procurement in the state capital. What this portends for Ibusa and Okpanam is disgustingly terrifying for indigenes and inhabitant as a whole; the morality behind the deliberate neglect of these two important Anioma communities is questionable and those the government concerned can supply adequate.
Today overpopulation of Asaba has given birth to several ugly implication for the town, the over-usage of the natural provision of the town is one problem, that overpopulation has gradually increased crime and violence so that inhabitant can no longer sleep with both eyes firmly shut is another story entirely. The story of Okpanam as it concerns crime is similar to that of Ibusa. Countless youths now roam the quarters of Ibusa and Okpanam in indigenes and as we are aware, idle minds are the devils workshops, reason why crime is increasing in the communities.
Characteristics of overpopulation
Overpopulation in associated with several undesirable conditions as a result of the increase in the number of existing human population. According to Carr (2009), Some of the other characteristics of overpopulation include: child poverty, high birth rates, lower life expectancies, low level of literacy, high rate of unemployment, food shortage, insufficient arable lands, low per capital, increasingly unhygienic conditions, poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases example rickets, mass extinctions of mantes and enemies as habit is used for firmly and human settlement and increased crime rates resulting from people stealing resources to survive.
Characteristics of overpopulation on the inhabitants of asaba town
According to Meduemezie (2011), Overpopulation in the Asaba town are characterized by the presence of several challenge on the inhabitants. Some problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation in Asaba town are:
- Inadequate fresh water for drinking as well as sewage treatment and effluent discharging, Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels, Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution.
- Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that valuably contribute to the global atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide balance, hundreds of hectares of forest are lost each year in Asaba town, changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming, loss of enable land and increase in desertification. Deforestation and desertification can be reversed by adopting property ragouts, and this policy is successful even while the human population continues to grow.
- Intensive factory to support large populations. It results in human threats including the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria diseases, excessive air water pollution and new viruses that infect humans. Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemic and pandemics. Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet –deficiency diseases (example rickets), Poverty and inflation in the town and a resulting low level of capital formation. Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic policies, unhygienic living condition for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of raw sewage and solid waste disposal, elevated crime rate due to increased thief by people stealing resources to survive, conflict over scarce resource and crowding, leading to increase levels of warfare.
Characteristics of overpopulation on economy of inhabitants of asaba
Economists and demographers worldwide, has agreed that whenever there is a case of population explosion in a city or town over a short period of time, there are associated characteristic implication on the town or city.
Haynes (2006), highlighted characteristics of overpopulation which are very noticeable in Asaba town to include:
- Inadequate increase in food production: As compared to the growth of population, the rate of increase in food production will always lag behind as compared with the required food need by the people thereby leading to inflation and subsequent reduction in standard of living. This is very much the present situation in Asaba town today where the incomes of the people in the town are in a fierce battle to catch up with present rate of inflation especially in food items.
- Growing unemployment: Overpopulation leads to a rise in the rate of unemployment. The few available jobs in the city are sought after by a large number of people. This situation leads to low economic standard of the people, since employed few have a large number of dependent to canter for the income received. This high number of dependents leads to a lower levels of economic status of the individuals and the generality of the town or city. This situation obviously paints the current picture of Asaba town.
- Low standard of living: The standard of living of the masses in Asaba town is appallingly low compared to their income. The combination of inadequate food production with its subsequent high in the rate of inflation and growing rate of unemployment with leads to high dependency rate add up to bring about a low standard of living in the town.
Causes of overpopulation
- Decline in death rate: At the root of overpopulation is the difference between the overall birth rate and death rate in population. If the number of children born each year equals the number of adults that diet, then the population will stabilize. Talking about overpopulation show that while there are many factors that can increase the death rate for short periods of time, the ones that increase the birth rate do so over a long period of time. The discovery of agriculture by our ancestors was one factor that provides them with the ability to sustain their nutrition without hunting. This created the first imbalance between the two rates.
- Lack of family planning: According to South African Medical Journal (2010), Lock of family planning: Most developing nations have large number of people who are illiterate, live below or no knowledge about family planning. Getting their children married at an early age increase the chances of producing more kids, those people are unable to understand the harmful effect of overpopulation and lack of ignorance prompts them to avoid family planning measures.
- Increases rate of immigration: Immigration as said by the South African Medical Journal (2010). Many people prefer to move to developed places like Asaba where best facilities are available in terms of medical, education, security and employment. The end result is that those people settle over there and those places become overpopulated and crowded. Difference between the number of people that are leaving Asaba and the number of people the enter Asaba narrows down which leads to more demand for food, clothes, energy and homes. This gives room for shortage of resources through the overall population remains the same it just affects the density of population making that place overcrowded.
General impact of overpopulation in the society
Human population is growing like never before. We are now adding one billion people to the planet every 12 years, that is about 220,000 per day let us look at this in three difference angle the Health of the inhabitant of Asaba town, the Economy and the Environment of Asaba Town.
Impact of overpopulation on the health of the inhabitants of Asaba
According to Green Facts (2011) sometimes viruses spread faster in denser population, which enables deadly mutation to continue. Dr. Nathan Wolfe of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, studies virus mutation which jump from animal to human population. The AIDS virus is one of the deadliest of these; Dr. Wolfe said individuals have been infected with these viruses forever. What’s changed though, is in the past you had smaller human population, viruses would infect them and go extinct. The correlation does not imply cause and effect and can be lined to interplay of birth and death rate and economic development. Poor living condition can also cause a very bad effect on the population, diseases such as malaria and HIV /AIDS can also contribute to this. Lack of nutrient, poor sanitation and poor health institution. Death rate and birth can also have a negative effect on the population.
Impact of overpopulation on the economy of the inhabitants of Asaba town
According to Howmay (2014), the effect can depend on the people if the people in the “overpopulation” group do not have money than they are a drag on the social services (schools, hospitals) of the town. If these people have jobs then they are consumers and they drive the economy yet they spend too much than the government, rising of interest rates. So you can see that the effects would be different, many people equals many potential. The impact can be positive and negative if population increase we cannot satisfy these demands immediately. Therefore problem of short supply of goods, unemployment, efficient service etc, we cannot provide proper housing to each family, supply of land, water, power and capital is limited. If there is population control we can manage within quality of life will definitely improved, we must give incentive to those who give priority for small family, as difference within demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prises of various commodities including food, housing, electricity and health care services. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.
Impact of overpopulation on the environment
According to South Africa Medical Journal (2010), problem includes depletion of natural resources, Degradation of environment, Air quality oil and gas. Depletion of natural resources, the earth can only produce a limited amount of water and food which is falling short of the current needs seen in the last fifty years is because of the growing number of people on the planet. Overpopulation has noticed out of violence and aggressions outside of a war zone have increased tremendously, while competition for resources. Degradation of the environment, rise in number of vehicles have badly affected the quality of air. Rise in amount of CO2 emission leads to global warming melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns, raise in sea level are few of the consequences that we might have to face due to environmental pollution.
Air quality in many regions of the country childhood asthma refer have risen dramatically in the past 20 years, the problem are not limited to the industrialized countries with their automobiles and factors. Children in undeveloped countries where people depend on burning wood and dung for their heat and cooking are also risk oil and gas are the underpinning of what is historically speaking the extremely cheap and fast transportation that today huge population depends on imagine how we could feed and supply our huge cities if all the hauling was done in horse drawn carts and sailing ships.
Ways to control overpopulation in Asaba town
- Better education: The first measure step is to implement polices reflecting social change. Educating the masses helps them understand the need to have one or three children at the most. Families that are facing a hard life and choose to have four or five children should be discouraged, family planning and efficient birth control can help in woman making their own reproductive choices.
- Awareness on family planning: Making people aware of family planning, as population of this world is growing at a rapid pace, raising awareness among people regarding family planning and letting them know about serious after effect of overpopulation can help curb population growth. One of the best ways is to let them know about various safe sex techniques and contractive methods available to avoid any unwanted pregnancy.
- Awareness on environmental and social cost of overpopulation: Our population is already above a sustainable level, and in many regions well above a safe and prosperous level. As people become aware of this in the 60s and 70s many people chose to have smaller families. Kids are truly wonderful, and caring for them is a challenging and rewarding experience. Parent can keep in mind that every person must be cared for within the constraints of the local and global environments.
- Promotion of sex education: Knowledge of sex education, impacting sex education to young kids at elementary level should be must. Most parents feel shy in discussing such things with their kids who result in the children going out and look out for such information on internet and discussing it with peers. Mostly, the information is incomplete which results in sexually active teenagers unaware of seek information about same (Rinkesh, 2009)
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