Nigeria cannot forget in a hurry the unfortunate legacies and the traumatizing effects of the colonial rule which included the debilitating effects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the forced amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914 without the consent of the ethnic nationalities and the booby-trap built into an inaccurate population figure forced down the throats of Nigerians at the departure of the colonialists. The unfortunate truth is that Nigeria is the only country in the world where the grassland and arid regions harbour the densest population than the forest region. The history of census in Nigeria was dated back to the early 1863, a year after the founding of the colony of Lagos. The colonial masters made this a ten-yearly affair. Another was held in 1911. 1921 was the most comprehensive while the most elaborate was held in 1952/53. The controversial census of 1962 was cancelled while that of 1963 did not enjoy general acceptability. After the civil war of 1967-70, an attempt was made to hold a census in 1973. This did not fair better, and was therefore cancelled by the government of General Murtala Mohammed in 1975.No subsequent nationwide census had been held as of 1990, although there have been various attempts to derive population estimates at state and local levels. Most official national population estimates are based on projections from the 1963 census.The 1991 census which was conducted with the support of international organizations like the UNFPA and the European Union was much better organized, coordinated and largely a compromise program due to the relative transparency that was brought to bare in its conduct, although there were few dissenting voices crying against some of the figures generated.The result of the 1991 census which put Nigeria’s population at 88.5million in human population has been used by successive government as the major instrument of planning and development all these years. However the impact of the figures was not felt during the creation of states and local government both in late 1991 by the Babangida administration and 1996 by the Abacha regime.If we must spend huge sums of money conducting censuses, then we must also develop a very huge appetite to spread development on the outcome of the exercise. Census should no longer be census for its sake. Census should not be seen or considered as a ritual to be done every ten years for the purpose of budgeting and political grandstanding. It is hoped that the 2006 census will be successful in all ramifications, affording the different strata of government reliable figures for effective planning, equitable distribution of resources and responsible governance. 

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