Photo: allAfrica.com

Nigerian children.

Abuja — A legislation that would check indiscriminate procreation may be in the offing as President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, gave indication that government was considering the option of checking population explosion.

The President, who spoke at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-appointed Chairman and Commissioners of the National Population Commission at the Presidential Villa, however, admitted that though regulating the country's population through legislation is a very contentious matter, government cannot afford to remain aloof while the country's population grew unchecked.

It would be recalled that the only time there was an attempt by government to control birth in the country was during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida when it was decreed that the maximum birth per woman is four children.

The policy, however, was largely unsuccessful because of widespread opposition against it from different spectrum of the society.

However, reiterating his commitment to the new policy, President Jonathan noted that Nigeria would not be the first country to make laws controlling population and religious belief should not be a tool to frustrate good policy.

He said: "For us to plan properly, we must manage our population. But it is extremely sensitive; we are extremely religious."