Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, on Tuesday cautioned that Nigerians should not go to war over census.
Babangida said the inclusion of religion and tribe as criteria are the cause of such controversy.
Babangida spoke in his residence in Minna, Niger State when he hosted a team of members of the National Population Commission, led by Barrister Aliyu Datti, a National Commissioner in the Commission.
He said the wrong perception of what census is all about that characterised past head count conducted in the country, has rendered the exercises controversial whenever it took place.
He said such should be discouraged.
The former leader identified the inclusion of religion and tribe as part of information required as one of the main causes of the controversies that usually erupt at the end of every exercise.
This, he said, has further heightened the suspicion of the outcome of every exercise.
He said: “Those who are fanatical about religion or tribe will want the outcome to be in favour of their religion or tribe.
“We should try and remove all these things that tend to cause controversy.
“We are all Nigerians.
“We should not go to war over census.”
Babangida admitted that the 1991 Census midwifed by his administration failed to impress it on the people that census is not about religion or tribe but about numbers needed for planning at all levels of government.
Commending the sensitisation drive of the NPC for the next exercise, Babangida said: “If we are able to make the next exercise look like a normal routine exercise, devoid of all those issues, it will help get rid of attendant controversies after the exercise.”
He charged the commission to ensure adequate publicity and sensitisation for the next exercise.
Earlier, Datti said the Commission embarked on consultations with principal actors of previous censuses in order to enrich them in their preparation for the 2016 census.
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