One mouth, two hands, and the population, By Bolutife Oluwadele

For the reason of food inadequacy in Nigeria today, it could be assumed that we are overpopulated. Moreso, if the notion is regarded as an emanation of an era of communalism, it is still based on wild assumptions and a narrow perspective. Hence, two hands and one mouth is not a sufficient or strong argument capable of knocking out the overpopulation argument, as Nigeria, nay be the world at large, is today saddled with a huge food shortage.

It was Reverend Pastor turned Economist Malthus who ignited the explosive that brought about the endless discussion on population. Viewing the geometric progression in population increase vis-à-vis the disproportionate increase in food production to meet the adequate need of the population, Malthus foresaw a precarious situation coming if nothing concrete was done to avert the mismatch. Nonetheless, his postulation did not actually go down well with other economists, who merely saw Malthus as a prophet of doom. Others even ascribed his opinion as a culmination of ignorance of the emerging technological development that dealt a blow to the problem of food shortage. Besides, there was the argument that for every mouth that has two hands, feeding is and should not be a problem for it.

The adequacy of food production on basis of the notion of one mouth and two hands will be looked into with emphasis on the Nigerian situation. To do this effectively, certain underlying assumptions inherent in the notion shall be examined.

It is assumed that every person born into the world needs food as a basic requirement. As a matter of fact, s/he has to produce, even if at least to keep only himself/herself physically okay for existence. Therefore, there must be food for every individual born into the world. Aside from this, it is also assumed that everybody that comes into the world has his/her two hands given to him/her on a platter of gold. S/he does not have to negotiate for it. It is an inalienable right from the divine creator. It is also assumed that these two divine-given hands are naturally productive and should meet the individual’s production requirements. Thus, if every two productive hands must cater for only one mouth, there should not arise any situation of food shortage.

Another basis for the notion is that all able two hands must be willing to produce for the needing mouth. And, if all hands produce for these mouths, it is believed that no mouth will be left unfed or inadequately catered for.

In the ideal situation, these assumptions look tenable on the surface. However, many more things come into play in the actual situation, which obviously negate whatever might be reasonably attainable in relation to the assumptions, even from a broad perspective.

Supposing that the notion of every two hands as feeding a mouth holds, and as such there can never be a case of overpopulation, how then can it be reconciled with the present situation in Nigeria, which is yet a very finite segment of the world population, in which hunger seems to be increasingly pervading the entire spectrum of the society?

The assumptions fail to address the issue that while it could be true that every mouth requires food for immunity from hunger, it does not necessarily mean that every two supportive hands can adequately meet up such food requirement. These fail to appreciate the issue of age distribution. While children and the aged might possess two hands each, but these might not really be productive hands. For kids, two hands cannot contribute anything to the filling up of stomachs. It is also common knowledge that many mouths abound within the population that supposedly lack two hands. So many people with disability are within the population, yet they all have to eat. The notion could be construed as seeking to marginalise people with disability, and also eing thought through properly, because if people with two hands produce only for themselves, who then produces for the handless?

Equally, supposing all two hands are capable of being productive, does it mean that all of them will be willing to embark on productive activities to enhance the feeding of the population? This hints at the notion that some unwilling “two hands” exist in the population.

Supposing that the notion of every two hands as feeding a mouth holds, and as such there can never be a case of overpopulation, how then can it be reconciled with the present situation in Nigeria, which is yet a very finite segment of the world population, in which hunger seems to be increasingly pervading the entire spectrum of the society?

For some time now, two hands have gotten to be catering for nothing less than five to six unproductive mouths. With these appalling circumstance eroding our daily lives, is it reasonable to still hold on to this notion, which could be regarded as being ill-conceived?

Today, Nigeria cannot adequately feed itself, which is a consequence of overpopulation, as enabled by many other factors. We have many two hands disproportionate to many “one mouths”, hence the population suffers from inadequate food availability.

The rate at which unemployment is going in Nigeria, which has rendered too many willing hands as incapable of production, only kindles our effort at debunking the notion in its entirety. Not to talk of the low technological production base of the country, nor the actual fact that it is not all two hands that will engage in pure food production. Others will delve into other areas, which may not necessarily bring forth some form of “physical” garri or yam.

The effects of the social system that encourages some to over-acquire what is needed at the expense of others who have nothing to contend with is also an inherent negation.

Today, Nigeria cannot adequately feed itself, which is a consequence of overpopulation, as enabled by many other factors. We have many two hands disproportionate to many “one mouths”, hence the population suffers from inadequate food availability.

For the reason of food inadequacy in Nigeria today, it could be assumed that we are overpopulated. Moreso, if the notion is regarded as an emanation of an era of communalism, it is still based on wild assumptions and a narrow perspective. Hence, two hands and one mouth is not a sufficient or strong argument capable of knocking out the overpopulation argument, as Nigeria, nay be the world at large, is today saddled with a huge food shortage.

Bolutife Oluwadele is a chartered accountant, author, and public policy scholar based in Canada. Email: bolutife.oluwadele@gmail.com

NB: The article was initially written in 1989.