The strength of a country is measured through certain indices, some of which are military strength, economy, geography, and population. However, the population can become a tricky indicator because of the possibility of its Janus-headed manifestations. This context is most relevant in countries experiencing population explosion without the natural and material resources to cope with it. The trend is particularly evident in Africa, particularly the Nigerian situation, where attempts at addressing the explosion through policy have failed, which further proves that the Nigerian population explosion is a typical Janus-headed scenario. There is no known research on this discourse as scholars either focussed on the factors that promote population growth or how it affects the economy, without examining the Janus-headed tricky indicator of population explosion which prompted this discourse. In this context, the research paper evaluates the Nigerian population explosion politics as a Janus –headed dilemma and seeks an answer to this question to this question: “Does Nigeria’s population provide opportunities or challenges”?
Keywords: Janus-headed dilemma, Nigeria, Population, population explosion
