For almost a decade, the Nigerian government and stakeholders have raised conversations on the need to harmonise the country’s identification database to allow for information sharing among agencies of government. However, this is yet to totally take effect. ADETOLA BADEMOSI writes on the impact of data duplication and need for an interoperable identity system.
On September 6, 2022, Kingsley Nyang applied for his international passport from the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). Completing the preliminary online process which included the statutory payment and submission of the National Identification Number (NIN), he was booked for data capture on November 26.
On the day of capturing, Nyang waited in line amidst hundreds of other Nigerians to be called in by the immigration officials for the exercise. He breathed a sigh of relief three hours after his biometric data was captured.
Given a slip, Nyang was informed that his passport would be ready in another six weeks. This unfortunately was not the case as he was only able to get his passport on May 2, 2023.
“I needed it for an opportunity in January 2023. But I didn’t get it until May. So, I lost the opportunity,” he sadly recounted.
In 2015, a young female Nigerian registered her NIN as Helen Ngozi Francis and when Nigeria’s financial institutions came up with the Bank Verification Number (BVN) the same name was reflected until she got married in December 2020.
For a name change, she approached the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the agency responsible for issuance of NIN, to get her details updated. Upon providing the required documents for this, her name was changed to Mrs Helen Ngozi Adeyemi.
However, in April 2022, Adeyemi’s bank account was restricted after receiving a higher than usual sum of money and she was required to, among other documents, provide a valid means of identification to lift the restriction.
Unfortunately, after providing the NIN, Adeyemi was told the name on her BVN does not correspond with the means of identitfication provided.
“They told me to visit the bank where I did my BVN to change my details. I thought it was something I could easily do because I needed the money in the account to urgently settle my dealers. But when I got there, they requested a wedding certificate, change of name and court affidavit. I waited for another 48 hours before it was effected. Then I had to take the new name to this other bank for them to lift the restriction,” she explained.
She added that “I use three banks, one of them still bears my old name.”
The need for a single biometrics database and harmonisation that will link all government ministries, departments and agencies in the country cannot be overemphasized.
Not only would a harmonised data system reduce cost, it will save processing time and equally enhance integrity and trust especially in the issuance of identity credentials like the passport.
Findings show that in Nigeria, over 14 government agencies collect biometric data, with each managing its own database. In response to their peculiar needs, they develop a means to identify individuals to enable them perform their specific statutory functions.
As a result, individuals now possess a host of mismatched digital identities which sometimes becomes a hindrance in accessing the services which they seek.
Sometimes, the process to rectifying these inadequacies as an individual is often tedious and takes time.
Like in the case of Adeyemi, because of the bottlenecks, she decided to maintain her former name for her third bank account.
“Databases of these agencies are largely monolithic, established and deployed for a distinct purpose only, functioning within their own isolated domain and legal powers,” states a report by International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology authored by Elvis Ogah.
This has resulted in duplication of efforts, wastage of resources and unreliable identity information due to lack of interoperability and disconnected databases.
Interestingly, the conversation on the need to harmonise all data held by different government institutions in Nigeria into a central repository has been ongoing for close to a decade. The importance was also emphasised by the previous government led by former president Muhammadu Buhari
In September 2023, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, expressed willingness to tackle challenges hindering government’s efforts to set up a single biometric database.
His words: “We have the Bank Verification Number (BVN) in the bank, the international passport, National Identification Number (NIN), SIM card registration by telcos, among others, all of which request your data. The integrity of our travel documents must be restored through the harmonisation of our data.”
Nigeria’s identity system: what to aim for
In May 2007, Nigeria launched its national identification programme after the passage of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act.
The National Identification Number (NIN) is a set of numbers assigned to an individual upon successful enrolment.
Enrolment involves recording an individual’s demographic data and capturing the 10 fingerprints, head-to-shoulder facial picture and digital signature after which a National Identity Number (NIN), a unique 11-digit identifier, is conferred.
As of August 2023, NIMC has enrolled 102 million Nigerians in its database from a projected population of over 200 million.
Over the years, specifically, since 2019, the use of NIN has evolved as it is now required to access key services such as obtaining a SIM card, driver’s license or permanent voter’s card; opening a bank account, international passport, voters’ card among others.
But despite NIN’s evolution, several agencies like the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) still require fresh biometrics data capture as a requirement for obtaining the international passport. This is even after requesting the applicant’s NIN.
This is far from what is obtainable in other nations all over the world. Particularly, developed countries have utilised identity as a foundation to enhance service delivery in the areas of healthcare, agriculture, voting, transportation, financial inclusion, access to basic services and welfare programmes, amongst others.
A typical example of such is Estonia, a country whose identity system is regarded as the most highly-developed national ID-card system in the world.
Findings showed that the Estonian mandatory national card can be used as a legal travel ID for Estonian citizens traveling within the EU, a national health insurance card, proof of identification when logging into bank accounts for digital signatures, for i-Voting, to check medical records, submit tax claims among others.
That said, what Nigeria should aim for, in its bid for a harmonised identity database, is to enhance interoperability between systems which will in turn enhance individual’s experiences.
Need for interoperable/harmonised identity system
In 2016, Nigeria’s former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, had, at an identity ecosystems meeting, stressed the importance of interoperability for identity authentication.
“It is important that as a nation, we have an interoperable and connected system to verify that each person or beneficiary is who he claims. Our strategic plans, as a government, in the area of identification scheme must therefore converge to make harmonisation and integration of the existing and new databases a reality,” he said.
The World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) described interoperability as the ability of different functional units such as systems, databases, devices, or applications to communicate, execute programmes, or transfer data in a manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of those functional units.
According to the body, an interoperable system helps to improve the integrity of identity data, create administrative efficiencies, reduce fraud among others.
Abiodun Koleosho, a digital rights and ICT expert explained that interoperability occurs when a digital identity issued by one organisation is recognised by other entities and facilitated by a common language.
He added: “While interoperability pertains to communication between systems, harmonisation borders on pulling various identity schemes together.”
In the case of Nyang, the long wait period of over seven weeks for data capture would not have been necessary.
Regarding data harmonisation, a report by International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology said this involves combining multiple data sources into an integrated, unambiguous entity record that can be used
For Nigeria, the report stressed that the interoperability needed for creating a harmonised ID ecosystem is often hindered by the diversity of isolated databases.
It said: “These agencies have their own data format, API, access procedures, and database design. Even more puzzling, is the fact that ‘some records by some agencies are still being held largely in paper-based registers.”
Also, despite the government’s proclamations on its willingness to harmonise its identity database, nothing seems to have been done.
Cybersecurity expert, Remi Afon attributed the delay to bureaucratic inefficiencies, lack of clear coordination among government agencies and inadequate infrastructure.
“Also lack of political will by the government plays a major role,” he added.
In addition, he identified limited connectivity, outdated technology, lack of data centres, proper data storage and management facilities, epileptic power supply issues, data security concerns among others as hindrances.
He stressed the need for the government to address infrastructure challenges as this is crucial to successfully implement the data harmonisation.
When contacted, spokesperson for NIMC, Mr Kayode Adegoke, failed to respond to repeated enquiries on efforts of the commission to ensure data harmonisation.
This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.
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