The crisis of National ID

Since the Federal Government made the pronouncement on the National Identification Number (NIN), many Nigerians have become distraught as they face difficult times to get registered so that their mobile phone lines will not be disconnected by January, ADEOLA OTEMADE reports

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is a statutory Nigerian organisation which operates the country’s national identity management system. Like every other organised country, there is supposed to be in place a database that houses all the necessary information of its citizens whereby information can easily be assessed when needed. Unfortunately the situation is not exactly so.

With a population of over 200million people, many Nigerians have been trying to get registered on the identity management system but to no avail. Most are stuck in the middle of the process with uncompleted registration. The number of those who have the national identification card is insignificant compared with those who ought to have it.

With an estimated 198 million active mobile lines as of May 2020, only 41.5 million subscribers have registered for their identity cards. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that only 38 per cent of Nigerians have any form of identification, which means that a lot of Nigerians were yet to be captured by the NIMC.

However, the NCC’s new order to suspend mobile numbers of people without a National Identity Number (NIN) before the New Year has left many Nigerians running from pillar to post, trying to get their registration done before the expiration of the new deadline and to also link their NIN with their mobile numbers using the USSD codes provided by their network providers.

Amidst the chaos, coupled with a spike in the COVID-19 pandemic cases, bank premises, local government secretariats and NIMC offices all over the country have become a Mecca of sort. During a visit by Sunday Tribune to some of these places, it was noticed that the social distancing rule was not observed with only a few people using their nose masks.

Meanwhile many Nigerians have reacted to the new directive. While many are angry, many others simply resigned themselves to fate as they faced uncomfortable situations at the points of registration

Sunday Tribune gathered that the NIN registration form which is supposed to be free, is at some venues sold at ridiculous prices as some officials have decided to make brisk business from the urgency of the situation.

Prices of the form as of the time Sunday Tribune called varied, depending on the location and those selling the form. Prices of the forms ranged from N30, N50 and N1000, to N8000. The information that the NIN registration form could be obtained online did not deter many people from having to physically appear at the registration centres.

 

Registration amidst COVID-19 surge

According to an NIMC official registering people at a first generation bank who pleaded anonymity, asking people to enrol while COVID-19 is ravaging is not proper.

According to him, “Presently, the branch manager here had to stop the registration because of the large crowd. At a point, we had over 1000 persons that came for the registration. They were asked to visit other locations to continue with their registration. The Federal Government should look into it; this kind of action is not even needed right now. The linking of SIM numbers with NIMC should be placed on hold. It is not even needed for now; let them shut it down for now.”

Babalola Elijah’s experience at the registration centre has not been palatable.  According to him, it is an experience he would not want to go through again as he was asked to come back the following day. The following day, he was asked to come back the following week.

Many of those who spoke to Sunday Tribune about the registration have similar experiences. The elderly ones are the worst hit as they cannot bear the stress of repeating their visits to the registration centres as many of them also had to buy the so-called registration form for between N800 and N1000.

A young lady, Halima Abubakar, who also sought to get registered ended up obtaining four forms for herself and her three siblings for N5000 and they were all able to get through with the registration in one week.

However, for Agunbiade Ajayi, the NIN registration is necessary at this moment. Ajayi, who obtained his form for N30, was still processing his registration when he spoke to Sunday Tribune. He added that the exercise is necessary at this time as it has an implication for the country.

Speaking in the same vein, NIMC coordinator in Oyo State, Mr Shola Shokoya, reiterated that the Federal Government has done well by asking Nigerians to link their NIN with their mobile phone numbers and this development is to effectively tackle security challenges facing the country.

“If an individual has his NIN linked to his mobile number, in cases of crimes, such person can be easily traced using the information on the database of such person. As we all know, Nigerians always like to procrastinate; this lackadaisical attitude by Nigerians has in a way affected the whole system. The NIN has been ongoing since 2012, we went around sensitising people to the need to register then, but majority now prefer to run helter-skelter when it becomes a pressing issue for them to do.

“We had a similar case last year when JAMB requested for the NIN. We had a large crowd here, which stretched our staff to their limit. Now, look at what we have outside again. Despite the protocol on maintaining social distance, the use of nose mask and hand sanitizers, which on our part we made available, but the crowd at the gate no longer care what happens to them. As you can see, many are without their nose masks.

“In a bid to reduce the number of people inside, we asked people to write down their names and they were scheduled by date to come back and do their registration. Some would still hang around waiting to see what will happen next; they won’t go home, and the only way to reduce the crowd is to divide them into groups and give them days and dates they are to come back.”

While speaking on the alleged form selling, Shokoya said the form was free, while denying that his officials had been involved in the sales.

“Some people are just using this opportunity to extort money from people, and the reason cannot be far to seek. For example, on getting to a registration centre like this and seeing a large crowd, one could become impatient. And if someone walks up to you and offers to get it done, and says you have to pay a token and boycott the stress of having to wait in line, one would gladly pay.

“But I have to say this emphatically; the form is free and no NIMC official will ask anyone to pay for any form. Downloading the form online is just one step away from the whole thing, physical appearance is still very much needed for the biometrics,” he explained.

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