By Olatunde T0ijani
Data is described as information, in the form of facts or figures obtained from experiments or surveys, used as a basis for making calculations or drawing conclusions.
In this case however, I am centering this piece on the dearth of records and the dangers it portends in Nigeria.
Many IT professionals have always advocated that government should create an integrated national database which will feature information about all its citizenry. The benefits of this simple idea are quite enormous. A unique database from where different public and private organizations can assess and draw information, with needed data to tackle issues bordering on security such as criminality and terrorism is extremely important. Instead of doing this, government has either completely ignored the calls or pay lip service to it by creating crash programmes of same. For example, a great proportion of the country’s resources have been wasted on printing of national identity cards, registration of voters especially during elections, conducting population census and many other resource-wasting programmes.
It is befuddling to note that all the various agencies of government, such as the defunct Directorate of National Civic Registration (DNCR), Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), and the National Population Commission (NPC) saddled with these responsibilities create different databases in the course of achieving their goals. This would have been unnecessary if only a national database exists. Same data, such as name, date of birth, place of birth, Local Government Area, state of origin, occupation, etc are repeatedly being sourced from individual citizens during the course of his/her lifetime. Examples include enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, opening of bank account, application for employment and other registrations.
The stress that citizens are exposed to, especially during national programmes, including queuing in the sun and sometimes in the rain just to ensure that they are captured would have been avoided.
However, the bane of these programmes is that not all citizens are captured but only interested ones who care to enlist. Even the so-called data generated are nowhere to be found. What a colossal waste of our national resources!
In 2007, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was established by the Federal Government as the only recognized, regulatory and institutional mechanism for implementing government’s reform initiatives in the identity sector, but unfortunately not much has been heard about the agency.
Being a regulatory and institutional mechanism for implementing government’s reform initiatives, the objectives of NIMC as regards the National Identity Management Systems (NIMS) are to carry out the registration of citizens and legal residents as provided for in the Act; create and operate a National Identity Database, issue unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) to qualified citizens and legal residents; issue a multipurpose (Smart) Card to every registered person who is 16 years and above and provide a secured means to access the National Identity Database so that an individual can irrefutably assert his/her identity.
Others include harmonizing and integrating Identity Databases in Government Agencies to achieve resource optimization and shared services facilities, collaborating with private sector and/or public sector institutions to deliver on the NIMS and register births and deaths in collaboration with the National Population Commission.
It is however a sorry case that the assets which NIMC took over from the Directorate of National Civic Registration (DNCR) “could not be re-used” according to the former. The implication of this is that NIMC has to start all over. Nothing to show at all for the existence of our nationhood since 1960 when we got independence, no data!
According to an entrepreneur, Toyosi Akerele, “As an emerging Nigerian entrepreneur, there is no documented history or books I can refer to for examples and lessons from my predecessors”. That is how bad our situation is.
NIMC has however taken the bull by the horn by initiating the NIMS programme in 2009. The NIMS comprises of a National Identity Database also known as a Central Identity Repository or Register (CIDR), a chip-based, secure identity card and a network of access and means to irrefutably prove or assert the identity of an individual.
It also includes the harmonization of existing identity databases in the public sector. The most important thing about the NIMS is that it will provide a Universal Identification Infrastructure for the entire country.
According to NIMC, it will help bring real and recognizable benefits to the government, individuals, and legal residents in Nigeria.
The benefits include the issuance and use of the National Identification Number (NIN) and the National Identity (smart) Card, protection from identity theft and fraud by providing a simple, reliable, sustainable and universally-acceptable means of confirming your identity at all times, providing an easy and convenient means of proving one’s identity anywhere in Nigeria and beyond and helping reform our political process by facilitating the electoral process.
Others include making it harder for criminals to use false, multiple or ghost identities through the enhanced performance of the law enforcement agencies protecting people from crime, especially Advance Fee Fraud and terrorism; ensuring no ghost worker exists on governments’ payrolls; managing our national currency; and deepening of the Consumer Credit System, which will in turn create employment opportunities and raise the standard of living of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to note at this juncture that the Central Bank of Nigeria has imposed fresh conditions for opening a bank accounts, saying that from January 8, 2013, the NIN would be criteria for owning and operating a bank account in the country.
Optimization of government resources, enhanced service delivery, ease in tax and revenue generation processes and laundering of Nigeria’s image are other advantages of the NIMS.
NIN is a non-intelligent set of numbers assigned to an individual upon successful enrollment.
Enrollment consists of the recording of an individual’s demographic data and capture of the ten fingerprints, head-to-shoulder facial picture and digital signature, which are all used to cross-check existing data in the National Identity Database to confirm that there is no previous entry of the same data. Once this (de-duplication) process is completed, the data is then stored with a unique NIN that was assigned to it.
According to NIMC, once a NIN is issued to a person, it cannot be used by any other person, even if the previous person is dead. The NIN helps tie all records about a person in the database.
One area I think NIMC needs to look at critically is the clause that NIN will only be issued to every citizen from the age of 16 and above.
Why? Does it mean that those under 16 are not Nigerians? NIMC should find a way to correct this anomaly. There should be no age restriction in obtaining NIN. Once a child is born into a hospital, he/she should be registered and enrolled into the NIMS and issued a NIN immediately.
This would reduce the accumulation of those that are supposed to register and would help in monitoring each citizen, right from birth.
Security of the database is quite important because information hacked from the system could be used by criminals with ulterior motives. This brings us to the issue of securing the data captured. What is the security put in place for personnel working with NIMC and are there access security levels of network or servers? The Commission should ensure all these areas are properly looked into.
It is however understandable that NIMC Act sets a number of government security and crime control agencies, including State Security Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria Police Force, etc to have access to NIMS database. They would however have to approach the courts for permission to do so.
Enrolment for the NIN is absolutely FREE and there are two ways to go about it. There is the Self-service Enrollment and the Assisted-service mode.
The Self-service is for those that have access to the internet and literate enough to fill them online. You will be able to pre-enroll online by accessing the Enrollment Form via the NIMC’s Website or any of the Registration Centres.
After filling the form properly, you will print out the Summary Sheet with a 20 Barcode and Registration ID number. This Summary Sheet will be presented to the Enrollment Officer at the Registration Centre in your location, who will verify and confirm the enrollment data on the system. Thereafter, your photograph, fingerprints and signature will be captured as this cannot be done online.
For verification of the claims of your information, you will be required to present primary source documents to the Enrollment Officer before you are fully enrolled under the NIMS. Such documents include; birth certificate, evidence of address of residence, educational qualification, etc.
In the case of Assisted-service, you will pick up an Enrollment form from any of the Registration Centres or the Mobile Registration Centre, either fill the form yourself or request for assistance from an Executive Assistant or a Support Officer. The form will then be submitted to an Enrollment Officer who will input the data into the system. You will verify and confirm the enrollment data on the system; and thereafter your photograph, fingerprints and signature will be captured.
At the end of the registration, your enrollment will be acknowledged and a slip generated and given to you, indicating the completion of the enrollment process at that point in time. This will then enable you to have a tracking ID so that you can monitor the process through a service call centre till you get your NIN and, subsequently, your ID Card.
While it would take a matter of seconds, minutes, hours or a week to get one’s National Identification Number, it would take about a month for the owner to get his/her Identity Card.
The Identity Card would be useful in everyday life. Areas of particular interest where it would be used are application for and issuance of International passport, opening of individual and or personal bank accounts as earlier mentioned, purchase of insurance policies, subject to the provisions of the Land Use Act, the purchase, transfer and registration of land by any individual or any transaction connected therewith and such transactions pertaining to individuals as may be prescribed and regulated by the Pensions Reforms Act, 2004.
Others are transactions specified under the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme, transactions that have social security implications, all consumer credit transactions, registration of voters, payment of taxes, transaction with relevant government services, and any other transactions which the Commission may so prescribe and list in the Federal Government Gazette.
Since enrolment service would be done online and nationwide, it becomes essential for NIMC to look into the issue of improvement of website traffic to ensure that the Website is not only fast but efficient and effective.
The full implementation of the National Identity Management System would no doubt have multifaceted positive effects both on individuals and government as it would also help tackle the many security challenges and the hydra-headed monster called corruption while its harmonized usage is particularly of greater benefit as one identity springs limitless advantages.
Written By Olatunde Tijani is an IT Consultant and CEO, The Leo6 Technologies Ltd