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By Chinenye Anuforo
Industry experts have expressed concerns following National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) plan to launch three new national identity cards in May this year.
The three new national identity cards planned by the Commission include a bank-enabled National ID card, a social intervention card, and an optional ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card.
NIMC’s plans, according to some of the experts who spoke to Daily Sun is yet another initiative that would frustrate Nigerians.
Specifically, one of the experts who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “This is another way to frustrate Nigerians. Getting the National Identity Number (NIN), is a major issue for most Nigerians, as about 80 million Nigerians are without NIN. The reason for that is not far-fetched, as one cannot imagine the stress associated with standing in line at the NIMC offices for several hours, to get registered,” the source stated.
Rather than having too many cards, the source appealed to the federal government to use the NIN card, which is well recognized, otherwise, government should explain to Nigerians why they would need the three cards.
On his own part, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at FinTechNGR, Dr. Babatunde Obrimah also said it is still unclear whether this new digital identification would be different from the existing NIN as it was not stated by the Commission.
He expressed concerns about the usefulness of yet a new form of identification as Nigerians already have the BVN and the NIN which were made compulsory by the same Federal Government.
He said, “Unless what they will do is just issue the cards with our data already in their system or transferring the data into new cards, but if the new cards implies a new form of collecting citizens data all over again. Then, we don’t deserve such stress. It is totally wrong to expect us to go and start cueing again for another form of capturing ”.
Also in a telephone interview, the founder of Hyperspace & NeuRaL AI, an artificial intelligence and software company, Oluseyi Akindeinde, stated that creating a new identification for Nigerians might not be a good idea as it was simply a duplication of the functions of other means of identification.
“It is a duplication of efforts. Before NIN, we had BVN which we thought was going to serve as a means of identification but they came with NIN.
“Now, they are planning on introducing a digital ID again. I think there’s just a duplication of efforts and, I am not sure of the purpose a digital ID would serve when we already have the NIN, which is supposed to be digital, as well as the BVN”
“I don’t know what purpose that would serve and the instances where we will use it because right now, NIN should be the standard and compared to other countries like the US, they only have the SSN, and having that alone, gives you all the details you need about that particular person but in this case, we have BVN, we have NIN”, Akindeinde stated.
However, Mr. Jide Awe, CEO of Jidaw Systems Limited, said the launch of a new national identity card is an interesting development, but not entirely unfamiliar.
He said that the functions outlined have actually been some of the initial aims of the national ID card announced by the government at the early stages of the national identity scheme.
“It appears to be a collaborative endeavor by several arms of government to offer facilities and benefits to Nigerians and legal residents, such as easier access to government and social services, while also fostering financial inclusion, which may increase citizen participation in development and governance. The intention to improve security to align with data protection and privacy requirements through the card is also commendable.”
Continuing, Awe said the success of this initiative hinges on implementation. “The impact must be tangible, meaningful, and felt deeply by citizens. Furthermore, NIMC needs to improve its responsiveness and pro-people attitude towards existing NIN processes and issues, especially regarding online services, website functionality, and a more citizen-oriented approach. This also applies to all government services that the card will be useful for. It is hoped that the process of getting a card will be smoother and more efficient than what people have had to endure with the NIN process. Citizens are fatigued with the different ID card schemes, and unless enrollment and collection are citizen-friendly, buy-in will be problematic”, he explained.
