Stakeholders Say NIN is Asset for National Transformation

The importance of ‘proof of identity’ known as National Identification Number (NIN) resonated Monday at a Business Forum organised by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Lagos with stakeholders describing the project as valuable asset for national transformation.

President Goodluck Jonathan had in October during the launching of the scheme identified that the enrolment exercise and issuance of a NIN is documentation critical to the country’s development.

Similarly, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, secretary general of the Federation (SGF), told stakeholders at the Forum that Nigeria must maintain an overall equivalence with the rest of the advancing world in ensuring that it create a credible identity management system, especially, that will stand the test of time.

Senator Anyim who was by Mr. Linus Awete, permanent secretary, General Services in the office of the SGF, rued the previous efforts at creating a reliable system in the country which was inclusive and bugged by legislation induced factors.

“In some cases, the process is repeated each time the service is to be delivered. Identities were neither confirmed nor unique and an individual could have different identities in each location.

“The creation of a modern national identity management system and infrastructure as recently launched by President Goodluck Jonathan signalled the dawn of a new era in our quest to get identity management right in Nigeria,” he said.

The SGF noted that NIMS which includes a secured, reliable and accessible National Identity Database (NIDB), secured identity document and identity authentication and verification infrastructure is built to meet current and long term needs of law enforcement agencies, business and commercial transactions in both the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Earlier, Dr. Chris Onyemenam, director-general (NIMC), hinted that the Commission may begin to distribute the identity cards by the first quarter of 2014; however, he noted that NIMC is currently concerned with capturing, verifying and security of database that will serve numerous purposes for the country.

He reiterated the Commission’s clear departure from the past schemes which, despite invested resources, produced limited success, adding that current disparate, mostly legislation induced, databases for government services, lead to challenges with authentication and verification hence the need for harmonization of the data captured by different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for coherency.

Onyemenam, said that the Commission is not resting on its oars to give Nigeria a multipurpose card and reliable database, although it inherited unsustainable funding and institutional arrangement from the former department for national and civic registration (DNCR); obsolete machinery & dilapidated infrastructure with over 80% redundant or ghost workers, also the financial liabilities to SAGEM & disengaged staff, cynicism from staff & the public and preponderance of multiple identities & identity tokens.

He also listed absence of a sustainable universal identification infrastructure in Nigeria; absence of a legal, regulatory and institutional framework for identity management in Nigeria; card issuance mistaken for identity management and absence of reliable identity verification & authentication system as part of the pills NIMC has vehemently avoided.

“Government resolution towards solving the abnormalities showed in the current effort to unique and unambiguous identification of Nigerians, which led to the creation of an agency in the Presidency to establish and manage NIMS, and foster the orderly development of an identity sector in Nigeria, thus NIMC was established in 2007.

“Since then, we have been engaged in changing Nigerians mindset on the importance of this system, especially in the elimination of wastages and duplication of efforts. Our strategy involved the establishment of a National Identity Management System; creation of a model for sustainability, efficiency & local content through public-private partnership, among other measures,” he noted.

The DG said that the key NIM milestones are evident in five areas, particularly with the Standardised Data Capture/ Enrolment System deployment for data capture in compliance with ISO, ICAO, IEEE etc.

Also, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, national president, Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), identified the process a landmark achievement that will launch the nation deeper in socio-political and economic development as population statistics and accruable data are panaceas for planning.

“A significant challenge evident in incoherent identity system is such that even during electioneering aliens troop into the country, and squeeze themselves into the system, because there is no sure way to identify the electorate. So, NIMC is on the right path and we must accord them every assistant to succeed,” he urged the people.

The business forum, which was well attended by stakeholders in the financial, technology and business community, was tagged: “Resolving Nigeria’s Identity Management Crisis.