The ongoing drive by the Federal government of Nigeria to ensure that every Nigerian obtains a National Identification Number (NIN) has no doubt subjected Nigerians to untold hardship as they share their experiences in the hands of the staff of the commission.
Almost on a daily basis, Nigerians who are yet to register have been eager to do so. This is because the NIN has become a major document to be tendered by whoever wants to register for GSM networks, transact business with the bank, obtain an international passport and even for students seeking admission to higher institutions of learning among others.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)established by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, has the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the National Identity Database in Nigeria, register persons covered by the Act, assign a Unique National Identification Number (NIN) and issue General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who are citizens of Nigeria as well as others legally residing within the country. The NIMC Act 2007 also provides for the establishment of the NIMC, its functions, powers, establishment of the National Identity Database, assignment of the National Identification Number (NIN) as well as issuance of token General Multi-purpose cards among others. Rulers World made an attempt at calling the official numbers provided by the NIMC on their website and social media handles to confirm the authenticity of the allegations but none of them was accessible after several trials.
The mandate of NIMC to achieve a reliable database for Nigeria from all indications seems to have posed more problems that cannot be quantified. The issue of inefficiency in the last few weeks drew back many organizations and individuals from making progress in some endeavours. Millions of Nigerians who were seeking to retrieve their lost Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) cards or get new phone numbers were unable to do so due to a downtime experienced by the NIMC portal recently. In effect, the inefficiency of NIMCcan become very dangerous to the Nigerian economy. For example, the NIMCverification portal allows telecom operators to verify and link the NationalIdentity Number (NIN) of their customers to their SIMs in line with the federal government’s directive. Also, the verification portal allows the NigerianImmigration Service, financial institutions and other government agencies toverify the NIN of their customers before attending to them.
However, getting the registration done with the NationalIdentification Management Commission (NIMC) has been made difficult for the enrollees who now besiege their offices on a daily basis. Aside from long delays at the registration centres as a result of malfunctioning of machines and incompetent staff, there have been reports of alleged extortion and other sharp practices by the staff of the commission, according to different enrollees who shared their experiences with Rulers’ World. An enrollee at one of the NIMC centres in Ibadan, Mr. Madu Chisom complained that after paying N15, 000 for change of birth, the correction has not been effected for about four months now. He further alleged that no one picked when he called their official telephone numbers.
According to him, I have written to the commission’s email but I got no reply. I believe everyone experiences the same tragedy. I am very disappointed in NIMC because the commission has kept on flying in incompetency.”
Another enrollee by name Sandra Madaka said NIMC was playing with the intelligence of Nigerians. “After parting with N15,000 for change of birth, if you don’t pay additional money, the change will not be effected.” Another enrollee, Abubakar Saheed said he had some complaints regarding an error in his data and he has made several complaints through their email but there was no response.
Both Alanor Odiri and Taofeek Adekunle had issues with names entered into the NIMC server and which has not been resolved despite several complaints. One of them said it could affect capturing of his international passport at the immigration office while Mr. Samuel Babatunde said he registered at one of NIMC’s center in Ibadan in July 2017 and he had to pay N500 at a point for a change of birth but the change was never effected since then. He added that NIMC reviewed the cost of change of birth in 2019 toN15, 000 and despite payment of the said amount NIMC failed to effect the change on their system, stressing that all his effort to find a solution to his problem through their officially released contacts has proved abortive.
An enrollee of NIMC by name, Mark, advised the commission to publish the actions it has taken on the extortion cases that have always been reported against its staff members who were involved in extortion of the enrollees so that it will serve as a deterrent to others.
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