This article is borne out of frustration engineered by the failed instruments of Government, causing a catastrophic disorder to a supposed ordered sequence of the variables.
The all identification of Nigerian populace law implemented by the relevant authorities is and will always remain a welcome idea.
But the problem lies with the indices employed.
Now look at this, there is an identity crises law in Nigeria that is so enforced by financial institutions and network providers that is clearly not respected by other identity verification agencies such as the Nigerian Immigration Service.
If you need to buy a new sim today or maybe retrieve a line with MTN Nigeria for instance and you take a stroll to any of their offices, they will require that you present a valid ID Card which they give preference to an Original Valid ID, a Permanent Voters Card or a Temporal National Identity Card.
Sounds simple and like the right thing….right?
Now, do you know that it takes more than a year for a Nigerian who has never had a driver’s license to be able to get one?
The process is lengthy, all you will get from Federal Road Safety Commission is a written document that your ID is under processing and this cover letter can never be accepted elsewhere, except that you can use it to avoid being harassed by their road marshals.
The Permanent Voters Card on the other hand can take more than a year in most cases but a temporary ID, paper laminated can be given to you. This again, cannot be honoured by any of the aforementioned institutions for any reasons. You certainly must wait until the processing is complete.
The very annoying one is the National Identity Card.
After the processing of the card, if you are lucky, a temporal slip will be offered to you after a week which in most cases, they claim to suffer machine errors and it takes them close to six month to get you just a temporary identity card.
Now, this temporary card can give you clearance in some financial institutions and for the network providers but it’s completely ignored by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
The system requires that you wait for about 5years before you are issued a Permanent ID by the National Identity Management Commission.
Now the irregularities in the system baffles me, because with the fingerprint option, the system is still not created in a way that it can collate information from the print.
Technologically it has been proven that our prints are unique and as such cannot be replicated except for the purpose of fraud.
So why do I need an ID if my prints are taken in virtually all government documentations?
My print should give proof to an ownership of a SIMCARD. Why then do I need an identity that takes forever to retrieve?
The over-drummed Bank Verification exercise was tailed to address the issues of identity but it turned out a failed business because you can still find civil servants in the Federal and State civil service payroll and the State-Local Government payroll.
This technology properly harnessed can ease stress and also serve as major tracking instrument to our security agencies.
How on earth with this Technology that someone in Cross River State will have voters card in three Local Government?