An illiterate person is one who cannot write his name, and an illiterate state is one that cannot write the names of its citizens– Peru National Plan Against The Undocumented
The ability to formally identify oneself has increasingly become integral to many aspects of civic participation and inclusion. Experts argue that formalized identity management systems have the potential to establish strategic partnerships between the state and citizens. Failure to register populations and provide identity documents is believed to have detrimental effects for both the individual and the state. Identification systems are becoming more common across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Central to a government’s ability to deliver services to its people, whether those services be healthcare, safety nets, or drivers’ licenses, is knowledge of who those people are. The same is true for private enterprises. For example, a bank’s ability to offer services to its clients— such as opening a bank account or securing a loan— requires a certain knowledge of the intended recipient. This is where identity management initiative comes in. Identification is, thus, a prerequisite for modern development.
The driving force behind creating a national identity system varies from country to country. Developed countries have a relatively long history of using identification systems for surveillance and security purposes, further motivated over the past decade by the events of 9/11. For developing countries, surveillance, financial transactions, fair and democratic elections, and fostering national unity are all mentioned as reasons for implementing an identity management system.
Nigeria, since independence, has always recognized the need to create a system of identity management for her citizens and legal residents using demographic data. An overview of identity schemes in Nigeria reveals that the first known case was envisaged in 1967 under the regime of General Yakubu Gowon who was the Head of State as at that time. The scheme was supposed to be driven towards “identifying the Igbos who refused to heed the call to return to the East during the civil war”. However, the idea soon died off as no serious implementation decision was made. In 1978, the Directorate of National Civil Registration (DNCR) was established and was granted the authority to issue simple laminated identity cards to Nigerians of 18 years and above under decree 51 of 1979. General Olusegun who was Gowon’s successor formally inaugurated the scheme on September 1st, 1979. The scheme lasted 18 months, and issuance of card stopped as soon as General Obasanjo left office with only a few people benefiting from it.
Subsequent military regimes were unable to continue this long dream of initiating a unified government identification scheme for Nigeria until Olusegun Obasanjo came back as president under a civil democratic government in 1999. His administration then proceeded to re-introduce national identity cards 2003. Those who participated in this exercise were required to provide personal data like name, age, sex, address, occupation, their state of origin, local government area, height measurement, thumbprint, and passport photograph. It took nearly three years before the first set of enrollees could obtain their cards. Issuance was done state-by-state. It soon became one of the requirements for accessing public services including health insurance. By June 2006, distribution had taken place in 27 states of the federation. However, allegations were raised that many aliens had registered for these cards, therefore, defeating one of the major objectives of the system. In response to this new development, the then Minister of Internal Affairs requested that the Nigeria Immigration Service should strictly monitor identity card distribution. This, however, did not last long.
At the twilight of the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was set up by Act 23 of 2007. This commission was created to replace the former Directorate of National Civic Registration (DNCR). NIMC took over all DNCR assets and liabilities, including the staff from both state and local government offices all over the country. According to the National Policy Document and Institutional Framework for Identity Management, the Commission was established to foster the orderly development of an identity sector and build a modern identity management system for Nigeria, create, operate and manage a secure, sustainable national identity database; build and manage identity authentication and verification service infrastructure; establish permanent registration centres across the country to enroll every Nigerian and legal resident at his/her convenience; issue a slip that contains the enrollee’s National Identification Number (NIN) and later a chip-based, highly secure and user friendly General Multi-Purpose (Smart) Card (GMPC) to facilitate e-governance, online/offline identity authentication and verification, and secure electronic transactions (cited in NIMC Annual Report Account, 2014).
The Nigerian government when unveiling a new national identity system in 2012 wanted it to meet the objective the previous scheme failed to achieve such as being a tool to control illegal immigrants in the country, validating other civic documents such as travelling passports, setting up a reliable personal identification system for securing commercial transactions with financial institutions. Intrinsically, the new national identity management system represents a paradigm shift from mere identity card issuance to identity data management. Hence, the emphasis currently is more on the National Identification Number (NIN) than the General Multi-Purpose Card (GMPC) commonly referred to as ‘national ID card’. Every citizen from the age 16 and above and legal residents can enroll for NIN.
Section 27 of the NIMC Act provides for the mandatory use of NIN for specific transactions, and from 1st January, 2019 following the Federal Executive Council’s meeting on the 19th of September, 2018 where it approved the immediate implementation of a strategic roadmap for digital identity ecosystem in Nigeria, it shall become unlawful for anyone to transact without NIN businesses such as:
a. Application for, and issuance of an International Passport;
b. Opening of individual and or personal bank accounts, all consumer credits;
c. Purchase of insurance policies;
d. Subject to the provisions of the Land Use Act, the purchase, transfer and registration of land by any individual or any transaction connected therewith;
e. Such transactions pertaining to individuals as may be prescribed and regulated by the Pension Reform Act, 2004;
f. Such transaction specified under the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme;
g. Such transactions that have social security implications;
h. Registration of voters;
i. Payment of taxes;
j. Such relevant government services; and
k. Any other transaction which the National Identity Management Commission may so prescribe and list in the Federal Government Gazette.
However, multiple identities and identity databases have mushroomed in Nigeria as a result of the absence of a centralized national identity repository, thereby creating a fiscal burden, and causing public and private sector inefficiencies. The federal government of Nigeria may, therefore, consider the following steps in preparing a roadmap for a modern, well-developed, and integrated identity ecosystem in Nigeria:
Strengthen the policy and legal environment: A refined vision would dictate a re-examination of the policy and legal environment, with an eye towards centralization, integration, and cost. Since 2007, new advances in identity management have emerged that may inform the policy and legal environment of identification in Nigeria. The proliferation of mobile phones, growing use of online and mobile applications, and resulting surge of electronic data require a hard look at security and privacy of information. Strong legal safeguards are thus necessary for security and privacy. A robust assessment of the legal enabling environment is an important step to review, among other things, the existing institutional and governance arrangements, and the robustness of any safeguards for individual privacy and data protection. The incidence of disparate identity schemes, with little or no (option for) interoperability across the systems, can be symptomatic of weaknesses in the legal framework. A critical step towards harmonizing disparate databases, ensuring consistent technical standards and interoperability, and providing robust privacy and data protection provisions, depends upon the development and implementation of a holistic and coherent legal enabling environment. A supportive enabling environment for digital identity can also pave the way for further innovations, including electronic commerce, mobile financial services, and modern transportation in Nigeria.
Drive integration of parallel identity systems: In spite of notable steps taken by government, the identity systems of Nigeria remain mostly unintegrated. In 2005, government set up a Harmonization Committee, a Presidential Implementation Committee in 2006–2007, a Cabinet Committee in 2011, and a Presidential Committee on Centralization of biometric-linked databases in MDAs in 2013. NIMC has carried out work on harmonization and integration since 2007 under its Implementation Committee. Despite these efforts, the number of parallel identity systems in Nigeria has grown. Renewed focus on integration can be helped by a simplified approach to integration, and greater coordination amongst government agencies. The availability of identity verification is necessary for integration of identity systems, and needs to be expedited.
Optimize costs: Low cost of identity development in Nigeria is critical. Low cost can be achieved in three ways:
(a) by reducing the cost of each identity scheme;
(b) by eliminating costs due to inefficiencies of parallel identity systems; and
(c) by streamlining several aspects of identity programmes to avoid duplication of efforts and achieve synergy.
In reducing the cost of each identity programme, the unit cost of identity per person is a key measure. It defines the operational efficiency of an identity programme. It drives planning of identity development. It serves as a benchmark to keep implementation on track. The unit cost of identity per person is derived by a detailed business model of the organization running the identity system. The unit cost of the foundational identity should be thoroughly checked and optimized, and be fully aligned with the organization and operations of the national identity registry. The unit cost of functional identity programs should be examined, in particular to minimize or eliminate any duplication in biometric enrolment, and to allow seamless and rapid integration. In eliminating costs due to inefficiencies of a parallel identity system, the integration approach is key.
Support partnerships: Partnerships can be helpful for dividing large tasks, distributing responsibilities, and exploiting core competencies of diverse organizations. Yet, partnerships are tricky. They require heavy coordination amongst partnering parties. A weak partnership can at times be counter-productive, slowing down shared operations. The federal government of Nigeria has made several attempts to use partnerships in developing identity programmes, though with mixed results. Partnerships may still be necessary, both for enrolment and for bulk services. Centralizing enrolments, for example, is a difficult exercise without partnerships. Similarly, partnering with the private sector may be helpful in card infrastructure and services, including for printing and acceptance. Building new capacity to carry out these functions is a tall order, no doubt.
Mobilize resources: The federal government should prioritize mobilizing sufficient resources for identity development in Nigeria. Once a well-developed plan is in place, an integration model should be refined, and unit cost of identity per person fully optimized. The government may also consider fiscal appropriations, donor contributions, and private sector participation. A coordinated approach to funding across government for different identity systems can help achieve fiscal efficiency.
Scale up with speed: Since 2007, a lot of work has been done on identity in Nigeria. Though, centralization of enrolments remains a major challenge. The speedy development of a national identity repository, with 183.6 million entries, reflecting the country’s total population, is necessary for Nigeria’s economic and social development, and for harmonizing the country’s different identity platforms.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that a scenario of chaotic identity management where each institution that collects identity-related data manages its own without an effective synergy to coordinate the identity management platforms which are scattered all over can only aggravate identity crisis. Until that effective and reliable synergy is established taking into consideration the above roadmap which would coordinate all other identity management infrastructures and subunits, and subsume them under it, public funds will continue to be wasted unnecessarily on identity management projects and programmes with little or no result.
Itojong Ayamba, Public Policy and identity Management Expert.
Department of Public Administration,
University of Calabar.
Brilliant article…..I must say it was an eye opener for me. I never knew according to your statement “Identity is a prequisite for a country’s development” that Having accurate details of citizenry’s information is fundamental to country development on all sectors….Your article is deep and worth revising. Thank you for sharing