The National Identity Number (NIN) — Strengthening its relevance beyond identification
By Praise Amavi Agbe, Kashim Ibrahim Fellow
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was established by the NIMC Act №23 of 2007 and 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); an 11-digit number and issue General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who are citizens of Nigeria, as well as others who legally reside within the country. [1]
The National Electronic Identity Card (e-ID card); which has the National Identification Number, is a chip-based card with multiple functions. The e-ID card has provisions for 13 applets out of which five (5) are activated at the point of collection.
The five (5) active applets are Electronic Identity Information (e-ID), Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) Payment, Verification — Match-on-Card, Security — Electronic Public Key Infrastructure (ePKI), and Travel — International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The remaining eight (8) applets which are yet to be implemented are the e-Health Application, e-Pension Application, e-Voting Application, e-Taxation Application, e-Drivers’ License Application, e-Transport Application, e-SIM Application, and the e-Insurance Application. [2]
The applets are designed to facilitate interactions with individuals, businesses, organisations and the Government. Individuals using the National e-ID Card should be able to assess a wide range of services including voters registration and voting online. The card is designed to be smart and trendy with relevant security features to forestall fraudulent activities.
Over the years, the country’s electoral process has been maligned by fraudulent activities, as it is in most developing democracies. These frauds are operational, technological, and institutional, amongst others. [3] In Nigeria, citizens who are 18 years and above are expected to register with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for at least a year until the third quarter leading up to the election to enable them to exercise their constitutional rights to vote. [4]
The duration for registration and collection of Voters’ Cards is usually lengthy due to the long processing time, loss of cards in transit, lack of designated areas for registration and cards collection, and an overall lack of faith in the electoral system. Imagine the frustration of being a newly registered voter unable to vote because one’s card is not ready.
About 20 million Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were not collected in 2019. [5] Although INEC said that it was targeting 120 million voters for the 2023 general polls, about 12.29 million persons completed their Continuous Voters Registration (CVR), bringing the total number of registered voters for the 2023 elections to an estimated 96.3 million. [6] This indicates the amount of work that still needs to be done by the Commission to achieve its target.
The NIMC e-ID Card already has an applet for e-Voting. What if INEC works with NIMC to integrate and harmonise their data to enable eligible voters to vote? Imagine the joy that comes with knowing that once you register for your National Identity Card, you can have access to other services and avoid the current frustrating voting registration process. The challenges of the multiplicity of cards currently in use for different purposes in Nigeria would also be history. For this to happen, there will however be a need for an efficient identity management system with adequate privacy and security guarantees.
Digital Identity Management has increasingly become common in countries like Estonia, India, and Belarus, among others, and considered essential for social and economic development. [7]
Estonia currently leads the digital identity frontier, primarily because of its highly developed National ID Card System. Their mandatory National ID Card System does much more than identify an Estonian citizen but also provides digital access to all of Estonia’s e-services. Each card has a chip embedded with files and uses public key encryption to ensure the safety of its users. [8] In India, the AADHAR CARDS and Voter Identity Cards linkage is solving most issues related to bogus voting, mistakes/duplication of names in electoral rolls, new registration of voters etc. [9]
Providing National Identity Cards to all citizens will help any government in planning, and combatting various social vices such as terrorism, illegal immigration, and fraud. It also accelerates the delivery of social services including health insurance, social protection, and pensions management. [10] Every person therefore needs to have a legal form of identity which is in line with Goal 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It has become important for the Nigerian Government to not only make it mandatory but also put in measures to ensure that everyone is legally captured.
One of such measures as mentioned by Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, is the Contactless Enrolment Solution Box aimed at simplifying the process of new registrations and accessibility while ensuring privacy. [11]
Currently in Nigeria, different types of identity cards are used for various purposes. About 13 or more federal agencies and another 3 or more state agencies offer ID services in Nigeria. Each government agency collects people’s biometric information, and as a consequence leads to overlapping efforts within the Government at an excessive monetary cost. Some of these include:
1. Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC): Mobile SIM registration
2. National Population Commission (NPC): Birth and Death Certificates
3. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC): Drivers’ License
4. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): Bank Verification Number (BVN)
5. Nigeria Immigration Service: Nigerian Passports
6. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC)
The National Identity Card issued by NIMC already has provisions for the aforementioned means of identification which ought to be integrated into the NIN system.
Strengthening the usage of the NIN will save the Government huge amounts of money expended on printing costs, manpower, man-hours, and enable citizens to vote, make purchases, apply for loans, access healthcare, register car details and drivers’ license, amongst other services. This will also reduce the tedious continuous voters’ registration process from 1.75 years to less than a week every election cycle and increase voting speed to few seconds with a single scan, having eliminated manual verification.
In developed countries, residents are registered; given a number (digital identity) and a card at birth. This enables such countries to have accurate data on their populace; and when their citizens attain the eligible voting age, the card serves as a proof of age. [12] If we get our National ID Card technique right, it could greatly address our population census challenges. Asides having information on our populace available for planning purposes, tax collection could also become more efficient.
Perhaps, there is hope for Nigeria’s democracy after all, and the NIN could set us on the right path towards progressive digital governance.
REFERENCES
(1) https://nimc.gov.ng/about-us/
(2) https://nimc.gov.ng/the-e-id-card/
(3) Aderemi. A. (2019) ‘The Voracity Effect and Electoral Integrity: The Challenge of Managing Elections in Nigeria’ (Lagos state university).
(4) INEC (2019) Rights and Responsibilities of The Voter During The 2019 General Elections.
(5) Channels Television (2022) 2023: About 20 million PVCs Uncollected, INEC Laments
(6) Dennis A. (2022) 2023 Elections: Is INEC Close to 120 million Voters Goal?
(7) Khan, A. R. (2018). National Identity Card: The Dilemma between Social Opportunities and Threats. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 5(1).
(8) https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-identity/id-card/
(9) Times of India (2021) Linking of electoral data with Aadhaar: All you need to know.
(10) Khan, A. R. (2018). National Identity Card: The Dilemma between Social Opportunities and Threats. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 5(1).
(11) https://nimc.gov.ng/contactless/
(12) https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-governance/e-democracy/
