With the National Identity Management System (NIMS) project
in progress, Nigeria has no doubt attained a new profile with the actualisation
of the mandate to create a dependable National Identity Database (NIDB) with a
valid means of authentication and verification.
Besides the irregular supply of electricity, one of the
major shortcomings Nigeria has had to put with as a nation is the inability of
its past leaders and government to create a platform for accurate and updatable
documentation of citizens data. Although the population of Nigeria is placed at
about 170 million, doubt, suspicion and cynicism have cast dark shadows over
every census exercise conducted in the country to ascertain a figure. With the
new National Identity Management System in place, Nigeria has no doubt recorded
a milestone in the global world, because with the exact biometrics and
demographics of every citizen populated into the Identity Database, such data
would not only have invaluable gains for Nigeria but would aid growth in the various
sectors of the economy. The mandate to achieve this was given to the National
Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as recorded in the NIMC Act 2007.
NIMC's Mandate
Before
the National Identity Management Commission came on board, there had been other
attempts at creating a National Identity Management System (NIMS), (1979 and in
2003) but each effort was thwarted by several inadequacies. However, in 2007,
NIMC took over the assets and liabilities of the now rested Department of
National Civic Registration. (DNCR), including the personnel in the states and
local government offices nationwide. NIMC was straddled with the mandate to
establish, operate, maintain and manage the NIMS. NIMC also has the
responsibility to register Citizens and Legal Residents as prescribed in the
Act; create and operate a National Identity Database; issue a unique National
Identification Number (NIN) to eligible citizens and legal residents; issue a
multipurpose (smart) card to every eligible
citizen; provide a secure means to access the National Identity Database so
that an individual can irrefutably assert his/her identity; collaborate with
private sector and/or Public sector institutions to deliver on the NIMS;
register births and deaths in collaboration with the National Population
Commission (NPC); as well as harmonise and integrate Identity Databases in all
government agencies to achieve resource optimisation and shared services
facilities.
Actualising
the Mandate
With this new responsibility,
the commission has since commenced enrolment of eligible citizens into the
National Identity Database following the Presidential launch of the National
Identification Number on IT" October, 2013. To actualise the mandate, NIMC
provided the biometric and demography standards, harmonisation and integration
framework, interoperability standards as well as the design for the development
of a smart I D card and its applets.
Achieving this national
assignment called for careful focus and strategic planning, because the end
product is not the card issuance to citizens. DG/CEO of NIMC, Barrister Chris
'E Onyemenam, had said that "the belief that once you issue an identity
card, you have successfully established a person's identity has to be
discarded. What we are doing now is identity management, and a subset of
identity management is identity card issuance!' To overcome the pervasive
cynicism brought about by the failed past projects, NI MC deployed massive
awareness campaign strategies nationwide, and it is still ongoing, to sensitise
the public about the differences in the present NIMS project and those of the
past. Also, the plan to deploy enrolment centres to the 36 States, the FCT and
the 774 Local Government Areas is in the pipeline as NIMC currently has about
400 active enrolment centres nationwide. The deployment of these centres
nationwide is advised by the need to facilitate as well as fast-track the
enrolment of eligible persons wherever they may reside.
NIMC also recently launched a
pre-enrolment portal and a contact call number. The pre-enrolment portal
www.ninenrol.gov.ng is aimed at easing the stress of enrolment. It allows
thousands of eligible applicants to log onto the portal at the same time to
pre-enrol themselves, before proceeding to the nearest enrolment centre for
biometric data capture. The call centre number, 0700 CALLNIMC or 0700, is for
eligible applicants who want clarifications on the NIMS to call and make
enquiries.
Major
Achievements
The Commission, in a bid to
ensure that the electronic ID Card has global acceptance, went through some
stringent and rigorous exercises in order to achieve certifications. An
outstanding achievements in this regard is the (International Organization for
Standardization) ISO 2700 I :2005 Certification by the British Standards
Institute (BSI). The ISO 2700 1:2005 certification followed the successful
conclusion of an inspection audit by independent auditors appointed by the BSI
for this purpose. This was done to ensure that the integrity of the NIMS
infrastructure especially as it concerns the National Identity Database is not
compromised. Likewise, an Independent Laboratory and field test conducted on
the New Smart National Identity Card proved that it is in compliance with the
security recommendations and standards of the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO).
The successful testing confirmed
that the new e-ID Card can also be used as a travel document (one of the 13
applets on the card) as it has all the security details for individual
profiling and identification. Similarly, the Card Personalisation facilities
had to pass the User Acceptance Test which was followed closely by the
successful testing and validation of the Euro Master Visa (EMV) compliance
test. This test showed that the new National Identity Smart Card can be used
for transactions at Point of Sale machines (POS) and also for payments and
withdrawals on an ATM.
The successful certifications
were followed by the Presidential launch of the e-ID Card on August 28, 2014.
The e-ID Card, which has 13 applications, forms a key component of the National
Identity Management System and heralds a new era for the nation, as its gains
are unlimited and would no doubt revolutionise the status quo in the different
sectors of the economy. "I am happy that this important milestone of the
rollout of the National Identity Management System has been realized today. I
am impressed with the quality of the e-ID card and the work of the corporate
partners that made it possible" said an elated President Jonathan at the
Card launch event.
Gains
of the NIMS Project
Obtaining the valid information
of every citizen is the pathway to meaningful development. No country can
thrive without knowing the population of its people, their level of education,
the working class, etc., these are the details required for planning which
would facilitate identification and segmentation of individuals by their
demographics for policy making and welfare distribution.
In the area of security, it will
help to track criminals, block the entry of suspicious elements, including
terrorists into the country as well as help in the building of a national
security infrastructure. It would be easier for the government to identify
non-citizens; the entry and exit of expatriates and ensure that the present
'situation where people come into the country from many porous borders- is
checked.
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