Question

What factors could a competent Nigerian government use to foster a greater sense of shared national identity among the people?

Answer 1

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Introduction

An effective national identity management system is critical to the development of any economy. It provides a universal identification infrastructure for a country that enables access and means to confirming the identity of individuals residing in a country. Thus, proper economic planning, adequate intelligence gathering and a functioning internal and external security architecture will be difficult to achieve in the absence of a robust national identity system

Below listed factors could a competent that Nigerian Government have used to foster a greater sense of shared national identity among the people

1) Eligibility Criteria

In terms of the NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) Act, registrable persons comprise the following:

1. Any person who is a citizen of Nigeria;
2. Any person who is lawfully and permanently resident in Nigeria, whether or not he is a citizen of Nigeria;
3. Any non-citizen of Nigeria who is lawfully resident in Nigeria for a period of two (2) years or more.

2) Legal Significance of the National Identity Card

The NIN is required to be presented by registrable persons, before several basic transactions can be undertaken in Nigeria. Specifically, all registrable persons are required to state their NIN while engaging in transactions[9] including the following:

• Application for, and issuance of a passport;
• Opening of individual and/or personal bank accounts;
• Purchase of insurance policies;
• Consumer credit transactions,
• Payment of taxes;
• Registration of voters; and
• Transactions having social security implications.

3) Regulatory & Compliance Framework

NIMC issued a public notice specifying January 1, 2019, as the FGN-approved commencement date for the enforcement of the NIN Mandatory Use Regulations and the consequent application of appropriate sanctions and penalties for non-compliance.

a) Upon giving written notice of not less than 24 hours, have the right to conduct an audit on the state of affairs and operations of transactions or services carried out by applicable persons and entities;

b) Obtain an order of the Federal High Court to seal-off the premises or business place or shut down the identity database or stop further services by the defaulting person or entity;

c) Demand payment of a penalty as provided in the NIMC Act

4) Testing the Law

Pursuant to the objectives of the NIMC Act and the NIN Mandatory Use Regulations, the NIMC has commenced collection of the data and biometric information of registrable persons into the National Identity Database. Upon completion of registration, a transaction slip known as the National Identification Number Slip ("NIN Slip") is first issued to a registered person pending release of the National Identity Card. The NIN Slip serves as evidence of registration and bears the unique NIN of the registered person.

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