Nigerian Identity Management – Matters Arising!

Data Laws & Regulations: Most countries have laws that govern the management of citizens' information, including data capture, recording, storage, and analysis. These laws and regulations ensure that citizens' data is protected, and breaches can lead to prosecution. For example, the Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK regulates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring fair and transparent use of citizens' data.

Policy: Companies and organizations develop different policies based on country data statutes to guide the management of citizens' data. Nigeria should update its data protection laws and release general guidelines for citizen's data usage.?

Why Identity Management is Important: Proper management of citizens' data protects it from being accessed by criminals, preventing issues like identity theft, misrepresentation, data theft, and financial compromise.

Citizens Data & Types: In Nigeria, citizens' data is captured at multiple points including NIN, BVN, Driving License, International Passport, Voter Card, and the telecoms sector.

NIN: The National Identification Number was issued by the Nigerian government to identify citizens uniquely.

BVN: The Bank Verification Number (BVN) is an 11-digit unique identity for individuals in the Nigerian banking sector, ensuring secure transactions. It is open to customers in the diaspora.

Driving License: The process for obtaining a driver's license has been automated and can be done online.

International Passport: The process for obtaining and renewing international passports online started years ago, but the data-capturing process is time-consuming and a huge cost to the country.

Voters Card: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to organise elections into various political offices. To achieve this objective, it issued voter cards to Nigerians costing billions of naira.

Telecoms Sector: The Nigerian telecom sector has approximately 106 million active GSM numbers. The holders of numbers data are captured by the companies at huge cost. Optimising data collection with NIN will reduce investment in digital infrastructure for data capture.

NIMC: The National Identification Number (NIN) is the unique number that identifies the holder for life, and it is issued by NIMC – National Identity Management Commission. NIMC has the mandate to manage the nation’s identities. The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) established by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, 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) and issue General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who are citizens of Nigeria as well as others legally residing within the country (NIMC, 2024).

In times of falling revenue, population growth, and high governance costs, optimizing cost governance becomes critical for success.