To guarantee
proper identification of Nigerians and facilitate efficient exchange of goods
and services, the chairman of the chairman of Consumer Rights Awareness Advancement and
Advocacy Initiatives (CRAAAI), Mr. Moses Igbrude has called for a unified
identity management system in Nigeria.
Igbrude, who spoke to The Guardian in Lagos, shorty after a
stakeholders forum on “Identity Management in Nigeria Economy: The Bedrock of a
Cashless Society”, said the present approach to identity management in the
country is not only time consuming but wasteful and costly.
According to him, Nigeria’s failure to establish a
functional identity management system over the years has contributed immensely
to the economic and financial quagmire it finds itself today.
He said: “it is scandalous that a country with over 174.5
million people, an immense resources like Nigeria does not yet have a sound,
secure and sustainable identity system. “Millions of adults, do not have valid
identification mean and are therefore denied access to financial services.
“Before the October 2012 directive of the Central bank of
Nigeria (CBN) to banks to accept voters card in lieu of identity cards for
basic banking transactions across the country, life was horrible”.
He noted. Buttressing the importance of identity management,
Igbrude said the emphasis is not just about the Bank Verification Number (BVN),
it is about a single managed identity data base for Nigerians, so that they can
be identified anywhere and anytime.
“ It is costing the nation huge sum of money and government
should do everything in its power to ensure that the identity issue materialize
so that we can have a single managed identity data base for Nigerians.
“The national identity card is not being managed well that
is why the Bankers Committee, who were trying before to work with government
decided to come up with the BVN because government were becoming so slow as
government and they cannot wait for them”.
He said. On the September deadline by the National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC) for Nigerians to register for their identity
cards, the consumer rights advocate urged NIMC as the regulatory body empowered
by law to synchronize all information gathered by banks, Road Safety Commissions,
telecommunication companies and other agencies of government so that
information in possession of NIMC could be accessed anytime.
“We are appealing to NIMC and government to ensure that the
centralization is done in time because Nigerians are wasting money in renewal
of drivers licence and other identity platforms, it is not supposed to be so”.
He added. He stressed that the meeting was organized to
bring all stakeholders to know the importance of identity management in terms
of its impact in helping government to know the demographic nature of her
population, in merchandising for good sales and in access to loans.
He said: “ Right now, it is very difficult to secure loans
in Nigeria, where as in abroad, you don’t need to have a lot of money to buy
whatever you want if you are working.
“ All they just need to do is to type your number and get
your data and all the information about you, where you are born and working
will be in the data base.
“The moment they establish that you are working, you can
apply for anything and you could get credit. “That is to say, anywhere you are,
even, if you are entering Immigration office, going to school or hospital, all
they need to do is to key in your number in the computer, all information about
you will be assessed. “So it is modern marketing as it should and that is why
we are promoting it.
“It will make Nigerians to get credit easily to buy whatever
they want without cash, we are gradually moving up to the cashless society. “We
want the educate Nigerians on this process and it is a gradual process” he
added.
The
Guardian
No comments:
Post a Comment