Nigeria could still fall short of the World Bank target despite recording 100 million NIN registrations

Nigeria has recorded 100 million registrations for the National Identity Card (NIN), according to an official statement from Professor Isa Pantami – Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. Pantami, at an event intended to commission 4,366 projects embarked on during his tenure as minister, revealed that the number of registrants jumped from 61 million to 100 million within 3 years. 

Before becoming a minister and overseeing the affairs of the National Identity Management Council (NIMC), NIN registrations stood at 39 million (2007 to 2020). According to the enrollment distribution by gender, men have 56.7% (56 million) while women have 43.3% (42.7 million). It’s worth noting the dashboard hasn’t been updated to reflect the 100 million registrations milestone. As such, the current figure as of April 2023 stands at 98,707,656. 

Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna occupy the first three positions on the “Top 10 States for NIN Registration”. The bottom ten states include Bayelsa, Ebonyi, and Ekiti.

Despite these impressive numbers, Nigeria could miss out on the World Bank’s Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) roadmap. 

For context, the ID4D is a project sponsored by the World Bank that aims to “increase the number of persons with a national identification (ID) number, issued by a robust and inclusive foundational ID system, that facilitates their access to services.” It’s expected to run from February 2020 to June 2024. By then, 148 million Nigerians are supposed to have a NIN. 

The ID4D also set extra targets for Nigeria to meet. From the 148 million enrollments, the World Bank expects 65 million registrants to be women. Furthermore, the NIN enrollment scheme should include children, specifically 50 million. Going by the current number provided by the NIMC, Nigeria has to catch up quickly. 

The NIN is designed for Nigerians as a unique means of identification. It will also help the government verify the identity of those needing essential social services. It’ll also come in handy for enabling law enforcement to tackle identity theft cases. However, its potential benefits were drowned by the agonies felt by millions of Nigerians shared following the order from the NIMC to telecom operators to bar the lines of those that failed to enrol within a set deadline. 

Pantami is arguably most famous for introducing the compulsory NIN linkage with SIM cards offered by telecom operators like MTN and Airtel. Upon notifying Nigerians of the initiative on December 9, 2020, the Minister stimulated controversies when he set December 31, 2020, as the deadline for NIN registration and SIM linkage. Those who did not complete the process in time would have their SIMs blocked by their network provider. 

Many Nigerians complained of the short timeline, and the deadline was shifted many times until last April. Interestingly, some citizens shared on Twitter that their network provider still barred their lines even after linking their SIM cards. 

Meanwhile, commercial banks can now issue debit cards that double as NIN cards. Pantami, in a statement to State House correspondents, explained how this would work. “It is going to be a form of multipurpose card where it will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other hand, either MasterCard, Visa or any other kind of card,” he said. This will undoubtedly quell the concerns of those who enrolled but are yet to get physical cards. 

The minister also shared that a memo “proposing the deployment of an automated system to integrate NINs with individual SIM cards” had been approved by Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council. This, he believes, will solidify the NIN-SIM policy’s enforcement. 

Read also: NIN Enrolment: 98.7 million Nigerians have been issued ID numbers

Nigeria can beat the World Bank’s deadline if…

Although the NIMC’s recent strategy to increase the number of enrollments and enforce the NIN-SIM linkage has been strongly criticized, 100 million unique NIN records have been created. That’s a big win that Nigeria can build on by doing things, perhaps, less haphazardly. With the ID4D’s June 2024 deadline fast approaching, the NIMC must register 49.3 million citizens to meet the goal. 

It seems implausible, with political tension, insecurity, and other factors brewing in the country. So, an excellent place to start would be digitizing the entire process. Although citizens can pre-enrol using an online form, they still need to visit the nearest NIMC office or a registration centre.

The NIMC can take a page from the book of fintechs by automating the process. They can start by allowing smartphone users to use the fingerprint feature for biometric capturing. 

Additionally, selfies taken with phones can serve as the headshot image needed by the NIMC. Finally, scanning one’s signature and uploading it can be done. Making the process convenient and seamless will encourage more Nigerians to enrol. Once the details are confirmed, the NIN can be emailed to citizens, which they can download and print.

This feature should only apply to smartphones capable of doing the above. Those with feature phones will have to do things manually. Since those with smartphones won’t have to register in person, the hour-long queues will drastically reduce.