…Nigerians ordeals in the heat of NIN Registrations

By Adesile Tosin, Stephen Adoga & Ife Ogunbiyi (Lagos), Seun Aderounmu( Abeokuta), Deji Oladosu(Ibadan)

Owing to the deadline issued by the Federal Government for every mobile network subscribers to update their SIM registration with a valid National identification number, (NIN) or risk disqualification has led to a huge demand for the NIN thronging enrolment centers in Nigeria.

In the South West states of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo especially, the exercise has been an unforgettable experience for the people who struggle daily to get themselves enroll in other to beat the February 9th, 2021 deadline set by the government for all Sim Cards to be linked, failure of which the authority said would result in deactivation. Beyond the challenge of the scuffle for access occasioned by the high turnout of people daily, there have been reports of alleged demand for bribery by the officials of the NIMC, to hasten enrolment for those who can afford it.

In a bid to ascertain the validity of the allegations of demands for bribery by the officials of NIMC, Sparklight News dispatched its team of correspondents to some enrollment centres in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos states.

In Ogun, at the Oke-mosan registration Centre, our reporter who arrived at the venue in the morning discovered a crowd people waiting to be enrolled. In what began like a normal day, a register was provided for names to be written according to the order of arrival, giving people hope they would finally be enrolled to bring an end to the anxiety about the waiting hammer on the government on non-linked sim cards, which is expected to hit on February. But their hopes soon evaporated when the schedule for their enrollment was announced to be August, leaving a lot of them distraught. “The register was created to provide for orderliness. There is a schedule date for the names on the list to know when to be enrolled instead of visiting the office daily”, an official announced. The official also rejected allegations of manipulation made by the people, saying the people are aware that individuals are allowed into the enrollment room in the order of their names.

At Panseke, the situation was no were different, as the centre only attends to five people per day, according to a source, who bemoaned the inadequacy of registration cents. According to the source who doesn’t want his name published: “The federal government should make provision for more centers and equipment for registration or make use of our BVN and those with no BVN will have to visit the NIN office for registration.”

Bribery

For the people seeking enrollment, the challenge involved in trying to register for the NIN is beyond the risk of contracting Covid19 virus. There is the physical and mental effects of sleeplessness, as they have to cut short their sleep to arrive early enough at the centres, only to go back home without any success. Bigger than these is the demand for bribe by some NIMC officials, as claimed by sources. This, they said, is the reason for the low number of enrollment completed so far.

An elderly woman who spoke with our reporter claimed she was denied enrollment because she could not afford the Five Thousand Naira (5, 000) demanded by the officials. Apart from the disappointment of not being enrolled as a result of the demand which she couldn’t meet, she expressed sadness at the stress she went through without getting enrolled to compensate for her struggles.

Extortion

A man who wants to be identified only as Samuel accused the officials of extortion. He said the pre-registration form meant to be issued at no cost was being sold to the people at varying prices despite repeated claims by the NIMC’s authorities that it was free.

In Ibadan, Oyo State, the situation is not all that different in terms of the amount set for the pre-enrollment form, according to some persons who spoke with our reporter who visited the centre. There, it was gathered that pre-enrollment form goes for a hundred Naira (N100). A man, Mr. Adelaja Peter, who spoke with our correspondent, said he was asked to pay Three Thousand and Five Hundred Naira (3, 500) to hasten his enrollment and Five Hundred Naira (500) for the print out. “I cannot afford to pay that amount”, he complained. “It is better they block my sim.”

In Lagos, the situation can be said to be worst because of its high population. In all the centres visited, chaotic scenes became rampant, as people struggle for positions in front of the queue, defying all established Covid19 protocols set up by the government. Allegations of bribery and extortion also surfaced, with demands for sums of up to Ten Thousand Naira (10, 000) each per individual.

Mr. Innocent said he paid 10, 000 to get his done through a link who directed him to a “private complex” in Ajah. “You won’t believe l paid 10k for the National Identification number today”, he told our reporter. This time, the young man had put up a sad face.

Recounting his journey to getting the scarcest 11 digits now in Nigeria, the young man said: “I went to the Eti-Osa LG very close to me here and from there to Sangotedo LG. They told me they have not started the program yet. It was one of our Estate security man who did his last month and paid the same amount that connected me to a private complex in Ajah, where l did it. There were a lot of people there for the same identity Card. I verified from them before the payment.”

Others who spoke on the matter said they were worried by lack of adherence to covid19 protocol which, according to them, the government is not doing much to address.

Also, there had been various public notice issued by NIMC which states that “All NIN generated by the BVN can only be used after it has been updated at the NIMC enrollment centre. Visit a NIMC enrollment centre to update your biometrics and validate your NIN”. All these notices are further confusing the people more as people are not sure it they were to go NIMC office or their Bank as regard NIN generated from BVN.

The Minister of Communications and Digital economy has assured Nigerians of data security as well as numerous benefits saying it is a step towards achieving a digital economy saying our data are 99% secured.

Also, Sparklight News learnt the government has approved network service provider, MTN to register Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos as part of measures to decongest the crowd playing host to NIMC offices for NIN.

Mr Funso Aina, a Senior Manager,External relations was quoted to have said the disco had secured Nigerian identity Management Commission licence for NIN enrollment and had begun enrollment at some of its centres in Lagos, Port Harcout and Abuja saying MTN had invested in acquiring devices aligned with NIMC standard.

However Nigerians are fond of making opportunity out of situations like this to extort innocent Nigerians, it expected that the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari should device a strategy of fishing out the bad eggs making the registration process more complicated than it used to be.