THE NIMC EXERCISE: MY PAINS, OUR PAINS On Friday, December 05, 2014, I was at the Ajah roundabout by Ado Badore Road junction, besides the Police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to make enquires on how to register and obtain my new NIMC (National Identification Management Commission) card. On arrival, the young male official in charge of the registration exercise promptly told me that I will have to, after the payment of N400.00 (Four Hundred Naira), fill a physical form which they will take to their office to enable them to register me online. I was wondering why this is so and not like the continuous SIM card registration by the various GSM providers in Nigeria and the recent INEC Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise where all your details, including biometric are captured immediately? Again, I wonder why do I have to pay the sum of N400.00 (Four Hundred Naira), though minimal, but meaningful when collected from so many Nigerians, just for a third party, another person to help me register my details online in this 21st century where access to the internet is not a constitutional right or ‘cheap’ political achievement or performance, but by the ever improving Scientists who our dear and merciful almighty God has continued to bless with His wisdom, knowledge and understanding? The process to me was therefore suspect. I was suspicious of the entire exercise especially as there will be no evidence whatsoever of my payment of my lean, but large N400.00 (Four Hundred Naira) to them or that I ever filled a form there, but when so many Nigerians, as usual, who I met there and those that met me were willingly parting with their hard earned N400.00 (Four Hundred Naira) even in these times of falling prices in global oil products, I had no choice than to follow along. But unfortunately for me, I have to part with N800.00 (Eight Hundred Naira only) to buy two (2) forms for myself and my dear wife. After successfully completing the forms myself unaided, I submitted them with an instruction from the young male official that I should come back the following Friday, December 12, 2014, being a week after the completion and submission of my forms. According to him, the print out which I will take to either Ikoyi or Eti-Osa Local Government Area at Igbefun for the capturing of my biometric details would be ready by then. He explained further that they will take my physical forms to their office at Orile Iganmu, help me register my details that I have provided on the forms online before printing out a print-out for me. He therefore sternly warned that I must ensure that I did not make any spelling errors especially with my names as this will prove very grave if I am to make such errors. Again, I was worried. How could I pay for a service that I cannot control or ensure its efficiency and completeness? Is this exercise actually designed this way to hoodwink the Nigerian people? Why can’t one have access to the portal of NIMC to simply supply one’s personal details? As if to prove the efficacy of the warning the young male official had earlier warned me of, the grave implication of making spelling errors in the spelling of my names, an elderly woman came in with so much anger. Her bitterness stems from the fact, according to her, that she had completed the exercise about two (2) months or so ago, but when she came to collect her print-out, she discovered that her names were wrongly written, prompting her to return the print-out form to them for the necessary corrections and since then, they have not been able to do so. She is angry that on the day she came to fill and submit her form, she gave the male official that attended to her, her previous National Identification card from which he filled out her name details, so how come that the print-out is now carrying a different spelling and version of her names? Gbege! I was alarmed and I have to quickly double check my forms, with the aid of a television screen on my eyes, that all my details were completely, clearly and cleanly written in capital letters with my impeccable handwriting (if any) so that I will avoid further gbege with these officials when my print-outs are ready. But why reflecting on this misnomer, I suddenly came to the sad realisation and conclusion that because of our unpreparedness, coupled with our poor policy execution and the need to pay back to party loyalists, this very sensitive National Assignment may have been contracted out to a Vendor, hence the payment and collection of N400.00 (Four Hundred Naira) per form or how else could one explain away this anomaly? Or what is the rationale behind the payment for these forms? To point home my anger or is it curiosity or hasty conclusion, I decided to visit the website of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) and this is what I got: ‘Pre-enrolment Portal Coming soon The Management of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) hereby wishes to notify the General Public that the Pre-Enrolment portal for the National Identification Number (NIN) Pre-registration has been temporarily suspended. The suspension is to enable the Commission carry out a planned system upgrade that will enhance our service delivery. The portal will be available for your use once the upgrade is completed. Thanks for understanding! We go live in: 00:07:47:28’ This message confirmed my earlier assumptions or curiosity. Why will a body charged with such a huge national assignment not throw open its portal for Nigerians to explore by registering online themselves? Why contract this very sensitive national assignment out to a third or even a fourth party? Which Ministry, by the way is charged with this responsibility? Must Nigeria always go in circle when a national assignment/exercise is being conducted? And if the above statement on the website of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) is true, which site are these contracted registration officials/vendors registering our details? Or have they created their own parallel website for this purpose? Wonders can never end in Nigeria! Maybe my questions, assumptions, conclusions, curiosity, etc are all misplaced, but what is not misplaced right now is my pain. Thrice I have been to Ajah roundabout to collect the print-out of my NIMC (or is it NIN?) registration, but in all occasion, I did not meet these officials again. Have I been scammed? Have I foolishly and willingly parted with my lean N800.00 (Eight Hundred Naira) to unsuspecting officials? I was more at pains when I could not even find someone willing to answer my enquiries on Thursday, December 18, 2014, but one woman, who is selling food nearby that volunteered to answer me, simply said, ‘dey no dey come again.’ God! How can that be? If it is true, where is my N800.00 (Eight Hundred Naira)? I was asking myself so many questions and supplying the answers myself at the same time without conviction. With this pain in my heart and pocket, I walked aimlessly towards the BRT Park across the ever busy Lekki/Epe expressway in search of answers to all the questions in my mind as a friend had earlier told me that there is another registration centre beside the BRT Park. I was relieved when I met them there and I was hoping that the centre where I registered would have been merged with this centre so that I can collect my print-out to save me from further agony of going forth and back, but sadly, my hope was dashed. The young male official who attended to me said that the officials in charge of the centre where I registered are at their Orile Iganmu office as they are experiencing network challenges, preventing them from printing out our print-outs for distribution. He therefore humbly and sincerely advise that I should return on Saturday, December 20, 2014, by which time, he expects them to be available to attend to all of us that have paid for our online registration, but yet to get our print-outs. I thanked him and I left. But my mind was still full, full of questions about our dear country, about our well documented incompetency or sincerity of purpose, about our unwillingness to do things right, about our deliberate programs, procedures and policies to deprive and suffer the Nigerian. My mind was full. It was full of the 2015 general elections. Why do I cast my vote to elect a representative that will play politics with my life, emotions, hopes and aspirations? Why will I listen to empty campaign voices full of lies, deceit and purposelessness? Why should I? Why should I be compelled to vote for a candidate of the same faith who does not even practise that faith with me and so will not protect my faith, my way of worship? Why should vote for a candidate from the same region with me, but who will never be his/her brother’s keeper? Anyway, I remembered that in 2006 or so when the government of President Obasanjo carried out this same exercise of giving Nigerians a national identification card; I was registered right in my sitting room at Ketu. The officials came to my apartment to register me and my family, though this same exercise which was fraught with so many irregularities, I never found my national identification card even as I write. The one for my Mother who came to visit us then was found at Obalende even though she was registered at Ketu. What a system, what a country! Talking about system, it took me well over a year to pay, do data capturing and get my new driver’s license. At a point, I was so used by FRSC and the licensing office that I lost count of how many journey I made to their Sura Office. It was simply disheartening that an office charged with such an enormous national assignment had only one data capturing machine and because of its obvious pressure because of the sheer number of applicants, the machine was always breaking down. What so many people, Nigerians who were waiting for capturing were doing, is simply to ask for extension of their form for the next six (6) or twelve (12) months as they could not face the rigours of receiving sms at odd hours, only to come to the licensing office without being captured. The process was that bad. So one could understand how relieved I was when I finally captured my data, got my temporary driver’s license that will enable me to drive around, but waited for another six (6) months or so before collecting the original copy of my driver’s license. Could all these processes or exercises not be more robust, accommodating and friendly? Or is it the operators that make them look unfriendly in order to arm-twist the Nigerian? But seriously speaking, with this recent pains in my heart, I have had to compare all the identification cards – driver’s license, national identification card and voter’s card as presently provided by the Nigeria government through FRSC, NIMC and INEC to her citizens, and sadly, I discovered that the only difference in all of these cards is the title, for instance, the driver’s licence carries the title ‘National Drivers Licence,’ but the details in all the three (3) cards are all the same. So why can we not encompass all the cards together into one since all the details in all are the same? Will this not make the system simple, easy and efficient since if you are getting your driver’s licence, you are equally at the same time getting your voter and national identification card? To you my dear reader, kindly cast your vote during the 2015 general elections for a party/candidate that will make any of your processes or exercises simple, friendly and efficient, but until then, kindly pray that the officials that collected my lean, but large N800.00 (Eight Hundred Naira) and forms return to their usual registration spot at the Ajah roundabout by Ado Badore Road junction, besides the Police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) so that I can collect my print-outs and be saved any further pains. Pray too that when I eventually collect the print-outs, that our name details and other vital information are not incorrectly written. And pray more for Nigeria and Nigerians, because truly, Nigeria and Nigerians need men and women who believe in truth, transparency, integrity, honesty of purpose who can rule with and in the fear of God. This is what we need. That is what you need. May God bless Nigeria and Nigerians! OSABOMEH, Mark Dominic write from Lagos via domark11@yahoo, 08023333010, 07035794596, 08184196800, @domark11 (twitter) and Mark Osabomeh (skype)
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 11:25:14 +0000
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