Quote from Ndubuisi Ekekwe on December 16, 2017, 11:40 AM

The India’s Supreme Court has work to do on the 12-digit Aadhaar number [India’s equivalent of the National Identity Number, in Nigeria) with its recent ruling. The Aadhaar number is a number that is tied to a user’s biometric information, and is mandatory for various welfare programs and services in India. The government of India has used the Aadhaar number to deepen national security [at least know the citizens] and reduce corruption in the distribution of welfare services to the poor.

But that is not the end of the story: critics are fighting, saying that the Aadhaar number infringes on the privacy of the users especially the poor. That this fight has gone to the Supreme Court tells you the power of activism. I am not against privacy but there are things in life which common sense should drive. The poorest Indians are cheated daily on grains: government pays, but the poor never sees the items because of corruption. Now, government seems to have figured out a better way of helping them, through the use of Aadhaar, only for some people to talk privacy.

I am hoping that Nigerian activists will not get the memo and take the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to court. Every technology has a drawback but in nearly everything in life, one has to look at the cost- to-benefit ratio to ascertain the value. Knowing your citizens is a national strength and there is no way that can be done without the citizens losing some elements of privacy. There needs to be a balance, and activists should understand that nations function with structures. Even Facebook will not allow you to join its continent, if you do not declare to allow the Sovereign Government of Facebook to have access to your personal data.