Can you believe this Nigeria? Some workers in NIMC are on strike despite the urgency put on the NIN registration and integration with SIM cards. Yes, the “staff of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), on Thursday, embarked on an indefinite strike over poor funding…The Nigerian government had directed telecommunication operators through the Nigerian Communication Commission to block subscribers who fail to link their mobile numbers to their NIN…The directive said subscribers were given a period of two weeks to link their numbers but was later extended to January 18 2021. Subscribers without NIN have until February 9 to register and link it to their phone numbers”.
I truly sympathize with the NIMC staff members. Nigeria needs to fund and take care of them if we do hope for this NIN exercise to work. I mean you cannot expect them to work on an empty stomach and get the mandate executed.
Yet, NIMC should know that Nigeria’s purse is empty. Seriously, we need a national emergency on our priorities. NIMC should be the #1 funded agency in Nigeria because it is the only path to have a credit-driven economy which can add double digit growth in our economy within a few years. So, the National Assembly and the Presidency should find money and get NIMC working!
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This strike is a national problem and should be immediately managed to ensure the workers return to work.
This comes after NIMC just updated the community on the SIM card-NIN project.
“The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to numerous publications in both print and electronic media regarding the unfounded fears of mass disconnection of telephone subscribers as a result of the ongoing linkage of SIM Registration Records with the National Identity Number (NIN).
It is therefore necessary for the Commission to issue this clarification in order to allay the fears of subscribers and the general public.
Most of these publications are based on the erroneous assumption that for every network or SIM connection, there is one unique human subscriber.
However, with the advent of social media and App-driven digital environment, network subscription went beyond human subscribers to include machines like PoS, Routers, Wi-Fi devices, electricity meters, CCTV, tracking devices etc.
A recent survey conducted in Nigeria has shown that on average, there are now approximately 4 to 5 SIMs to every human subscriber. This explains the basis of allowing the linkage of up to 7 SIMs to 1 unique NIN in the recently launched Federal Government Portal.
Thus, if there are 43 million Nigerians with NINs, this could account for about 172 million SIMs already linked to NINs. It is very important to emphasize that the current exercise of linking NIN to SIM(s) is for the common good of all Nigerians, as it has far reaching benefits.
Apart from enhancing our general safety, this will help in such vital exercises like National Budgeting, Policy Planning, Social Intervention programs and many more.
The Honourable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy has assured that the Government will continue to review the exercise in the light of experiences to ensure its smooth implementation.
We call on all our media partners, publishers and reporters to always endeavour to seek clarification from the Commission before going to the press, especially on sensitive issues,” the statement said.
More so, do not sell your NIN, it could land you in trouble if a criminal uses the identity to cause trouble: “The EFCC wishes to alert Nigerians that it is not only illegal to sell their NIN, they stand the risk of vicarious liability for any act of criminality linked to their NIN.”
EFCC Warns Nigerians Against Sale of NIN
As Nigerians struggle to acquire the National Identity Number, NIN, from offices of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, across the country it has come to the knowledge of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.. pic.twitter.com/Qs0HyCklbL
— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) January 7, 2021
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Where’s Nigeria’s soul and whose heart beats for Nigeria? We just have merchants as citizens, where everyone is doing everything possible to finish off the country; we lack qualities of good citizens, both the rulers and followers.
NIMC staff can wake up and announce strike, in the middle of a rush for national identification project. The medical guys went on strike during Ebola, some threatened same while covid was evolving. The ASUU folks have made theirs a routine, so if you were projected to graduate at the age of 28, with two major strikes – you will no longer be eligible for NYSC. The NUPENG guys? If they just announce strike, even without embarking, everyone feels the heat!
What type of country is run like this? Everything is seen from the lens of ‘us vs them’, so it doesn’t matter the consequences, because no one is ever responsible, just embark on yours whenever you feel the pressure or attention would be maximum. We are both individually and collectively embarrassing as a people, no one should attempt to make excuses for the sorry state we worked so hard to put Nigeria in.
The quality of our breed is not good at all, you cannot build a great nation with the quality of creatures we have here; not good enough!