ID Card: History And Problems Weekly Trust (Kaduna) October 13, 2000 Wale Omipidan Kaduna Nigeria as an independent nation is just 19 years older than the national ID card project. The idea was first conceived in 1967 under the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon with a view to identifying the Igbos who refused to heed the call to return to the East during the civil war. But the idea was not too popular and so nothing was heard of it until around 1976 when it was revived. It was subsequently launched on September 1st, 1979 by the then Obasanjo military administration. The project was launched with an initial cost of about 15 million naira. However, only General Olusegun Obasanjo and a handful of people were given the card before the scheme got stuck. Like every other white elephant project, a substantial part of the tax payers' money had gone into the national ID card project without any headway. For instance, N10 billion has so far been sunk into it, and a mouthwatering sum of N17 billion naira has been set aside for the project in this year's annual budget. Out of this amount, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Shata, revealed that about N6 billion had so far been released. But whether or not the project will see the light of the day in the life of this present administration is left for the public to guess. The project has always been controversial, right from the time it was projected in the federal budget of 1976. However, with the establishment of the Directorate of National Civil Registration (DNCR) in 1978, backed by decree 51 of 1979, the project formally kicked off with the creation of a department of civil registration in the internal affairs ministry. The department was expected to register people and issue simple laminated identity cards to Nigerians of age 18 years and above. All this was to be done manually and the cost was then put at 16 million dollars (about 10 million at the exchange rate then). But the dream of the National ID card was not realized before the man at the helms of affairs, General Obasanjo (rtd), handed over to the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. At its inception, the Shagari-led government released N50 million naira with a view to making the identity card project a reality. But from then till date, the project has continued to be awarded and re-awarded by successive governments that come into power, with little or no progress recorded. For instance, after the revocation of the contract by the Shagari regime, it re-advertised it in 1981, but was still re-awarded to Avant Incorporation of USA in 1982 which, in conjunction with a Nigerian contractor, had initially handled the same project but failed to record any meaningful progress. It was awarded at the sum of N56 million. Two years after the re-award however, the project remained a still-born. And by that time, because of some other variables like delay in payments and fluctuations in currency rates, the contract sum had raised from the initial N56 million naira to N90 million naira, with neither computers supplied nor the buildings to house them being constructed until the military struck in December 31st, 1983. While the Buhari/Idiagbon regime which ruled the country between 1983 and 1985 did not show any interest in the project, the General Babangida regime which took over from the Buhari/Idiagbon's government decided to revive the project in late 1986, nearly a year after he (Babangida) took over the mantle of leadership. His government then thought it was unwise to cancel the project after about N90 million naira had been spent on the project by the previous regimes, coupled with the fact that the computers needed for the project had been acquired but were only lying in a warehouse waiting to be shipped in from France for installation. Even though the new contractor, Afro-Continental, was given nine months in 1986 by the Babangida administration within which to complete the project, the nine months passed like nine days without the contractor being able to meet the target. But three years after, the then minister for internal affairs, Major-General John Shagaya (rtd), in a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the National Computer Centre, Abuja gave reasons why the initial nine months target could not be met. According to him, it was due to the inability to secure required foreign credit for the project. . .in the wake of SFEM (Second Tier Foreign Exchange Market) and FEM (Foreign Exchange Market) and its concomitant effect on the exchange rate, the funds allocated could not procure up to one quarter of the capital goods and services envisaged. Although the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government too re- awarded the contract in 1993, he had not settled down to decide on the next line of action when he was ousted in a palace coup by the late General Sani Abacha. But like Buhari/Idiagbon's regime, the Internal Affairs Minister during Abacha's regime, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, announced that the project was to be phased out. One interesting thing about this ID card project is that, apart from one or two regimes, no regime came in to power without revisiting the scheme. After a prolonged foot-dragging on the project by successive administrations, the government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) revived the project and completed the National Identity Card Centre, Abuja two days to the disengagement of the military from politics. Only recently, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Dr. Muhammadu Shata, said that the registration for the issuance of the identity card would commence by December this year. He also stated that the card would be used for both the 2001 local government election and the 2003 federal elections, adding that only Nigerians from age 17 will be eligible to collect. But Nigerians have received the idea of using the ID card for future elections with mixed reactions. While people like Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State believes that reliable data_base_ is necessary If we must grow as a nation, the Arewa Consultative Forum is of the opinion that the ID card would put the North at great disadvantage as it would disenfranchise plenty of voters in their domain. In a direct response to the Arewa Consultative forum's view on the ID card, Senator Abraham Adesanya, leader of Afenifere, said the Yoruba will not participate in any further election in this country until the unduly and unwarranted delayed national Identity card scheme is put in place and eligible Nigerians had their identity card issued to them. He further argued that those opposed to the use of the card for future election were doing so so as to enable them continue to rig elections. The strong arguments of the protagonists and the antagonists of the national Identity card project, however, stand on their own merits. While protagonists view it from the political point of view, the antagonists seem to be concerned about the billions of tax payers' money that have been sunk into the project. Even as the present administration seems determined to complete the project, only time will tell whether or not the project would not go the way of other previous administrations.      Copyright © 2000 Weekly Trust.

ID Card: History And Problems Weekly Trust (Kaduna) October 13, 2000 Wale Omipidan Kaduna Nigeria as an independent nation is just 19 years older than the national ID card project. The idea was first conceived in 1967 under the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon with a view to identifying the Igbos who refused to heed the call to return to the East during the civil war. But the idea was not too popular and so nothing was heard of it until around 1976 when it was revived. It was subsequently launched on September 1st, 1979 by the then Obasanjo military administration. The project was launched with an initial cost of about 15 million naira. However, only General Olusegun Obasanjo and a handful of people were given the card before the scheme got stuck. Like every other white elephant project, a substantial part of the tax payers' money had gone into the national ID card project without any headway. For instance, N10 billion has so far been sunk into it, and a mouthwatering sum of N17 billion naira has been set aside for the project in this year's annual budget. Out of this amount, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Shata, revealed that about N6 billion had so far been released. But whether or not the project will see the light of the day in the life of this present administration is left for the public to guess. The project has always been controversial, right from the time it was projected in the federal budget of 1976. However, with the establishment of the Directorate of National Civil Registration (DNCR) in 1978, backed by decree 51 of 1979, the project formally kicked off with the creation of a department of civil registration in the internal affairs ministry. The department was expected to register people and issue simple laminated identity cards to Nigerians of age 18 years and above. All this was to be done manually and the cost was then put at 16 million dollars (about 10 million at the exchange rate then). But the dream of the National ID card was not realized before the man at the helms of affairs, General Obasanjo (rtd), handed over to the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. At its inception, the Shagari-led government released N50 million naira with a view to making the identity card project a reality. But from then till date, the project has continued to be awarded and re-awarded by successive governments that come into power, with little or no progress recorded. For instance, after the revocation of the contract by the Shagari regime, it re-advertised it in 1981, but was still re-awarded to Avant Incorporation of USA in 1982 which, in conjunction with a Nigerian contractor, had initially handled the same project but failed to record any meaningful progress. It was awarded at the sum of N56 million. Two years after the re-award however, the project remained a still-born. And by that time, because of some other variables like delay in payments and fluctuations in currency rates, the contract sum had raised from the initial N56 million naira to N90 million naira, with neither computers supplied nor the buildings to house them being constructed until the military struck in December 31st, 1983. While the Buhari/Idiagbon regime which ruled the country between 1983 and 1985 did not show any interest in the project, the General Babangida regime which took over from the Buhari/Idiagbon's government decided to revive the project in late 1986, nearly a year after he (Babangida) took over the mantle of leadership. His government then thought it was unwise to cancel the project after about N90 million naira had been spent on the project by the previous regimes, coupled with the fact that the computers needed for the project had been acquired but were only lying in a warehouse waiting to be shipped in from France for installation. Even though the new contractor, Afro-Continental, was given nine months in 1986 by the Babangida administration within which to complete the project, the nine months passed like nine days without the contractor being able to meet the target. But three years after, the then minister for internal affairs, Major-General John Shagaya (rtd), in a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the National Computer Centre, Abuja gave reasons why the initial nine months target could not be met. According to him, it was due to the inability to secure required foreign credit for the project. . .in the wake of SFEM (Second Tier Foreign Exchange Market) and FEM (Foreign Exchange Market) and its concomitant effect on the exchange rate, the funds allocated could not procure up to one quarter of the capital goods and services envisaged. Although the Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government too re- awarded the contract in 1993, he had not settled down to decide on the next line of action when he was ousted in a palace coup by the late General Sani Abacha. But like Buhari/Idiagbon's regime, the Internal Affairs Minister during Abacha's regime, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, announced that the project was to be phased out. One interesting thing about this ID card project is that, apart from one or two regimes, no regime came in to power without revisiting the scheme. After a prolonged foot-dragging on the project by successive administrations, the government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) revived the project and completed the National Identity Card Centre, Abuja two days to the disengagement of the military from politics. Only recently, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Dr. Muhammadu Shata, said that the registration for the issuance of the identity card would commence by December this year. He also stated that the card would be used for both the 2001 local government election and the 2003 federal elections, adding that only Nigerians from age 17 will be eligible to collect. But Nigerians have received the idea of using the ID === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf!  It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/

Mr. K.O the only plausible avenue for such to have happened will be through hospital births and how many Nigerians were born in the hospital? Anyway most of those things I do not think are presently available. I know that since the advent of the forensic section at alagbon years back, the country has been planning to update their data_base_. how accurate is the data_base_ is another question. But that said, If Nigeria is very serious about the national ID cards, there are numerous ways of updating that data_base_. Data_base_ updating is always a continuous exercise. And by the way, I haste to add that the benefit of the ID card will not be election alone. Development will be a key figure or how does a father in tend to cater for his children if he does not even know how many they are ...... Something to ponder upon. Sammy