Nigeria\’s Unknown Population

Nigeria cannot identify over 100 million of its population. According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), over 100 million Nigerians have no identity. This figure according to the report, significantly represents the poorest and the most vulnerable groups such as marginalised women and girls, the less-educated, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, stateless persons, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas and conflict zones. Since the commencement of identity registration and enrolment in 2012, only about 41.5 million people have been issued with national identification numbers (NIN). Put into perspective, Nigeria cannot accurately identify over 100 million of its national population. It also means that government policies and programmes cannot precisely be targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable population because they cannot be identified. There are even more angles to this.

Nigeria is currently faced with overarching security challenges and the spread of coronavirus pandemic that has heavily impacted the world. In 2020, the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria continues to peak with about 7.9 million people requiring humanitarian assistance as against 7.1 million recorded in 2019.  Also, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), about 82.9 million Nigerians live on less than one dollar per day. Jihadist violence and other inherent security issues have displaced about 2.5 million Nigerians. Existential problems in Nigeria continue to push Nigerians to the point of inaccessibility. And where the government develops pro-poor intervention programmes, such efforts fail as it is hinged on unreliable data. Furthermore, the lack of identities or records of such targeted population means that the objectives of the interventions are never achieved. Consequently, such intervention efforts may not reach the vulnerable groups that need it most and as often seen it becomes an avenue for political compensation. Second, value for money for such intervention programmes are never accomplished as the problem set to solve are left unsolved. Third, resources are wasted, while the crisis continues to deepen in the absence of means of identifying the real target population. 

Government policies and programmes need accurate data to function. For government\’s policies and programmes to achieve their desired results, it must be planned using reliable statistics. It will also help government to prioritise resource allocation, know who gets what, when and how. Government\’s efforts such as COVID-19 palliatives, social investment programmes; school feeding programme, humanitarian interventions in the north-east, amongst others. Relying on accurate data of the target population who are largely the most vulnerable population found in rural areas and inaccessible war-torn communities will help in tackling many human development crises. The National Identity Management Commission must do better to access and enrol vulnerable Nigerians.

NIMC says it needs N132 billion to register all Nigerians by 2025. However, the bigger task is accessing the most vulnerable population. Working with traditional and religious institutions in rural areas will increase fruitful partnerships. However, NIMC must commit to community sensitisation and awareness programmes in partnership with community-based civil society organisations, religious bodies and traditional institutions. Sensitisation campaigns and awareness programmes conducted in local languages and by familiar groups will easily communicate the advantage of NIMC scheme.

The Nigerian state must have a robust database of its population. NIMC should also partner with relevant bodies to promote civil registrations nationwide. Lack of identification of persons living in Nigeria has a massive security dimension. It can tremendously constrain securitisation and combative missions as security agents may not have reliable information about criminal suspects or targets. At this point, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) also have an important role in checking and registering the influx of persons in and out of the country. Government must examine the problem of identity management holistically as it will affect budgeting, policy planning, crime statistics, monitoring, prevention and control. The Nigerian state can do better if its development actions are informed by a reliable and synchronised database.