ANALYSIS: As Nigeria advances quest for national database, concerns remain
Nigeria established the National Identity Database (NIDB) in 2007 to integrate all identity documents into the National Identification Number (NIN)
When Kano Pillars shared pictures of their new player, homeboy Ahmed Musa, 28, at the training ground
flanked by 25-year-old defender Abdullahi Musa, many accused the latter of being older than he claims.
Ahmed Musa and Abdullahi Musa
They arguably had fair reasons to doubt as accusations like this
are not new. In fact, age falsification in football is so commonplace in Nigeria that it has earned its own moniker: “football age.”
Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
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On Wednesday evening, Femi, the owner of a last-mile delivery service in Lagos sent me a text; âis there any way I can get a SIM card? I have been trying for weeks.â
With no SIM cards, he cannot move forward with his plan to extend his companyâs services to Abuja.
There are many people like Femi who have found themselves in a bind because of the suspension of SIM card sales and registration in Nigeria. The new rule was announced by the Nigerian Communications Commissionâs (NCC) in December 2020.
But the NCC did not act unilaterally. It said in a press conference that it was acting on the directive from the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami. The aim of the suspension was to allow the commission to carry out a comprehensive audit of the Subscriber Registration Database.
Daily Post Nigeria
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Canada has issued a holiday security alert to its citizens planning to travel to Nigeria.
The north-American country in the new security alert posted on its website warned its citizens that security is unpredictable in the country.
It urged them to exercise a ‘high degree of caution” in Abuja, Calabar and Lagos State.
The alert stated that, ”Avoid non-essential travel to Nigeria due to the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings.
”Regional risk level – Avoid all travel
”Avoid all travel to the following regions due to the risk of terrorism, armed attacks, kidnapping, intercommunal and sectarian violence:
“In line with the Federal Government desire to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise of September 2019, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to embark on another audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again.
“The objective of the audit exercise is to verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operators with the set quality standards and requirements of SIM Card Registration as issued by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Commission.
“Accordingly, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are hereby directed to immediately suspend the sale, registration and activation of new SIM Cards until the audit exercise is concluded, and Government has conveyed the new direction.
COVID-19 has further revealed the importance of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria, and across the globe.
As revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the IT sector in Nigeria thrived tremendously, despite the challenges witnessed by other sectors of the economy. It not only contributed significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the industry to a large extent bridged the gap created by the forced lockdowns induced by the corona virus pandemic.
With the pandemic going into about 15 months now, and with no sign of slowing down; people, businesses, churches, schools, government institutions, among others discovered, adopted, and adjusted to the new normal, where it became possible to conduct classes, services, meetings, and seal deals online without physical interactions. This has been enabled by the power of Internet, and mobile numbers.