The rising nature of insecurity and other cyber related crime may be seen as one of the leading factors mandating the government of Nigeria to find a way out of the mess the enemies of the country are rubbing to the face of Nigeria and average Nigerians. The clowning and multiplications of network lines most especially.
And as the monitoring authority or agency within the workframe of Nigeria telecommunication system, NCC, decision to key into the linkage of the National Identification Number (NIN) of Nigerians with their network lines is crucial for identification and verification purposes.
It is also important to note that, the purpose or usefulness of NIN is not solely for the linkage of network lines, but it serves a series of other purposes and for the greater benefit of Nigerians, and especially in the areas of accessing government services, financial documentation, healthcare vitals as it contains blood group and genotype, and security related functions. It helps streamline processes, reduce fraud, and ensure accurate data management.
While at that, it will be good to state clearly that, the National Identification Number (NIN) seems to be of greater value than we even think in Nigeria beyond the Identity Verification.
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Though, like the common voter’s card, NIN serves or has been serving as a reliable means of verifying individuals’ identities, crucial for security and authentication purposes on local and international channels. Evidence is out there.
Also, it is vital and useful for some government related services such as voter registration, tax administration, social welfare programs, and pension schemes, ensuring efficient service delivery and reducing fraud on financial transactions.
Most education related processes have mandated the acquisition of NIN slip for easy profiling and identification. There are cases of educational institutions requesting for the presentation of NIN as a requirement for school enrollment, examination registrations, and accessing educational resources, helping to maintain accurate educational records and combat identity fraud in the education sector.
The Nigeria state of Security is worrisome and unpleasant, the use of NIN has continued to play a significant and crucial role in combating insecurity and enhancing national security by providing a unique identifier for individuals, aiding in law enforcement, border control, and crime prevention efforts of security agencies in the country.
And the mandatory linkage of NIN with network lines as directed by NCC of respective Nigerians is a deal Nigerians are proud of. Telecommunications is increasingly being linked to mobile phone registrations and SIM card activations, and thus helping to regulate the telecommunications sector and reduce the misuse of mobile services for criminal activities.
Even though Nigeria is a work in progress as there was no perfect nation in world history, still, we will get there and excel as a Nation through the efforts and commitment of agencies like NCC.
