The Nigerian National eID Card And Identity Fraud

Yes! The Nigerian Identity Management Commission(NIMC) in collaboration of MasterCard just launched theNational eID Card witha pilot program and announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa while 13 million combination government ID cards/debit cards will be rolled out over the next year.This is good thinking in the right direction.Using the card is also expected asa payment tool, Nigerians can deposit funds, receive social benefits, save, or engage in many other financial transactions that are facilitated by electronic payments.

Now my concerns, this card will likely be forced down people throat as the de facto identity system where in a country where POS still struggle to work even in a prime area is serious concern. The last election witness several name mismatch leading to several invalid votes. How do we trust these govt to manage sensitive data of millions of unsuspecting Nigerians. As with most other countries identity theft is real! So much potential for fraud and identity theft; its actually frightening, and its no jokes dont let anyone fool you. Linking all Nigerian details with a foreign outfit that will could be intercepted or demanded by the laws of that companys country, What is the level of verification in place? How can with this system be able to trace out criminal?

Now to the every day Nigerian part, why do some people keep posting their new ecards online? Like its a sort of award or what? Most Nigerian choose very week passwords already, now exposing this level of information is like bathing in fuel beside burning flame. I really like this initiative but I hope this will not be another jamboree as usual.