LAGOS JANUARY 16TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Nigerians are going through hell trying to process anything that has to do with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), especially the National Identification Number (NIN), which it issues to citizens.
The commission, which was established by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, has the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the National Identity Database in Nigeria, register persons covered by the Act, assign a unique National Identification Number and issue General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who apply for it
As of today, the system has collapsed since November 2025, much like the epileptic national grid, such that anyone who has something to do with NIN will suffer for months before achieving it.
In fact, it is easier for a cow to pass through the eye of a needle than for people to achieve anything that has to do with the NIN managed by NIMC.
Across the nation, applicants for NIN, those whose NIN was suspended or pending, those migrating from one telephone line to another or those trying to acquire international passports are going through hell.
“After three weeks of wasting my time in Alausa, I had to go to Ikeja LG, where I was able to do the data capture after paying some money. That is the first step because I must still go back to the NIMC office in Alausa to continue with another tortuous journey, but after two weeks of capturing in Ikeja, I have not been able to print out my NIN certificate that I would take back to NIMC office in Alausa to continue the second phase of registration.
“They keep telling me to come back tomorrow. One of the LG staff advised me to go try Agege LG office. When I arrived at Agege LG, they collected N3,000 to print out my registration, yet the network was bad again. I will still try my luck but my problem is that I am due to go back to the UK.
“So, after next week, if I am not able to do it, I will go back without sorting the NIN or bank account. What is really wrong with our agencies? Just to open a bank account, I was referred to NIMC that is not functioning. The government should do something drastic about it because there is nothing you can do without NIN today.”
In the view of another respondent, Matthew Ejike, the Nigerian government is not serious about NIN, “We are facing serious problems concerning every law by the government and duplication of functions. We suffer when we want a driver’s license; we face serious problems when we want to get a national identity card; we face frustration when we want NIN; we face serious hazards, when we want to open a bank account, it becomes a problem. You want to get a resident permit, it is a big problem. You want a voter card, you are frustrated.
“Doing anything in Nigeria is frustrating. I wanted to do certain things in Nigeria, but I ended up doing nothing. I wanted to migrate from my former phone number to a new one and I went from one local government office to another in Lagos before I was advised to visit the NIMC headquarters in Alausa. I have spent three weeks queuing up from morning to evening without success.
“I will be returning to my base, Canada, tomorrow. This is too bad. That was also what happened when I went to obtain my international passport. I spent weeks before I could do the data capture because the NIN network failed. That was about four years ago. I thought the government would have fixed the problem but the problem is still there.
The Sun-Nigeria
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