Extortion, inadequate centres bedevil birth registration in Kwara, Kano.

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By Abujah Racheal

When Babatunde Opeyemi, an indigene of Ilorin in Kwara State, applied for the Ashisaga Africa Initiative scholarship for higher education abroad, she had very high hopes. The scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, travel costs and other necessary fees.

Only one thing stood between the 17-year old and her dream of acquiring a university degree abroad through the Ashisaga Initiative – a birth certificate duly issued by the National Population Commission, NPC.

Birth registration
HOUSE-TO-HOUSE REGISTRATION: Recording of a child’s birth in the civil register by government authorities provides the first legal recognition of the child.

Opeyemi, an orphan had no birth certificate, as her parents did not register her birth. When she met a National Population Commission official, she was asked to pay N10,000 on the premise that it was an urgent application. But the poor girl could not provide the money and thus failed to win the scholarship due to her inability to procure the…



Vanguard Newspaper