By Patrick Dele Cole
WHEN I read the recent directives by the NCC on SIM card registration and the National Identity Number I was astounded at the willingness of those in government to place their people in danger, in order to solve a problem of their own making.
We find ourselves where we are because of the long-term and persistent failure of government to understand the most fundamental data set it needs. To know who its people are, where they are and how to communicate with them. That is not the fault of the people. They should not suffer for it.
The issue of data management and national identity is one that I have been interested in for a long time, and have written about before. It is a clear and undeniable fact that to be able to govern with any modicum of impact, a government needs to be able to know how many people live within its borders.
Whether it is to enable civic participation (through voting, the payment of tax), to deliver services or palliatives (and we have…
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
