THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA: BUHARI’S FIRST DUTY

Posted on June 1, 2015 Updated on June 1, 2015

As we match into a new dawn with hope for a better Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, it is imperative that all hands must be on deck and all citizens contribute to the task of nation building. Since Independence, we have passed through turbulent times as a nation ranging from civil war, military coups and counter coups, militancy, ethnic and religious unrest, annulment of election and terrorist attacks. We have been able to withstand all these not necessarily because of our individual will, but because of our collective will submerged in the true Nigerian spirit of ‘Never say die’. The last election almost polarized us as a nation, as ethnic jingoists and religious bigots used all the paraphernalia of divide and rule to polarize us. Still in the true Nigerian spirit, we rejected the emptiness of their shenanigans, knowing how far we have come as a nation. The interesting thing about Nigeria is that no matter the turbulence and unhealthy predictions about our country, we normally calm the situation without seeking for foreign help. This shows that no matter how our body get battered by unforeseen circumstances, our pride as nation remains unshaken.

As we all bring our contributions for a better Nigeria to the fore, I will like to alert Mr. President of the first action to be taken in order to kick start his government on a good footing. Nigeria as a country is run with ‘phantom’ data! We don’t have a National Identity Database and all our predictions and statistical data are based on ‘phantom’ estimation. It will take me not less than 50 pages to write about the advantages of having a national identity database but let me focus on the key things this government hope to achieve within the shortest possible time: Security and Employment for the youths. The best way of tackling security is the creation of jobs for our unemployed youths. The question now is how do we know the number of unemployed youths? How do we know the number of farmers in village X or Y? How do we know if the person applying for job is a true citizen of Nigeria? We have relied so much on ‘phantom’ estimation and it has led to a failure in national and economic planning.

The solution therefore is to establish a National Identity Database that will store demographic (personal and biometric) data of every citizen. To achieve this, I advise that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) be merged with Nigerian Population Commission (NPC) and a proper census should be conducted within the first year of this administration. If INEC was able to register about 45 million Nigerians within 3 months despite the challenges they passed through, a proper census can be conducted and National Identity Card can be issued to all citizens within a year. By doing this, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and other government agencies/parastatals will have accurate data to work on. The Police can also use information from the database to fight crime through forensic analysis on fingerprints obtained at crime sites. Also, community policing will become effective as there will be a new synergy between the police and the people to avert/fight crime. An efficacious national planning and administration demands an accurate dataset.

Welcome Mr. President!