Well I am honestly shocked.
[img]http://nigeriaworld.com.nyud.net:8090/images/news/big/business/visa-check-card3.png[/img]

The Federal Government has raised two committees to work out the modality for transforming the National Identity Card scheme from an identification document to a universal access card.


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Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, told State House correspondents on Wednesday, after the Federal Executive Council meeting, that the council decided to upgrade the scheme to enable consumer credit scheme take off.

The first committee, headed by el-Rufai, has as members representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Inspector General of Police and the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Others members are the Managing Director of the United Bank of Africa, Mr. Tony Elumelu; the Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia; and his counterparts at Zinox Technologies Limited, Omatek and Sagem, France. The committee has three weeks to submit its report.

The Special Adviser to the President on Manufacturing and Private Sector, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed, heads the second committee, whose members, among others, are drawn from the ministries of justice, commerce, science and technology, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

El-Rufai said the Federal Government wanted to empower the middle class by introducing long-term credit financing that would broaden the market base.

He said the meeting had identified poor salary base, high interest rate, non-availability of credit rating system, identification and enforcement as factors impeding the operation of a credit economy in the country.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr.), who coordinated the press briefing told newsmen that only 53 requests for Sat 1 data were made to the National Space Research Development Agency, which he described as too poor in the face of the nation’s huge investment in the satellite project.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun, was, therefore, directed to inform other ministries and agencies as well as private sector operators on the advantages of the Sat 1 data and their various usefulness.

The PUNCH, Thursday, August 11, 2005

[b]Source:[/b]http://nigeriaworld.com/

All I have to say is Nigerian government is going crazy. How the hec do you want to give a foreign company access to all your citizens data? If that might be the case. But It better not be.

There is no law on personal data protection in Nigeria that I know of and ethics are being violated with relish anyway. So no surprise if National Id or driver licence becomes credit cards. Very soon the National health ID card will become credic card and any other card will become credit card. Im not surprised, it must be the scheming of the legislatures who always look into turning public information/data into money via lucrative contracts. Im expectiong a 419 angle on this one, looks like the typical lead 419ers build on. Its only in Nigeria that I see the goverment is willing to commercialise peoples personal data rather than protecting them.

I really find this fascinating...

"El-Rufai said the Federal Government wanted to empower the middle class by introducing long-term credit financing that would broaden the market base. "

I would like to know the rationale behind this statement, first. I am really struggling to not call this idea "names"- I want to believe Rufai as claimed is an intelligent man...maybe the press got the whole thing wrong and upside down...

He  (El-Rufai) said the meeting had identified poor salary base, high interest rate, non-availability of credit rating system, identification and enforcement as factors impeding the operation of a credit economy in the country.

Even my great grandmother knows this! What steps are being taken to address these deficiencies?

The article leaves more questions (unanswered) than answers, bad communication, bad PR!

I Identify two problems: 1) Mediocre government official, and 2) an ignorant press/journalist

"El-Rufai said the Federal Government wanted to empower the middle class by introducing long-term credit financing that would broaden the market base. "

Imnakoya, I think what he is saying is that he would like more and more people to be able to take out longer term loans. I don't see anything bad in this - it would mean that people would not need to save for the cost of a house (for example) but would be able to take a loan and pay it off over the long term.

But I think the idea of an ID card being a credit card is somewhat confused. It's certainly valid to talk about an ID card helping to identify people who apply for a credit card, but I don't really see the reason why they have to be one and the same. Does this mean that the government (who issues the ID cards) will also be an issuer of credit? And what if someone wants to have more than one credit card?

Sorry to say this.. but this is one very "STUPID" idea...

Trust people to take something nice and mess it up.. only in Nigeria can things like this happen regularly and on a very grandoise scale..

Giving away the central data base of citizens to foreign companies? The idea of merging the 2 is stupid. Anybody that wants to get a credit card should do it himself, and besides where are the privacy protection laws of nigeria?

let us not be too quick to rubbish the idea. let us examine the advantages of a credit card / identity card:

1. There is availability of long term credit to rich and poor people with credit limits that are determined by credit and financial agencies.

2. If you got stuck in an isolated place in nigeria in the middle of the night, which is probable if your vehicle broke down in the evening and you found no one to help you. You card may well guarantee services which you can pay for in credit terms. (now dont tell me it cannot work because, you can buy mobile phone credits at midnight and use them, so it can work.)

3. Every country has to entice its citizen to voluntarily submit its data to the government for security reason. Britain does this through the national insurance number, Australia does this through the health card, America does this through the social security number. In all these countries, you cannot open a bank account or apply for a credit card without providing the national insurance number (in britain), social security number(in america) and national health card number(in australia). Nigeria will only make it easier by combining both in a national bank for example. (leaving it open to the individual to move his credit to another credit or finance house). You can have as many card as you want provided that you national identity card number remains the same.

4. There reason why the housing and real estate market is so unreliable is partly because, banks are afraid to give long term loan. People do not have individual idenfier numbers.

5. We can critize the Us for the social security number and the britain for the national insurance number but they are reliable for distinguishing two people with the same name and the same date of birth

6. In Australia, health was the most respected thing by its citizen, so the government created a health card with an individual number (valid from birth to the grave), in America, its citizens are crazy about retirement and pension, so its government created a social security system which gives each person an individual number (again valid from crade to grave), in Britain its people are also overly concerned about pension fund and retirement that its government in the 80s introduced the nationa insurance number system for its citizens. All this schemes are not reliable in themselves for either health provision or retirement funds but the government used as a bait to capture data from its citizens.

7. In case of an accident, your card (if it has insurance from the credit provider) will ensure that every doctor will be eager to treat you and help you. Unlike the position now that the doctor will wait for your relatives. by the time your relatives arrive it may be too late to save you.

8. Each bank will now have to compete for the business of individual citizens of Nigeria because they know that if they have your allegiance from birth, for the next seventy five years, they can manage your money.

let us not be quick to criticise our leaders, sometimes we have to help them develop their ideas and not tear it down. The idea that if it was you, you will do a better job is false. Let is look beyond the momentary and think of our children and their children. What kind of Nigeria are we going to leave for them.

if the certainty of some financial credit was attached to national id card, every nigerian will register. I mean overnight.

what do you think

Right...

Let us not be quick to criticize...

But can you please tell me in which of the countries you've mentioned as an example... in fact, in which country in the world.. where the national identity document [ID card, NI number, social security, whatever..] is currently being used as a "Credit Scheme" ..

The two ideas have merit.. and should be handled individually..

their merger?? ..

- > CONFUSION...

Well there are some countries, but still my fear is the outsourcing part which involves another foreign company managing a countries identity system.

Many asian countries use a smart payment system embeded into their national identities, and enables them to make use of pay as you go services , bank withdrawal etc. But the service is provided by the govt not a foreign company.

This subject was the subject of a Champion Newspaper arcticle: Puzzles of the ID card project

http://www.champion-newspapers.com/editorial/teasers/

THE decision of the Federal Government to redesignate, and up-grade the hitherto moribund national identity card scheme into a ‘universal I.D. card’ project, must rank as one of the most curious emanations from the Obasanjo-led government in recent times.

Rising from a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week, government had announced that plans are on to up-grade the ‘present’ National Identification, which has been in the making for almost 30 years. The new improved contraption will be a one-stop ‘universal’ I.D. card that would contain more than the conventionally legal and acceptable personal records of individual holders.

As envisaged by the President, and accepted by the FEC, instead of merely containing records of birth, dates and blood group, the proposed universal I.D. Cards would additionally contain such information as credit-rating, drivers license, health-insurance, voting, and security accesses and ratings.

The ostensible reason for modification, according to government, is to wean citizens from a cash centred mentality and march on to a cashless society where on the basis of an individual’s I.D. Card, banks could offer loans, advance credit and enable security authorities pin-point and isolate suspects. The objective is the establishment of a Credit-Card Financing Scheme: where cash use and abuse would be minimised if not eliminated!

These are fantastic motions, except for the reality that, as things stand today in Nigeria, they are just fantasies, if not a smart initiative to divert public attention from the incontestible fact that the original ID card scheme that has taken almost 30 years to evolve has failed to provide Nigerians with any shred of identification. There is, of course, the matter of the enormous state resources wasted in the project.

That the President has already set up a committee of "eminent" Nigerians with a time-frame of three weeks to come up with a prototype of this single universal ID scheme for all Nigerians is also curious.

In 2002 when President Olusegun Obasanjo resurrected the I.D Card project, Nigerians were divided substantially along regional and religious lines about its propriety and use as national electoral and demographic data-base. Still, Nigerians in their millions registered for the project under the National Civic Registration set up to handle the project. Subsequently, billions of naira were voted for the project and contracts were signed with foreign firms said to be competent to do the job.

Along the line, massive fraud was detected in the ID card project, allegedly involving government officials, among them the then Internal Affairs minister, the late Chief Sunday Afolabi and the consultant for SAGEM, the French firm handling the project.

Not only have Nigerians not heard the last of the investigations on the monies invested in the old I.D card project, till date millions of citizens are yet to see, not to talk of being in possession of the ID cards

Considering the low level of technological awareness of majority of citizens, how does government expect such a largely illiterate society to cope with the complexities involved in operating a cashless society? In any case, how many citizens operate bank accounts not to talk of being privy to credit card transactions?

Matters like credit-rating, police and security records, health Insurance and other peripheral even if important data should be left for specialised agencies in the private and public sector to handle, as they have been statutorily set up to do. More importantly, the time does not seem right for this dream high tech ID Card.

The logical and transparent thing to do is to finalise the already existing ID card scheme in a satisfactory manner before taking up the idealistic universal card project which has no time-frame.

If however, government has found the whole ID card project too perplexing and confounding, the path of honour dictates that Nigerians should be told the absolute truth that the scheme has failed and that the billions of naira sunk into it had been lost.

It is only when government can complete the already existing ID card project that the move to up-grade can begin to make sense.

Meanwhile, the case against those identified to have embezzled funds for the original ID card scheme is still hanging. That is part of the problem. It simply needs to be brought to an effective closure, so that the society will know what happened.

The national I D card is a welcome developement, but the issue if credit card should be treated separately. The credit card issue belongs to the miidle class, with emphasis on prior credit history, money in bank , mortgage payment etc, as colateral. Nigerians has not advanced to that stage , with our poor data system. I guess govt. is trying to mess the whole ID CARD scheme up. Thanks Eniabalaba CREDIT CARD BUREAU U.S

Everything nigeria does always has a fault. The stress with the national id card thing , i can't forget. Now credit card. It can never work and if it becomes operational, it won't last cos it will be the new 419 scheme.

Kudos, avocat, for brilliantly enumerating some of the benefits of a credit card in your first post. I would like to take a look at the issue of 1. the national id card and 2. a credit card and 3. the proposed combination.

With the successful (please note the key word) implementation of the national id, every Nigerian’s information will not be easily identified thus reducing verification process and improving the capture of such personal information. In fact, one can even take it a step further by making the national id a unique identifier which can then be used as the social security system of the United States. From birth, a national id is assigned with the periodic updates till the individual obtains adulthood. This will not only afford every citizen an easy access to be identified but also give a detail account on the population structure of the country. Adequate policies can now be tailored when empirical statistical data is provided to show how many of the citizens are below a certain age group, within a certain demographic area or professional group, etc.

As avocat has stated, the use of credit card will afford an individual to make necessary purchase through a systematic payment pattern whilst saving the physical cash for a more worthwhile investment. However, a credit card system will operate only where there is a credit referencing agency or a credit bureau. As well noted by El-Rufai and other financial institutions that offer credit, some of the obstacles faced in promoting consumer credit and the use of credit cards is: the restricted flow of information on potential consumers, high interest rates currently charged, absence of regulations and policies needed to strengthen the link between the formal and informal sector, lack of appropriate technological support among others. The non-availability of a credit rating system is no longer an issue since credit referencing agencies has emerged from checks done so far. With the presence of a credit bureau the concept of the credit card system is not so far fetched any more. The sharing of information will not be made mandatory and long-term credit given to deserving individuals no matter their economic status provided the government backs this concept with the needed policies, regulations. Credit is the life line of any economy, how widespread and easily obtainable it is determines the level of development of that country.

The proposed combination of a card as a form of identification and for use of purchase on credit is highly unfeasible. Like Imnakoya rightly pointed out, until answers are provided in the funding of previous projects, I’m afraid that these laudable ideas will not be given the suitable support to see it through much to the detriment of the citizens and country.

Guys, Y is Nigerian things always different, imagine the look of the naira, the shape and color is not a problem to me though, but there is no sign to indicate its 1000 Naria, just round the 4 edges of the money, u will not even see our naira there, haba, then here comes another idea of given our information to visa company, This company was hacked last year by some hackers, imagine if an hacker could sell out our information?, because am sure they will progamme the card to ur bank account ur license, and lot of things like that, Nigeria Nigeria, lets think, we are known to be the most brilliant set of blacks people in the world, but i guess not, we are just too stupid. If you guys see the way they look us here, u will know we are not progressin at all. Well this is a nice forum. keep it up yul

Well, in my own opinion, this is a very good idea. I am very optimistic that it is very possible for the present National Identity Card to be upgraded to  Credit Card. Also, SAGEM is capable to do it. The machine presently in use for the production of the plain ID card can equally be used to print a chip on the card which simply makes it to store and retrieve data.

Let us all support the Federal government in this project. Such card can then be an all - purpose card which can be used for election, Population, health, credit card, identification etc.

Looks like u're working for them...

U know

The mandatory national ID Card cannot be a credit card because the Federal Government is not a bank. Any credit card provider that secures placement in the national ID card would have a natural monopoly in the credit card business and that would be unfair to other credit card providers.

Would petty traders be happy if the federal government started supplying mandatory pure water to every Nigerian? Would MTN and Vmobile be happy if people got a free Globacom sim card with their National ID cards, paid for by the registration fee? That is why this idea is so absurd!

Anything is possible in Naija. Depends on how close you are to Iyabo or im Papa....

Is this there reason why the ID have not reached 90% ( just my figures) of nigerians ? i dnt really know anybody that have their yet, r they upgrading it? or chop da money as usual
Some news report about october claimed some peoples personal details were totally wrong!!!

I mean nigerian people dont have normal I.D card talkless of a credit card..i dnt know if this is a monetary card or just a credit reference card...

the british N.I card clearly states "THIS IS NOT AN I.D CARD! ON IT (well mine does)
if they want to know peoples credit rating that should be done thru the banks they should have a network concerning peoples ratings

once we get credit cards we are asking for trouble , i think they are the ruin of many people. Buy now pay later at outrageous intrest rates!!! and every body is happy at first. if we are getting it they have to educate the populace on the benefits and dangers

this is a really good idea. i will trust visa b/a trutin naija govt. We need a nationa data base any ways!

, AND HE CAUSETH ALL, BOTH SMALL AND GREAT, RICH AND POOR, FREE AND BOND, TO RECEIVE A MARK IN THEIR RIGHT HAND OR IN THEIR FOREHEADS.

AND THAT NO MAN MIGHT BUY OR SELL, SAVE HE THAT HAD THE MARK, (REV 13 verses 16 & 17).

Now hear this:

On May 12, 2008, the new injectable biochip which will replace the use of the credit card and international passports in future will start being employed in the United States of America. It is designed to carry the Social Security number, Tax ID, credit card and bank information as well as all necessary identification particulars of the individual, all in one.

This chip (which is already in use to track animals and lost pets) will work with GPS technology. (remember where the bible says that there shall be no hiding place in the days of the tribulation).

Europe is already using a common currency. Now ECOWAS is contemplating introducing the ECO as a common West African currency.

Last week, Robert Mugabe and Muammar Ghaddafi said in a summit that it is time the African Union transits into a central African government, with country presidents being heads of the different provinces that are presently known as countries.

Now Nigeria tinkering with this idea of converting the computerised national ID card into the perfect ID card/currency.

PEOPLE, THE STAGE FOR THE COMING OF THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT OF THE ANTICHRIST IS BEING SET.

Those who believe the word of God and are born again, prepare yourselves and hold on fast to the faith. Those who do not know God, read the book of Revelation and give your lives to the True and Faithful One, Jesus Christ.