At times, I wonder why Nigeria does certain things; good intentions but half assed measures in implementation. The country's future depends on excellence from this point on, there is no time to waste and nothing short of perfection should be accepted from the populace . A few days ago, I saw the pictures of President Buhari receiving his National I.D card and I could not help but feel bad for Nigeria, its children, and the rest of her citizens. In today's world, no reasonable Nation goes about gathering its citizens' biometric data in the manner which Nigeria currently is doing .Barr. Chris Onyemenam (National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria and Director General/CEO of the Commission) the man in charge of this program should be replaced immediately because it is obvious that he is not in tune with modern requirements surrounding this project. The fact that he is supposed to be a lawyer---AND SHOULD BE STAUNCHLY DEFENDING CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND "PRIVACY FROM GOVERNMENTAL INTRUSION" ---makes this all the more disappointing. Below, I will provide more reasonable suggestion because the first provision of any government to its citizens is human rights; The right to be free in movement with your land and to also be free from Government intrusion on your person without just cause.


HOW NIGERIA SHOULD GATHER ITS VITAL STATISTICS.

1. First and foremost, REALIZE THAT NO SINGLE WESTERN/DEVELOPED COUNTRY MANDATES ITS CITIZENS TO PROVIDE BIOMETRIC DATA BEFORE ISSUING UNIQUE IDENTIFYING NUMBERS,but because Nigeria is a "unique" case and is doing this for the first time its is understandable that this will be required; ONLY ADULTS OVER THE AGE OF 18 YEARS OLD SHOULD BE FINGERPRINTED FOR THIS PROGRAM. .

2. Protecting the rights of her citizens should be paramount if not---in the future--- this will be abused and don't be surprised when the fingerprints of a innocent Nigerian will be "found" at the scene of a terrorist act.

3. Once the info of every Nigerian of adult age (and their dependents) is collated, the minors who have been registered will (also)be issued a number and when they become adults all they need to do is register their own children at birth,who will then also be issued a unique number. A finger print is not required from them because their parents had/have already been registered as minors.

Biometric data should ONLY be required of Aliens, Criminals, and during background checks of those wishing to work with Federal or State institutions etc and not Natural born citizens. Nigeria needs to start learning to be proactive, not reactive.