About 8 in 10 Nigerians have expressed support for the introduction of the new national identification (ID) card scheme, confirming that it is a priority for Nigeria as revealed in the latest weekly poll results released by NOI Polls.
Also, 60% of those interviewed were of the opinion that the most important benefits of owning the national ID card are that it will serve as a means of identification and proof of citizenship.
The poll further revealed that about 58% of Nigerians are not aware of the new ID card scheme, indicating the need for more public awareness on the processes and benefits of obtaining the new national ID card, particularly its implications for security, immigration and financial inclusion.
These are few key findings from the National ID Card Snap Poll conducted in the week of September 9th, 2013.
The researchers recalled that recently, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and MasterCard Incorporated formed a partnership for the purpose of rolling out the new national identity cards in Nigeria as approved by the Federal Government.
“The new ID card will have 13 applications, including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology which was introduced to enhance financial inclusion and boost the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The new ID card would serve as a formal electronic payment solution in the country which would in turn enhance security, convenience and reliability of electronic payments through unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly registered persons,” the study document contained.
In line with this, in May 2013 the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and MasterCard used the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa as an avenue to roll-out the 13 million MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards with electronic payment capability in order to pilot the new scheme.
Against this background, NOI Polls conducted its latest poll on National ID card scheme to gauge the perception of Nigerians regarding the proposed new scheme, and the process of obtaining the national ID card.
Respondents to the poll were asked five specific questions. Firstly, in order to measure the awareness of Nigerians on the new national ID card scheme, respondents were asked: Are you aware of the proposed new National Identification card scheme in Nigeria?
Findings reveal that overall less than half (42%) are aware of the proposed new scheme, while 58% claim they are not aware of the proposed scheme.
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> Analysing the level of awareness across geo-political zones reveal that the South-South zone (53%) had the highest percentage of Nigerians that are aware of the proposed scheme and the North-West zone (68%) had the highest proportion of Nigerians who were not aware of it.
Subsequently, in order to determine the number of Nigerians that currently have ID cards, respondents were asked: At present, do you have/have you ever been issued a national ID card? Overall, the majority (62%) responded positively indicating that they had previously been issued national ID cards. On the contrary, about 38% responded negatively.
Analyses across the geo-political zones reveal that the South-South zone (73%) accounts for the highest proportion of respondents who currently have the national ID card.
This is followed by the South-East and the North-West zones with 68% and 65% respectively. Furthermore, the North-Central zone (50%) has the highest number of respondents who claim they do not have the national ID card.
Thirdly, in order to gain further insight into their perception of the processes involved in obtaining a National ID card in Nigeria, respondents that claimed they currently possess an ID card (62% of the total), were asked: What is your perception regarding the processes involved in obtaining a national ID card? Overall 48% (22%+26%) experienced a certain level of difficulty during the process where 22% claimed they found it “somewhat difficult” and 26% said they found it “very difficult”.
Furthermore, 45% (21%+24%) stated the processes involved were easy where 21% claimed they it was “somewhat easy” and 24% stated it was “very easy”. Comparatively, 7% were neutral in their perceptions as they claim it was “neither easy nor difficult” to obtain a national ID card, among other findings.