The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says the National Identification Database shows a low coverage and gender gap in the registration project, considering the notion that there are more women than men.
Mr. Aliyu Aziz, Director-General of NIMC, stated this during the Inclusion for All (I4ALL) Dialogue in Lagos.
“Digital ID for the Last Mile: Enabling Access to Digital ID for Rural Female Agricultural Workers” is the subject of the event.
The NIMC boss claims that over 101 million people have registered for the National Identification Number (NIN), with just 44% of participants being female.
According to Aziz, gender research undertaken by NIMC and the World Bank discovered many hurdles to acquiring ID, including a lack of awareness, a lack of value or usage of ID, and accessibility concerns.
Others include the length of time it takes to register, a lack of documents, and biometric capture challenges, among others.
He believes that strong, inclusive, and accountable fundamental ID systems might alter the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people.
Aziz said that this would also allow individuals to obtain access to basic health care, education, and social safety nets, as well as enhance financial inclusion and foster empowerment of people, particularly women and girls.
Similarly, Zaina Sore, Director of Capacity Development at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), stressed the importance of digital identification in empowering and deepening financial inclusion for rural women as well as improving their livelihoods.
Sore presented the results of a targeted research project on “Access to Identity, Empowerment, Livelihood, and Financial Inclusion of Rural Female Agricultural Workers and Traders in Nigeria.”
She observed that many of the women are involved in various agricultural and commercial activities, notably in the informal sector.
“It is critical that we better understand their needs and challenges in order to tailor services that lead to greater inclusion and economic empowerment,” she added.
The survey, commissioned by I4ALL, was conducted in Kano, Oyo, and Rivers States in the first quarter of this year.
It uncovered new data insights and corroborated previously discovered data insights from I4ALL’s examination of the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) A2F (Access to Finance) dataset.
“For example, Kano State recorded higher levels of NIN ownership among respondent groups by 77%, compared to Oyo (58.1%) and Rivers (46.6%), contradicting our hypothesis of lower enrolment rates in the North.”
“However, the study demonstrated how sociocultural norms can be used as a deliberate strategy to drive female enrollment in the North.”
“The barriers to NIN enrolment remained consistent, from transportation costs to distance from enrolment centres and time-consuming enrolment processes,” she explained.
Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, Convener and Head of I4ALL, commented on the findings, saying that universal access to official identification necessitates a deliberate emphasis on the most vulnerable Nigerians, who are likely to be impoverished female farmers in rural communities.
Collins-Ogbuo stated that the NIMC has done an excellent job in achieving momentum for ID enrollment among Nigerians, emphasizing that it must be sustained.
“The most difficult part is getting to the last mile; specific and targeted approaches must be designed and implemented to get there successfully and without leaving anyone behind.”
“The NIMC identity strategy clearly recognizes the need to include excluded populations in the enrollment process, and this research reinforces that need by demonstrating the urgency for action.”
“The poorest excluded populations are frequently the most difficult to reach and can be the most resistant to participation,” she added, “but stand to benefit the most from the range of government and financial services that inclusion enables.”
She stated that in order to meet NIMC’s high enrollment objectives, all key stakeholders in the public and commercial sectors must collaborate to ensure that the enrolling system reaches those who require access to services the most: the underprivileged and marginalized.
“The Inclusion for All Dialogues event emphasized the importance of working together to create a more inclusive and equitable society.”
“By providing digital identification to rural female agricultural workers, we can unlock their potential, boost economic productivity, and drive positive change for the entire nation.”
“Our goal is to cultivate a strategic platform of cross-cutting actors with a shared goal of identifying opportunities to accelerate the pace of digital financial inclusion,” she added.
Collins-Ogbuo stated that I4ALL is committed to its purpose of increasing financial inclusion for all Nigerians and will continue to collaborate with partners, stakeholders, and policymakers to solve these important concerns.
