A Bank Verification Number (BVN) to open an account; a National Identification Number (NIN) to access public services; a Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) to perform your civic duty; and if you’re behind a wheel, a VIO clearance or risk fines. Now, even the NDLEA wants a biometric record. 

Unlike many developed countries where identification systems are integrated and citizen data is protected by strong privacy laws, Nigeria’s identity space is fragmented and duplicative. 

Countries like Estonia and Sweden use a single digital ID for banking, healthcare, and voting, while others like the UK, leveraging National Insurance Number, and the U.S. limit biometric collection and ensure data transparency.

In Nigeria, however, citizens must enrol separately for multiple IDs, usually submitting the same biometric data to different agencies with little coordination or oversight. 

This lack of interoperability creates inefficiency and also exposes personal data to greater risks, without giving citizens control over how their information is used.

Welcome to Nigeria’s identity maze, where every agency wants your face, but none can protect or guarantee what happens to it. There is saturation without structure.

A Nation of IDs, Not Citizens

Nigeria’s identity industry is an administrative overgrowth. Thirteen major identity systems currently operate across the country, each usually overlapping, and rarely integrated. 

As of July 2025, over 121 million Nigerians have registered for the NIN. But fewer than 60% of them enjoy reliable access to the public services that required registration in the first place.

The BVN, launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria and managed by NIBSS, has reached 64.8 million enrolments, despite Nigeria having over 231 million active bank accounts. 

The logic behind BVN was straightforward; tie every account to a unique identity. Yet banking access in rural communities is still sporadic at best and exploitative at worst.

The problem isn’t a lack of data, it’s that the data isn’t working.

The Cost of Being Counted

Every agency now wants to scan your fingerprint, snap your photo, and save your biodata. But when Nigerians need help, from resolving SIM reactivation to correcting a simple name mismatch, they face endless queues, crashing systems, and opaque processes.

Between 2023 and 2025, more than 430 cases of identity mismatches were reported, many leading to lost access to funds or public benefits. Even more troubling, over 6,000 foreign nationals, mainly from Niger, were found in the NIN database, leading to both security concerns and doubts about data accuracy and oversight.

In contrast, the NDLEA has taken biometric data collection to a new level, establishing a registry of over 59,000 inmates while simultaneously reporting 14 million Nigerians as drug abuse victims. The question arises: is the growing pool of personal data being used to rehabilitate and support people or simply to monitor and catalogue them?

Where is the Protection?

Despite the enormous volume of sensitive data being collected, Nigeria’s Data Protection Act is still largely toothless. The NDPR, the earlier framework, was a step in the right direction, but enforcement has been inconsistent. 

Citizens have no clear right to see, correct, or delete their own records. Inter-agency data sharing happens without transparency. Cybersecurity protocols are either absent or rudimentary.

We’re storing millions of records, but infrastructure is still vulnerable to basic breaches. Most systems lack end-to-end encryption. User passwords are often poorly protected. Some databases are hosted on outdated servers. It’s like building a bank vault with cardboard and asking citizens to trust it.

The Human Impact: A New Kind of Exclusion

When people are denied access to healthcare, banking, or education because their biometric records are “not found,” that’s not just a technical failure, but institutional abandonment. 

People are being locked out of essential services simply because data silos don’t talk to each other, and there’s no central accountability.

The most vulnerable groups, those in rural areas, the elderly, and women in informal economies, are being excluded from a digital society that claims to be inclusive. The language of technology hides the truth: you can now be poor, invisible, and digitally invalid.

From Data Capture to Digital Control

There’s a deeper issue at play. Nigeria’s identity obsession is starting to look less like governance and more like control. Identity is no longer a right, it’s a barrier. 

Government agencies claim they need these systems to improve service delivery, tackle crime, or manage welfare. But without integration, transparency, and security, what we have instead is a massive surveillance infrastructure, waiting to be abused.

We’re not just becoming citizens of a data state, we’re becoming profiles, without the power to decide how we’re represented or what happens to our information.

What Needs to Change?

Nigeria’s current course is unsustainable. We need more than another government committee or press release.

• A unified identity architecture must be built, where one ID can serve multiple purposes across verified agencies.
• Data security regulations must be enforced with real consequences for leaks or misuse.
• A fully empowered, independent Data Protection Authority should be in place to oversee how information is collected, stored, and shared.
• Citizens must be given data access rights, including the right to correct, challenge, or delete personal information.
• Most importantly, digital systems should enhance access, not deny it.

Conclusion: The Person Is the Point

We cannot continue to build an identity system where the data matters more than the people it’s meant to serve. Nigerians are not spreadsheets. We are not QR codes or fingerprints or poorly formatted PDFs. We are individuals who deserve dignity, privacy, and trust in our institutions.

Until the government stops treating digital identity as a checkbox and starts treating it as a responsibility, we will continue to live in a country where you exist only if the system agrees, and the system is sometimes wrong.

This time, more than 8,000 Nigerian youths have been equipped with on direct selling skills.

Biram Fall, QNET’s regional general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, at the company’s products Expo, today, November 16, 2024, in Lagos, said the company is setting its sights on expanding its footprint in Nigeria as the country’s direct-selling industry experiences rapid growth.

Speaking on behalf of QNET Global, Fall emphasized the company’s commitment to ethical and legal standards across the 25 countries where it operates, including Nigeria, where it has been active for the past two years.

He highlighted QNET’s innovative business model, which blends direct selling with e-commerce, offering a range of products designed to enhance lives and promote well-being.

“The global direct-selling industry, valued at $167.7 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to $204.9 billion by 2032. This represents a significant opportunity for Nigeria’s direct-selling market to support economic development and foster financial independence for entrepreneurs,” Fall stated.

“We are committed to empowering individuals and supporting enterprise development through our business model,” Fall remarked. “This expo represents an opportunity for stakeholders and media partners to experience our dedication to quality and innovation firsthand.”

In the same vein, Akeem Ajisafe, the chief executive officer of Transblue Limited, emphasized that QNET’s presence in Nigeria offers unlimited economic viability and opportunities for citizens, particularly the youth.

According to Ajisafe, QNET’s direct selling model empowers Nigerians by providing relative knowledge and skills to succeed in business. “What we are doing here is empowerment, opening doors of opportunities to every Nigerian,” he stated.

Ajisafe explained that QNET’s program teaches individuals how to sell, make money, and convince others, eliminating the need for initial capital or office space. Through QNET’s Independent Representative (IR) system, individuals can market products, earn commissions, and create a sustainable income stream, he stated.

He noted that this opportunity is crucial for Nigeria’s economic growth and youth development. “The opportunity is there for Nigerians… it’s earnings for life, for as long as the tree and the channel keep growing.” Ajisafe therefore urged Nigerians to understand the value QNET brings to the country and support its success. With collective support, he believes Nigeria can tap into QNET’s vast economic potential.

Commander Mitchell Ofoyeju of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA’s Tinkan Island Post Strategic Command in Lagos, expressed his enthusiasm for QNET’s people-centric approach and diverse product line, which includes health products, cosmetics, luxury watches, and jewelry.

Ofoyeju noted that QNET’s registered products and business model have the potential to generate wealth, increase productivity, and provide alternative sources of income for young Nigerians.

He emphasized that engaging youth meaningfully and practically is crucial in preventing their involvement in crime and illicit activities.

“QNET’s empowerment initiatives align with our goals at NDLEA. We welcome partnerships that promote healthy lifestyles and provide opportunities for youth development,” Ofoyeju stated.

According to a press statement by Mr. Reuben Muoka, Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Muhammed Ajiya, Commander for Narcotics at the NDLEA Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who announced the Ambassadorial recognition by the agency during a courtesy visit to the Commission in Abuja last weekend, said the objective of the NDLEA’s visit was to partner with the Commission in order to reduce the number of drug addicts in the country through sensitization programmes.

He said one of the aims for this collaboration is to explore the use of telecom platforms to disseminate information about its activities to sensitize the citizens. He said this has become strategic as nearly all Nigerian youths are telecom subscribers who interface with telecom platforms from time to time.

Ajiya said NCC comes readily to mind as a good partner to the NDLEA to achieve the latter’s mandate of reducing cases of drug addicts among the Nigerian youths.

“The NDLEA has rehabilitation centres across the country. This shows that we do not only apprehend the drug addicts, but we have rehabilitation centres where we monitor and guide them until they are fully rehabilitated” he said as he expressed appreciation that the NCC boss considered and accepted this role in the fight against drug addiction in Nigeria.

Usman Malah, NCC’s Director, Human Capital and Administration, who received the NDLEA’s delegation on behalf of the EVC of NCC, assured the visiting team of the Commission’s commitment to supporting the drug agency in eradicating drug abuse and sensitizing the citizens especially the young generation, majority of whom are telecoms consumers, on the effect of drug.

“Strategic collaboration and partnership is one of the key pillars of the two regulatory roadmaps of the Commission – the Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024; and the Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVP) 2021-2025 – and we would convey the NDLEA’s message to the Commission’s management to see how we can explore the areas of collaboration being requested by your agency,” Malah said.

Basil Agboarumi, the Managing Director/CEO of SAHCO, said the Company boasts of well-trained staff that are equipped to know what to look out for according to world best practices before accepting Cargo and are also trained to be cooperative with Government’s agencies like the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) assigned to SAHCO’s Import and Export warehouses.

Agboarumi also reiterated that SAHCO, which is a major gateway to Import and Export in Nigeria has one of the best warehouses in West Africa and these warehouses are Customs bonded.

According to a press statement signed by Uansohia Vanessa Adetola, Manager, Corporate Communications, SAHCO, the warehouses which are built with the latest technology are constructed with the customers’ best interest at heart and also for the purpose of maintaining our clients’ trust by ensuring that clients of questionable businesses are not allowed to use SAHCO’s warehouses as gateways for their nefarious activities.

The MD/CEO emphasized that SAHCO has a campaign titled “See Something, Say Something, Do Something” where all staff are trained to always call attention to unscrupulous activities and crooked acts.

He stressed that SAHCO has a long-time commitment to support Government’s agencies that are stationed at every point where SAHCO conducts businesses by giving them unhindered access to every nook and crannies of both Import and Export Warehouses, providing the necessary scanning machines and other screening technologies to support NDLEA and other Government agencies operations.

SAHCO is an aviation ground handling public liability company that is involved in Passenger handling, Ramp handling, Cargo handling and warehousing, VIP Lounge services, Aviation security services and all other aviation related activities.