According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the National Identification database has limited coverage and a gender imbalance in the registration initiative, despite the fact that women outnumber 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 theme of the event.
He claims that over 101 million people have registered for the National Identification Number (NIN), with only 44% of enrollees being female.
According to Aziz, a gender research undertaken by NIMC and the World Bank discovered several barriers 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 documentation, and biometric capture challenges, among others.
He believes that strong, inclusive, and accountable fundamental ID systems could alter the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people.
Aziz added that this would also allow the population to gain 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 said.
The study, 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 focus on the most vulnerable Nigerians, who are likely to be poor female farmers in rural communities.
Collins-Ogbuo stated that the NIMC had done an excellent job in achieving the momentum for ID enrolment among Nigerians, emphasising 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 recognises 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 targets, all relevant stakeholders in the public and commercial sectors must collaborate to ensure that the enrolment system reaches those who require access to services the most; the underprivileged and marginalised.
“The Inclusion for All Dialogues event emphasised 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 said.
Collins-Ogbuo stated that I4ALL remains committed to its purpose of increasing financial inclusion for all Nigerians and will continue to collaborate with partners, stakeholders, and policymakers to address these important challenges.(NAN)
