THE CENSUS: HOW FAR CAN THE APPX N869 BILLION EARMARKED, REALLY GO?
THE CENSUS
By LT
This brief
article aims to stimulate thought and possibly some discussion, among key stakeholders
at the National Population Commission (NPC), National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC), under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, State
institutions such as Lagos State Residents Association (LASSRA), interested members
of the general public and subject-matter experts.
Additionally, it is important for stakeholders in the National Population Commission (NPC) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to recognise the significance and advantages of fostering a closer working relationship or collaboration between their agencies prior to the upcoming census in Nigeria.
The uniqueness or distinctiveness
of each Nigerian citizen plays a vital role in the success of both NPC and
NIMC.
It seems that there is some overlap, duplication in the focus of these organisations in this aspect, which presents an opportunity to maximise the utilisation of similar data, policies, procedures and technologies in their activities.
Considering the fact that two census operations conducted in 1962 and 1973 were cancelled, despite incurring significant expenses. This was due to disputes over data inflation, mainly pertaining to the counting of individuals in certain regions of the country.
An article in This-Day Newspaper last year 2022, quoted an NPC commissioner for Ekiti state as saying “This is the first time we will be doing a paperless census, everything will be digital to check corruption and bring about accurate data that can help national development.
Technology is open to manipulation, but NPC has gone a step higher by having an updated technological innovation that can prevent multiple registrations.
The biometric technology will capture your face and fingerprints. This will go to the server and any similar information supplied will be noticed and expunged from the data immediately”
And for a “thinking out of the box” census solution, in going beyond the traditional "count and survey" census approach used in other societies. But to delve deeper with the scope, to provide issue based solutions, tailored for our unique environment, in mind. Hence, I will not be afraid to be curious, in asking relevant questions that impacts my being, I am either correct or learning!
This is considering that already, we are now deploying non-traditional solutions for the census, in the use of bio-metrics to remove the duplicity when counting citizens. Why not seize the opportunity to investigate further, the possibilities of a closer coupling or collaboration with NIMC, considering the similarities in the data required, the biometric capture process and technology.
Asides the humongous cost of operations in the coming census exercise, one of the issues why NIMC (NIN) has not made much progress in capturing or providing all citizens with a unique identifier, was attributed to a lack of funding.
However, through collaboration in the upcoming census exercise, better progress may be achieved towards addressing some of these cost challenges.
So, these seemingly disparate organisations , unless proven otherwise that a close coupling is not feasible. I believe that working together would benefit the country, its citizens, and the NIMC.
It is noteworthy that this census has the potential to even establish a larger collaborative network, not just with NIMC only, but also to resolve the concerns regarding the duplication of various distinctive identification markers in circulation for citizens, such as BVN, driving license number, and passport issuance etc.
The private sector, especially banks could be encouraged to participate in this effort and could also provide some financial support in the project and exercise, which could have helped offset the initial census expenses if involved.
CENSUS and NIMC(NIN) DEMOGRAHIC DATA
As mentioned earlier, there are some similarities in the demographic data required by both of these organisations , this is asides the questions on religion and ethnicity, which were taken out of the census questionnaire, due to the sensitivity.
In my opinion, leaving these questions in the questionnaire or at least conducting a wider consultation with citizens or states would have been a more appropriate approach for conducting a proper census.
Additionally, this reinforces the argument for increased regional or sub-national autonomy, utilising the census process under State autonomy within the concurrent list to prevent overarching or politically motivated decisions that affect everyone uniformly.
Anyway, In
reviewing the available demographic data required and utilised by both organisations
(NPC and NIMC), there are several
examples of data that can be leveraged (in bold), such as:
Data captured by NIMC(NIN):
1) Name,
2) Age,
3) Gender,
4) Race,
5) Marital status,
6) Education, and Employment etc,
7) Ethnicity,
8) Income,
9) The biometric capture of the face
and fingerprints.
Data captured by NPC (Census):
1)
Age,
2)
Gender(sex),
3)
Marital status,
4)
Education,
5)
Literacy,
6) The biometric capture of the face
and fingerprints. Even if some manual intervention is required at times, to scan the data into
the database, should not discount the proposition or collaboration.
The following three distinctions below, are the differences between the data collected by the two organisations and what the NPC may need to consider, in addition to its questionnaire:
1) Name
2) Ethnicity (Can most likely do
without this and enriched later)
3) Income (Can most likely do without this and enriched
later)
Undoubtedly, with approximately 100 million records currently present in the NIMC (NIN) database.
So, it is crucial to establish a clear strategy and process
for collaboration between these two organisations , as well as other
stakeholders like the States and Banks. However
this is beyond the scope of this short paper.
And for those, who may worry about the cost implications, should consider the article in the Punch newspaper 9th Nov 2022, when House of Representatives Committee on Population queried the National Population Commission (NPC) over N1.9 billion spent on the presidential summits in villa and conferences organised across the country.
Or when a member of the committee expressed worry over how N129 million was used for a one-day seminar at the villa. So, such collaboration may well help shape priorities from any frivolous spending.
Here are some questions that need to be addressed:
1)
Is there duplication in data and technology that
can be leveraged between the two organisations (NPC & NIMC), including
other key stakeholders?
2)
Is
it possible for the NPC to conduct the census with minimal additional
demographic data and provide only the relevant census demographic records of
all captured citizens with their biometrics to the NIMC?
3)
Can
the NIMC use the biometric data captured during the census exercise to sort and
filter out already registered citizens in the NIN database and add the
remaining, outstanding or unregistered citizens to their database? Can this new
data be enriched with any remaining data at any point of citizen contact with
authorities?
4)
Can
the NIMC leverage the census exercise to capture more than the 100 million+
citizens it already has registered and stored?
5)
As above, can other key stakeholders, such as
the banks, leverage on the same census exercise, to standardise on
their numbering systems, unique identifier and data store?
6)
The
NPC chairman stated that “In
the 2023 Census, everyone will be counted once in the right way, at the right
place and time, and for the benefit of all persons in Nigeria. No one will be
left behind.” Due to funding,
the NIMC cannot make bold such a statement, or is it considered a lesser priority
in the scheme of things?
7) Lastly, How is the census exercise going to establish that those they are counting and biometrically capturing are Nigerians and not from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin etc, in the first instance?
CONCLUSION
Based on
the information available for this short paper, which re-enforces my belief
that conducting a census is a significant undertaking, most particularly in our
current environment. The process involves extensive preparation, logistics,
expenses, politics, training and a large workforce of approximately one million
plus people. The impact of conducting a census is immense.
We should
also take into account, that any proper census may take days and perhaps on
days that the government has designated as holidays for the count, which would
add still, another expense that has not yet been calculated to the appx N860
Billion.
It is then imperative to consider the various challenges that exist within our local context and develop tailored policies and actions to address them. Or alternatively, we could opt to carry out a census in the traditional sense, spending exorbitant amounts of money while leaving the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to address its own issues.
And we the citizens, continue to read in the news about the financial difficulties the Nigerian economy is experiencing after spending N860 billion alone for the census, the waste in federal institutions, our crushing debt and population, our porous borders, the influx of foreigners and all sorts, all related to these two organisations and their purpose.
“When there is something you do not like. You need to try to do something about it or you are nothing but a whiner.”Jean Ferris.
Lekan Thomas
Is a Business Analyst and Electronic Engineer (with
extensive expertise in assisting both public and private organisations accomplish their goals), writes from Lagos.
Twitter: @LekanThomas_Esq
Insta: @lekanthomaz
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