Have You Ever Been Disappointed At the Bank For Not Having an International Passport or Driver's License? It's Over - Read This

Narrated by Benedict Oji:

I felt let down and embarrassed, in fact I was made to stay more than 3hours in a banking hall because my identity was in “question”, thus I could not access my bank account. The branch I visited happened to be in Abuja whereas my account was domiciled in Lagos. In sheer exhibition of their archaic but shrewd mode of operation the bank’s operations manager made some fruitless phone calls to their Lagos branch in order to verify my claim to the said account thus subjecting me to several hours of waiting.

“I will not pay you until you provide your national identity card” retorted the operations manager, with no attempt to disguise her annoyance. In my mind raced several thoughts, ideas and conclusions. I felt let down by my own country, I felt rejected by my own people and I asked myself ‘how can I be regarded as stranger in my own motherland?’

‘Am I to be blamed for the ineptitude of the Directorate of National Civil Registration (DNCR) who failed to produce and hand over my national identity card alongside others?’  I asked myself as I battled with the frustration welling up inside me. The massive failure of the erstwhile DNCR put the legitimacy of my citizenship as a Nigerian alongside many others to question. I bore this stigma for more than ten years, during which I was denied a lot of privileges.

But I never relented in my prayers, I kept hoping for another opportunity for my national identity registration. Though I nursed the phobia instilled in me by the inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy that characterises Nigerian public sector yet I hoped for the best.

Fortune smiled on me the day I got a random email that gave me a link to the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) website where I took the preliminary step towards being registered as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I was immensely motivated to take the bull by the horn and the next day I went to the NIMC office defying many years of frustration, humiliation and disenchantment. The registration process was easy, simple, organised and professionally handled.

Now I can proudly carryout by bank transactions and many other things without anyone subjecting me to excruciating investigations. Thanks to NIMC!

Click on www.nimc.gov.ng for all you need to know about the National Identification Number (NIN) issued by National Identity Management Commission.

We can deepen the #NIMCnin conversation on Facebook. Click www.facebook.com/nimc.ng
We can deepen the #NIMCnin conversation on Twitter. Click www.twitter.com/nimc_ng
 

Click www.ninenrol.gov.ng to be welcomed to the National Identification Number (NIN) pre-registration portal of National Identity Management Commission.

At a glance, click www.nimc.gov.ng/reports/enrolment_process.pdf to view the National Identity Number enrolment process workflow.

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