National identity and security aquestion

On June 4, 2014, members of the House of Representatives gave a serious warning to the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, against registering foreigners resident in the country as Nigerians in the ongoing nationwide National Identity Number, NIN registration exercise. This warning was contained in a resolution following a motion moved by the chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon. Uzo Azubike.
The House’s position was premised on reports expressing fear that the officials of NIMC might have been making mistakes with grievous national security a by registering foreigners. Observers say that NIMC has no watertight screening process to ascertain who is a Nigerian and who is not. There have been allegations that non-Nigerians have been presenting themselves for NIN registration across the country.
A portion of the motion paints a worrisome scenario. The report alleged that at some NIN registration centres in Abuja, more than 1,000 persons with “doubtful origin,” claim to be indigenes of some communities outside the FCT, and are enrolled without further identification or verification. Considering the delicate security situation in the country presently, this further poses a danger to our national security.
The report added, “Concerned that given the current security situation in the country and the presence of illegal immigrants assisted by our porous borders, the ongoing NIMC registration/enrollment is conducted in such a manner that there are no security measures put in place to ensure that foreigners in Nigeria, are not registered as Nigerians,” it stated.
We are of the view that, there is a need to take the House’s warning seriously. As an institution, NIMC is a strategic agency with the mandate to keep the identity database of Nigerian citizens and foreigners resident in Nigeria. This system is significant to national security because it assists security agencies, first, in knowing who is a genuine Nigerian. It also enhances investigation, identification, arrest and possible prosecution of outlaws in the country.
It is instructive that since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, reports of electoral malpractices indicated that foreign elements have been brought into the country, criminally registered as Nigerian electorate, during elections with a view to rigging elections. The same applies to the census exercise.
Admissibly, the issue of identity sometimes may be complicated. For instance, how do you differentiate an indigene of Kwara from Borno, or an indigene of Cross River from that of Kogi or from FCT by mere facial look? Certain persons have dwelt for decades at certain places in Nigeria for a long time, adopted cultural and religious practices for a long time that they have lost their original cultural backgrounds. How can that be figured out?
We therefore share the anxiety of the lawmakers on the issue of NIN, especially as we head towards next year’s general elections with all the intricacies associated security and electoral matters. We recommend that relevant authorities compel the commission, to register only genuine Nigerians. It should also be assisted by the Federal Government and other agencies through capacity building and equipment to enable proper identity screening and nationality confirmation.