Obasanjo on national identification

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday called for a unified national identification system for Nigeria.
Speaking shortly after obtaining his temporary national identity card at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) office in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Obasanjo urged the Federal Government to jettison separate identification for Nigerians: Continue to read

He described the national identity card, which is expected to be formally launched by President Goodluck Jonathan next week, as “a document every Nigerian deserves.”
The former president said though the identification project was initiated in 1979, he commended the Federal Government for sustaining and nurturing it to fruition. He also noted that the national identification scheme would help in enhancing the security situation of the country.
Obasanjo, however, said instead of producing different identity cards for driving licence, contributory pension scheme, health insurance and voting, the country should be maintaining only one identity card. He said: “It is a document every Nigerian deserves which is even late in coming.
But we thank God that, after the initial step in 1979, more than 30 years ago, we have come back to it and I hope that this step that we are taking now will be sustained and will serve the need of all Nigerians. “It will also help us to maintain a (little) bit of security.
Our Francophone sister countries have had this for many years. When we first made the attempt in 1979, there were people who were fighting against it.
Today because it is a project, whose time should have come even before now, nobody is now protesting, I see people now wanting to have it, it is good.
“Maybe those other institutions that are still keeping separate identification of individuals in one form or the other will be able to join hands so that with one identity card, you don’t need a driving licence, you will not need another card for voting, you will not need another card for contributory pension, you will not need another card for your health insurance.”