The ever chaotic policy of the Nigerian government, can be witnessed once again with the new policy of sim card registration happening in the country at the moment.
A government directive holds that all sim cards shall be registered with their owners not by one but two thumb prints and photograph.
In a country where GSM is king and individuals often have 2 or even 3 phones from different providers the phone owning population is said to be around 70million and growing.
To give an example of this rapid growth, my client etisalat has grown 4.5million subscribers in its 2 years of operation; a respectable number being the 5th entrant into the GSM market.
Nigeria is not an organised country it has to be said. The ability to search for data on demographics is limited and in my job where research on target markets is necessary means a great deal of leg work for little gain. At first glance the potential for a database of subscribers can have a valuable use in many industries and in government.
However as with many things here it is not that simple.
The government has decreed it is up to each GSM company to bear the cost and logistics of registration. Compounding this logistical nightmare is the lack of infrastructure and understanding behind the reasons.
The government claim this costly time consuming exercise is intended increase country wide security and will stop fraud and kidnapping that is so prevalent in the country and what makes nigeria renowned in the rest of the world. (see previous post).
Unfortunately the security of Nigeria is put at risk by a distinct lack of data protection laws in place. And by farming out the job to the GSM companies many of which are foreign owned; MTN for example. In real terms the valuable data is now open to being sold and disseminated to any that have a contact and are willing to pay. Many of the bulk SMS companies have 'contacts' within the likes of MTN or Glo that pass on lists of numbers at request and of course at the right price.
Without solid data protection and a trustworthy government the data of much of the population is at risk.
Many Nigerians welcome this policy unnaware of the issues that present itself and swallowing the line of improved security. To English eyes who traditionally value their personal data it is a travesty.
Pandoras box is about to be opened; after all id cards won't stop hijacked jets.
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