(CNN) -- What does it mean to be Nigerian? That's the
question on the lips of many in Africa's most populous
country as new national identity cards are being rolled out.
But this is an I.D. with a difference.
The card, which fits into a wallet and comes with a credit-
card style chip, can also be used to make electronic
payments. Nigerians can use it to deposit funds, receive
social benefits, pay for goods and withdraw cash at ATMs
across the country, according to MasterCard, which
provides the card's prepaid payment technology. The
company also claims that by providing proof of identity, the
card solves one of the biggest problems people face when
trying to open a bank account.
"To all Nigerians, I say, remember the National
Identification Number, is your identity," Nigerian president
Goodluck Jonathan said at the launch of the National
Identity Smart Card, or NeID, at the end of August. "The card
is not only a means of certifying your identity, but also a
personal database repository and payment card, all in your
pocket."
The card could also be used for voting in the
future, while Chris Onyemenam, director general
and CEO of the Nigerian Identity Management
Commission (NIMC), said that citizens will have
"the potential to use it as an international travel
document."
Earlier this week, finance minister Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala said 3,000 people had received
cards. In order to get the document, Nigerians
have to register at one of the NIMC enrollment
centers around the country and provide 10
fingerprints, a picture of their face and iris , as
well as information about their age and place of
birth. Once registered, the NIMC official issues
an I.D. number and then the card.

ok good development, fresh air

Nigeria produces more oil than any other African nation, but
the World Bank says only about 30% of the population have
a bank account. Given 170 million people live in the
country, Mastercard claims to have spotted an opportunity
for growth .
Research conducted by MasterCard's consultancy arm says
that cash dependency in a country like Nigeria can cost up
to 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product. Given Nigeria has
recently recently re-calculated it's 2013 GDP to a figure of
$488 billion, making it Africa's biggest economy, that's
certainly an amount the government is keen to keep a hold
of.
Card controversy
But not everyone is happy with this pocket-sized one-stop-
shop. Human Rights Activist Shehu Sani attacked the
scheme on Facebook:
While Eze Onyekpere, lead director at the non-governmental
organisation Centre for Social Justice , said the
collaboration was not appropriate. "There should be
difference between everyday credit or payment cards and an
identity card issued by a sovereign authority," he says.
"Even if Mastercard was needed to ensure a good payment
system, there is nothing that says it must be heavily
embossed on the card. It could guarantee the card without
necessarily getting this free advert from 170 million
Nigerians."
Onyekpere has also criticised the way the
Nigerian government partnered with the
international payments provider. "The choice of
Mastercard did not undergo a competitive
selection process," he claims. "It was clearly
an abuse of Nigeria's public procurement
process and the selection should have been
open to all companies that can provide the
service.
A MasterCard spokesperson denied the
payments company was turning the I.D. card
project into a branding exercise. In an emailed
statement the company said "the brand mark is
not MasterCard's corporate logo, nor is it an advertisement
for the company. The MasterCard brand displayed on the
card is what makes the electronic payment component of
the eID card accepted as a means of payment."
NIMC spokesperson Umar Abdulhamid rejected any
allegation of foul play in partnering with MasterCard. "It's a
level playing field," he said In a phone interview. "Other
payment providers have been invited to get involved, but
were apprehensive."
And Daniel Monehin, president of MasterCard's Sub
Saharan Africa division, joined Abdulhamid in dismissing
this claim. In a phone interview he said that "the
collaboration went through all the highest levels of
government."
Previous attempts
This is not the first time Nigerian authorities have tried to
implement such a card.
The idea of a national identity card scheme for Nigeria was
first initiated in 1978, according to the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. But successive
governments and coups meant the idea did not become a
reality.
More recently, progress on the provision of identity cards for
Nigerians took shape in early 2003 , when some 60,000
centers were set up to register citizens. While the approach
to take photographs and fingerprints sought to avoid fraud,
an article on the U.N. refugee agency's website reports that
irregularities in the roll-out of the I.D. cards meant that by
2008 the government was planning a new card.
A month into this latest identity project there remains no
fixed timetable for when the roll out of the initial 13 million
cards will be completed.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/25/business/branding-nigeria-mastercard-backed-i-d-/index.html