By – Wale Olaogun & Adisa Habeeb
“The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy” – Milton Friedman
Over the years, corruption and maladministration have been ills of Nigerian democracy. It’s therefore no news that our leaders have planted the seed of corruption in which we, the citizens, are the victims.
A prominent Nigerian, Femi Kuti, once said: “Our leaders should start talking as leaders. They talk like puppets. It might take us another 100 years to come out of this phase of corruption and mismanagement.”
Without much ado, I will like to share the story of a Lagos-based Nigerian student, Mr. Owolafe Joseph (not real name), who received a huge amount of money through his bank account, from his brother. However, he couldn’t withdraw the money because during that time, Diamond Bank had just been merged with Access Bank, so he was told to upgrade his account and before he could do so he would need a valid I. D Card such as, National I. D Card, Driver’s License, Voter’s Card among others.
Prior to this time, he had taken a course in his 2nd year at the university where the lecturer instructed them to register and have their Voter’s Card on a basis of 10 marks, which he quickly did at Ibadan North Local Government, Ibadan.
Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t received his PVC before the last year’s February election, because it wasn’t ready then, he only presented the temporary one to his Lecturer. While the temporary card (paper type) couldn’t be read on INEC’s website, he had no choice than to go for the National I. D Card registration.
He first went to Alimosho Local Government to process his National I. D Card registration, not knowing fully well the kind of task he had just engaged in, he got there late and he was told to come the following day.
On the second day, he got there as early as 7am while the office opened at some minutes before 10am. People were much and the larger percentage were the secondary school students who obtained JAMB because it had made the National I. D registration compulsory for its candidates.
The officer-in-charge, without feeling remorseful, announced to them that there was no slip to commence the registration, likewise the power supply isn’t stable either. He told them to come the following day.
It was that day, he met someone, probably a government worker, who told him that he knows where he could do the registration without delay but he has to pay a sum of #3, 000. Because he needed the Card urgently, he had no option than to ask for directions to the place where he would grease palms before he could get it done.
He, alongside, his younger brother who wanted to write JAMB went to the place at Agege, where a single Laptop is used to attend to more than hundreds of people, while registration is also based on “wireless” connections and the sum paid before one could be attended to.
Fortunately, his brother did his registration but he couldn’t complete his own and was asked to revisit them the next day. It should be noted that his brother wouldn’t have the hard copy of his I. D Card until the next day, and it’s open only for those who paid a bribe of #3, 000. This illegal act was introduced by the officers-in-charge because they saw it as an avenue to make money, such that, if one has the paper type only, it may not serve the intended purpose, then one will not have any option than to pay the illegal sum.
Mr. Owolafe Joseph went there the following day but the same story repeated itself, based on fingerprint issue, when they found no way to go about it, they gave him the NINC customer care line but all was still a tragedy.
It was there that they directed him to Alausa, Ikeja, The Lagos State Secretariat/headquarters. When he got to Alausa, the crowd there was no difference from the multitude Jesus fed with the two loaves and five fish. This made him appeased to some people who also lamented about the bureaucracy in the system. One of them said; “Egbon, ati aago meta aaro ni mo ti wa nibi” (Brother, I have been here since 3am), while another talked in the Nigerian Pidgin language; “All the way from Ikorodu, na him you see me so, no local government dey do this thing for Ikorodu”
At Alausa, people who prepared to dish sacrifices for the gods were being attended to at first while the rest await the second coming. Having been in the game for long, with the Agege saga, he brought out his long spoon so as to quickly dine with the devils (officials). When it got to his turn, he narrated his predicament to one of the supervisors—a woman. The woman took his picture and attached it to his registration form, then he re-registered him, which accumulated to the third time he’s registered.
The woman claimed to have resolved issues like that before and assured him that she would assist him. She told him to come back the following day, which he did but unfortunately his registration slip could not be printed again. Fatigued, he was taken to the woman again who told him that she would send his details to the National Headquarters in Abuja. He was told to wait for 30 minutes and after the supposed time, but it was futile. The woman was tired and her face looked so weary to help again.
This made Joseph worried that since they could not do it at Alausa, which is the Lagos State headquarters and even, the National headquarters, Abuja. Where else can they do it? Or does it mean that because of a health-related fingers-problem, he cannot register his National I. D? He was then taken to a man, who is presumed to be the overall head at Alausa, who told him to recheck later, this year.
