REPORTER'S DIARY: In Ibadan, 'pay for fuel, get your NIN' III
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| Source: thecable.ng |
The money rot in the Nigerian system
While waiting to be
called upon for the enrollment. We engage in discussions. Folks console one of
the ladies whose two phones were stolen while a guy tells a story about how
money is what a lot of public servants are after instead of the service. He
cites the example of how his family suffered at the hands of some policemen
concerning bail and bribes. Others share their stories too and there seems to
be an unspoken agreement that money can solve any problem in this nation.
I ask one of the men
while we wait, he tells me in Yoruba, "if they don't attend to all of you
today, they will start the rest tomorrow." There lies a possible answer to
the source of the list of names that are being called every morning.
When we are eventually
called in for our capturing around 1:36 pm, we stay in the waiting room for
over four hours before I am finally called in. As we file in fours in
compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, a guy protests outside about how the
adults who have been on ground since morning were bypassed. The official in
charge explains to the crowd, "Anybody can shout. The gift of gab is free
for all. Everybody has the right to express himself but when you express
yourself claiming what is wrong, we have a right to clarify… Just two systems
are doing all the enrollment. Two, when we started working in the morning, out
of respect, I allowed the elderly inside. There is no directive from anywhere
in that regard but I did for tradition and culture."
"See now, you came
for enrollment with no knowledge about the fuel we've been using. Now would it
be good to ignore those who paid for the fuel until others have been attended
to?" He asks.
Inside the enrollment office- staff slots, unstable network
The long wait is partly because only three systems are in good condition for the capturing of over 500 people at the state office. In addition to this, the staff conducting the capturing also slot in their people even over those of us who paid for the fuel. A middle-aged female staff tries to keep her boss from seeing the guy she wants to call next in my place. When the latter becomes impatient, she tells him to be patient. "Did I bring anyone from home? Here is mine (enrollment forms) in my hands. Have I done them?" Whispering, "…The boss is around." I also hear complaints about the lack of service and network from time to time.
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| The ceiling in the NIMC centre |
I take my time while we
wait to observe what is being run within the enrollment centre. It is there and
then I discover that even the woman who sells refreshments near the gate also
sneaks in her people under the guise of helping her to bring in her wares. Some
gratification would be all behind these, I'm sure. Pasted all around the office
are A4 sized papers with contents campaigning against illegal extortion.
"NIN Enrollment is
free", "All forms of cash transactions are not allowed at NIMC
centres nationwide."
The capturing itself takes less than five minutes and in no time I am given a slip that contains my tracking code which would be used to print my NIN slip the next day. However, my discovery is not over yet.
Forms for sale – photocopies
It is 5:30 pm already and
I am glad I have not wasted the day. At the gate, the crowd has been dismissed
but a few individuals remain chatting away. With them is the guy who protested
earlier when we were about to be called in for capturing ahead of the elderly
ones we met at the office. He tells me they had recorded the officers on camera
and that I should watch out for them online. While we are still talking, one
Okada man comes with two copies of the NIMC enrollment form. He informs us that
they are for sale. A hundred naira (₦100) per copy.
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| A copy of the NIN Pre-enrollment form |
A young lady quickly buys
one and proceeds to fill it instantly with the mindset of dropping it for
capturing the following day. An older woman collects the second copy and leaves
to make a photocopy of the same. I tag along and claim to need one for a
brother who would be coming the following day too.
When we get to the
photocopy shop, a little distance away from the NIMC secretariat, we ask to
make a photocopy. I hold back, expecting someone to call us out for trying to
reproduce government documents but to our amazement, the machine operators ask
us to hold our copy and bring out copies of the same form. They tell us those
are the remaining four that they have. It is not unlikely that they have been
making a business out of this. We buy one each at 50 naira per copy but not
without protest.
"We should be able
to get four for 150 naira. It's not good how we make things difficult for one
another". She says. The ones they bring out seem original compared to the
one the Okada man is selling with a "NOT FOR SALE" watermark on each
copy. As I collect my copy, I look at the first line on top of the form which
reads, "PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FORM IS NOT FOR SALE. REPORT ANY SUCH
PRACTICE TO..."
When we get back to the
secretariat, I quiz the Okada man to find out how he got the form. He claims
his form is original than the one we got and that he got them at a bank where
went for the registration. "It is those of us that wrote down our names
that got forms."
Final day drama
My job is done for the
day, I leave to come the following day for my slip. Getting my slip was easy
although there is still some delay before the gates are opened. Eventually, an
official asks one of us to gather all the tracking slips and after some time,
the gates are opened for all to go pick up their final NIN slips.
However, there is some
drama on the last day. One of the officials, with bloodshot eyes, drags an
enrollee in at the gate and gives him a deafening slap. His offence? Trying to
enter without being asked to. The people outside shout and threaten to tear the
official up but it all works out for the good of the 'slapped'. He is brought
in again and is even allowed to take a friend along for his enrollment ahead of
the rest outside. It seems a day is not complete without some theft action
because another phone was pinched again.
Funny how, the day after
I get my slip, on Thursday, January 7th, the NIMC officials embark on a
nationwide strike calling for proper protection against the second wave of the
Coronavirus. They need it, they do. Also, if the government has indeed not been
providing them with fuel for the exercise, they should ask for that too. It
would be very necessary. In addition to that, more registration facilities
should be supplied. How long would three unstable systems attend to sixty
people per day?
My three-day experience
at the New garage state office has only proven that some gratification is
necessary for quick attendance. I wonder what the fates of folks with whom we
were assigned dates would be when I was able to finish my registration in three
days. All because I joined the right list. You know, who needs an appointment
when you can fuel the appointment?
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