Burdened by too many ID cards

As I got close, l could see written on the banner: “Do your National ID card. Pre-registration here.” Unlike the crowd around venues for collection of permanent voter’s card, the place was desolate. Nigerians must be wearied, I thought. The young man who sat behind a desk had a forlorn look in his eyes. I […]

As I got close, l could see written on the banner: “Do your National ID card. Pre-registration here.” Unlike the crowd around venues for collection of permanent voter’s card, the place was desolate. Nigerians must be wearied, I thought. The young man who sat behind a desk had a forlorn look in his eyes. I asked him what the process was. He said I needed to pay N300 to fill a form; and after that I would go to a local government to collect the card. I had a sneak peek at the many forms he had on his table. This National Identification Card promises other features, including that I could use it as an ATM card. I paused for a while.
Then he asked me if I was ready. I gave him a wry smile. My hands were now in my pockets. The feel of my ATM card in my left pocket gave me a canny feeling. I also caressed my work ID card on my right pocket, and the naira bills co-habiting with it. I thought of my voter’s card, my driver’s licence, my international passport, my Lagos State Residents registration Agency (LASRRA) ID card, my old (now rejected) national ID card, my bank verification number, other ID cards of one association or the other, and with SIM registration, maybe soon my phone will also be added to the mix. And just then the vendor showed up. As I made to meet the vendor, the young man asked, “Oga, are you not doing again?” Know what I told him? “Not now, sonny, I have got an ‘idgraine’ of a headache as it is!”
 
Dr Cosmas Odoemena <[email protected]>;