GSM users, whose lines have been deactivated over non-linkage of NIN and SIM, are lamenting the frustrations of not being able to make calls again, saying the Federal Government should have allowed people to do the linking at their pace, while it develops a verifiable database
On 4 April, millions of Nigerians woke up to discover that they could no longer make voice calls with their SIM cards.
The federal government ordered telecommunication companies
operating in Nigeria to bar 72m unregistered accounts from making outgoing
calls because the holders failed to link their National Identity Number (NIN)
to the phone numbers.
The NIN is a unique personal identification number that is
mandatory for all citizens and residents over the age of 16 issued by the
country’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“The Federal Government has directed all telcos to strictly
enforce the policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria,” said the
NIMC on 4 April. “Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone
lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage policy from the 4th of
April, 2022.”
The drive to implement this policy started in 2020 when
communications minister Isa Pantami announced 30 December of that year as the
deadline for the linkage. But the deadline has since been extended nine times
to allow more Nigerians to enrol.
The government insists that a database of all lines linked
to NINs will help it track criminals and tackle insecurity. It says that criminal
gangs use telephone lines to communicate and kidnapping gangs contact the
families of their victims using unregistered telephone lines.
Businesses take a hit
As a result of the enforcement of the government’s directive
by telecommunications companies, many small businesses, especially in rural
areas, say they have been barred from calling active and potential clients.
David Udeme owns a stall where he sews male clothes in Imo
state, in Nigeria’s southeast. Since his line was barred from making calls due
to the inability to link his NIN to his SIM, keeping in touch with customers
has been difficult.
“There are more than 10 customers who should bring work for
me this week but I have not called them because my line is barred,” Udeme
lamented. “Even when some try to call and I miss their calls, I can’t call them
back.”
Betting store operator Olugbode Adewale is also feeling the
impact. Some of his active customers usually don’t visit his BetNaija shop in
Ibadan, southwest Nigeria. Instead, he calls customers to receive instructions
on games and stake amounts. It’s now a week since his line was barred, and his
revenue has taken a plunge.
“Today is Monday and I should have expected some good
payment of commission but since I could not reach most of my customers during
the week, I am expecting little to nothing,” he says.
Olugbode says the federal government’s directive will impact
his business and truncate his long-term growth plan. -Africa Business
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