President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, called on the African countries to use the numerous advantages inherent in the national identification number (NIN), to enhance the democratic processes in the continent.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, made the call at the opening of the 4th Annual Conference of ID4Africa holding in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ID4Africa is a multi-stakeholder movement that promotes the transparent and responsible adoption of digital identity in the service of development in Africa.

“It is my desire and my charge to you that the national identification number (NIN) be used to enhance the democratic process in Africa in the immediate future,” he said.

The President also said that Africa needed to embrace the global drive towards optimisation in the use of resources by making its digital identity management infrastructure efficient.

He said that the step would help create an enabling environment for talented African youth to tap into these technologies.

“Indeed, with the advent of destructive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and block chain, now is the time to build an ecosystem that would enhance continental wide security, minimise fraud and wasteful expenditure,” he said.

According to the president, Nigeria is convinced that for businesses and innovations to thrive in Africa, a digital strategy to develop global reputation for technological leadership and business dynamism is essential.

“This entails building digital ecosystem, investing in smart infrastructure platforms and services, identifying and nurturing digital talent.”

The president also stressed the need to digitalise the records and classify them accordingly “as well as reviewing and upgrading the legal and regulatory framework.”

President Buhari, who said that the theme of the event, “Harmonisation of Identity Schemes” was timely, said “a robust identity management system with quality data is key for every emerging economy.”

“Nigeria and by extension Africa must leverage on its digital identity as a reliable tool for social economic development. The importance of the confidentiality of data inherent in the identity management system cannot be overemphasised.

“We must therefore ensure absolute integrity and security of this information.

“As a nation of over 180 million people, it is important that we develop an integrated and connected system to ascertain that an individual is truly, who he claims to be,” he said.

Buhari noted that the importance of the summit in optimising the benefits of digital identity and leveraging its use for accelerated development prompted Nigeria’s decision to host the summit.

“Identity formed the nucleus of our daily activities, cutting across several sectors of the economy.

“As a responsible government, we are extremely aware of the importance of gravitating towards e-governance,” he said.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Omooba Olagunsoye Oyinlola, corroborated that the summit was would help Nigeria’s  renewed vigour on e-governance.

“There are obviously many challenges ahead. However, there is a renewed determination to leverage on the enormous opportunities that abound to turn the identity management sector in Nigeria around,” he said.