Akin Alaka, a filmmaker resident in Lagos, has narrated how he risks missing out on travelling to Finland for his PhD programme due to the lack of coordination between the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Alaka told FIJ that his ordeal began on January 8 when he applied for a passport renewal at the NIS office in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, in January.

He stated that the officials that attended to him said his National Identification Number (NIN) belonged to someone else.

“The officials gave me the strange information despite the fact that the NIN was already linked to my phone number. They then told me to enrol for another NIN before revisiting their office,” Alaka said.

“When I went to the NIMC office to enrol for my new NIN, I made a mistake. I put my first and second name on the same line.

“When I eventually discovered I had made this mistake, I went to NIMC to correct it. I paid N1,000 for the correction and they recaptured my face. Then they asked me to come back in two weeks.”

The filmmaker said when he visited the office again for his NIN collection, an official told him that registration was not properly done. The official told him to reapply for yet another NIN because they could not access his data.

Alaka said he paid another N1,000 when he re-enrolled a third time.

“The NIMC issued me a number and provided a tracking ID. But they could not make the number operational. Its status kept showing that it was inactive,” Alaka said.

“By this time, I had run out of time in terms of commencing the PhD programme in Finland. My flight ticket had also expired as well. With no job in Nigeria and being expectant of my passport, I did all I could to redeem the opportunity but I was ultimately unsuccessful.

“While awaiting the NIN to come out, I sent 10 emails to the NIMC, but they only responded once. They assured me that the number would be functional in less than 72 hours, but a month passed and it still did not function.

“I also went to the NIS office to determine if they could access my data on their system but they claimed they could not find any. In my desperation, I called an acquaintance who works with the NIS to proffer solutions on what to do.

“He told me that no data would reflect until I paid a N20,000 bribe. But after I paid the NIS staffer, my effort still did not bear any fruit. The official assured me that my passport would be ready in three days but I have yet to receive it.”

Alaka is presently unsure whether he would still be able to go for his PhD programme in Finland.

“I already had a four-year resident permit for the programme since 2020. I should not have spent more than two years outside Europe since I got the opportunity, but COVID-19 happened. Now, I do not know if it is still possible to go there and do my programme,” he said.

According to Alaka, the lack of coordination between the NIS and the NIMC was to blame for his predicament.

“I do not have a job here and I am forced to do something I did not even plan for. Both the NIS and the NIMC are to blame,” he lamented.

“I do not know if they did anything. All they say is to come back in two weeks. There is no coordination between the two agencies. They leave you floating between them.”