FAAN and Yellow Cards: Constant changes hurts documentation for Nigerian citizens

For nuance, what is a yellow card?

A yellow card is the international certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis. The Federal Ministry of Health has said it will take N2, 000 to get the new yellow card.

The card will also be ready upon vaccination for international travelers.

The only difference with this and any sudden - and sometimes, unnecessary - change occasioned by the Federal Government is that processes to obtain it are more subtle and controlled.

However, we would only know the workability of these processes when people start commending or criticizing it — which seems the more likely outcome, considering the track record of anything Nigerian.

Nigeria’s regularity with (un)necessary and terribly managed changes

Over the past five years, the Federal Government of Nigeria has made some unnecessary bureaucracy-based changes to things that relate to the livelihood of citizens.

Old number plate style vs, New number plate in Nigeria (Legit NG/Premium Times) import

It never stops there, they then move right into making processes to get into these changes tedious for citizens. Till date, the change from the old meters to the prepaid meters remains up in the air.

The various electricity distribution bodies for each zone will even tell you that prepaid meters are out of stock — whatever that means.

ALSO READ: Court Of Appeal Sanctions New Plate Number

In 2015, the Goodluck Jonathan administration, without consideration on the financial and logistical strain it would occasion on Nigerians, ordered Nigerians to get new number plates.

It then made the processes to get seem more tedious than cracking an under-cooked walnut or harder than understanding the lyrics to a Young Thug song without having Genius close-by.

Going slightly further back, the Nigerian government placed the onus of getting in the SIM registration and Bank Verification Number (BVN) on the telecommunication companies and banks respectively with a time constraint that seemed almost unrealistic, considering the usual Nigerian tendency for procrastination and lag.

The process designed for the collection of PVC for Nigerians has been strenuous. A man was given a hard punch as a result. ece-auto-gen

The same problem subsists with the Permanent Voters Card (PVC). Although it was relatively necessary to have new PVCs, the processes for getting one is so tedious and strenuous. One then wonders if the Federal Government will keep mandating Nigerians to get new PVCs every four years.

NIMC brouhaha

A sample of the National e-ID card. [Photo credit: biztechafrica.com] ece-auto-gen

Around 2012, despite an already existent and unproblematic format to the National Identity Card, the Federal Government suddenly mandated Nigerians to go get a new temporary National Identity Card that wouldn’t be out until a few weeks after registration — note, the temporary card is only a paper that a sensible country would print on the spot.

The new card was also meant to come with the brand new National Identification Number — like a Social Security Number. Cool, right? We await the day whatever government it is will suddenly change this format.

Driver’s License and Taxation

Driver’s licenses are important and so is taxation and the Tax Identification Number (TIN) because the country needs to generate funds.

However, what has HIV-status got to do with driving in this modern world where HIV patients can live like anybody else? Isn’t that discriminatory?

Why is the process for obtaining a TIN so tedious and strenuous?

Even when the government makes positive changes like it recently abolished the practice of hospitals requiring a police report before treating gunshot wounds and accident victims, they are not well-publicized.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

The Nigerian government needs a sense of priority to the plight of Nigerians by having complex plans to simplify processes. It also needs to actually spend money on these things with less ridiculous time constraints and financial requirements.

We have more pressing issues and our government should face those. Unless something isn’t working, we should leave the unnecessary changes out.