DIGITAL IDENTITY IN NIGERIA

After class, I have been waffling back and forth on what to write about in my blog.

But this is it.

I’m from Nigeria, a developing nation where social media dominates digital identity (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and gossip blogs). People have committed suicide because of comments on posts, received job offers, seen scholarship offers, reconnected with old acquaintances, and more through this medium, thus using social media is becoming a routine aspect of life. I gained a better understanding of digital identity in Dr Alec’s last class.

A person’s identity in the virtual world is represented online by their “digital identity.” This may involve information on them including their name, contact information, internet habits, and digital assets. In Nigeria’s political system, educational system, corporate sector, and organisational system, digital identity is important. Because it facilitates access to educational opportunities and resources, digital identification is crucial to the Nigerian education system. It aids in student identity verification and offers safe access to online learning environments, curricula, and tests. This helps to raise educational standards, lower the chance of fraud, and increase the validity of diplomas. Digital identities are also utilized to monitor student achievement and offer individualized learning opportunities.

Additionally, digital identity has grown in importance as a result of Nigeria’s expanding use of digital technology. It now affects a variety of aspects of life, including privacy, security, and access to services and information. A secure and efficient digital identification system is being developed in Nigeria by the government and private institutions. This system will help to increase privacy and security, decrease fraud, and improve access to services. Digital identification is used to authenticate voters’ identities during elections securely and transparently, as well as to foster more political engagement and participation but there are some rural places with no technology at all in Nigeria. Election outcomes are more credible and election fraud is less likely with the use of digital identity because it has an impact on how people interact with the political system and engage in political activities. Nigeria is holding her presidential election and governorship election february/march 2023 and still facing some technological challenges but is Nigeria ready for e-voting?

However, these industries also face difficulties like a lack of confidence in technology and worries about data protection that must be resolved. To ensure that the government and educational institutions can work together to establish a secure and accessible digital identity system that protects students’ privacy and ensures that everyone has equal access to educational resources and opportunities, issues surrounding digital identity in the Nigerian education sector, such as privacy concerns and unequal access to technology, must be addressed. Digital identity privacy issues in Nigerian politics include things like unequal access to technology and the potential for political manipulation.

Establishing a secure, open, and transparent digital identity system that protects citizen privacy and guarantees that everyone has equal access to opportunities and activities is crucial for the government, educators and organizations to solve digital issues. Furthermore, it’s crucial to prevent the digital identification system from being utilized to restrict individual freedoms and human rights.