Abstract: | Nigeria's National Civic Registration Act, no. 51 of 1979, provides for the registration of all citizens of Nigeria aged 18 years and above. Pending the Act's implementation, the author looks at the various provisions of the Act, including who must be registered, the structure and functions of the Department of National Civic Registration, the National Advisory Committee on Civic Registration, the powers of the Minister of Internal Affairs under the Act, the mode of registration, the utility of the national identity cards issued under the Act, the custody of registers, offences created under the Act and their punishment. Inasmuch as the authors of the Act have not indicated the rationale behind its promulgation, the present author also speculates on its likely usefulness to society: possible political implications, its use in the sifting out of aliens, the identification of eligible voters, as a surrogate census, and in providing data for planning purposes. Notes, ref. |