NIMC is scaling up in the UK right now. Here's why that matters.

The National Identity Management Commission announced this month that it's using the Windsor visit as a platform to scale up diaspora NIN enrolment in the UK. That sounds administrative. It isn't.

If you're in the UK and don't have a National Identification Number, you're cut off from Nigeria's National Housing Fund mortgage scheme. You can't fully participate in the digital economy services the country is building. And with last week's deportation MoU now in effect, the identity verification layer for any returnee process runs through the same database.

NIMC is actively coming to you right now. That's unusual. Most Nigerian government services require you to go to them.

One number. Two uses. One makes it easier to access things you want. The other makes it easier to process something you don't. Which one you need to think about depends on your situation.