The government having access to the personal data of every citizen of a country is not a bad one. It is expected of every country to have data of every of their citizen. This is done not to hurt anyone but it's to the advantage of everyone.
Some years back I remember the Nigerian government asked every citizen of Nigeria to link up their phone with their national identity number, it was taken more seriously around last year again, and all phone numbers that were not linked with NIN were blocked. Also early this year, all back account owners were asked to go to their various banks to link up their accounts with NIN. It was mandated and made compulsory for every citizen.
I believe the advantages of this is greater than the disadvantages. In many developed countries criminals have been tracked down through government access to data of their citizens. It's of great use in determining criminal acts and fraudulent practices by any citizen of a country.
There was a time when every citizen of Nigeria was asked to link their various bank account number with BVN. It was a big threat to the fraudulent politicians then because, through the use of the BVN, the government can track all your bank accounts. Those corrupt politicians who had huge amounts of money in their various banks began to withdraw them from their various banks to prevent the anti-corruption agencies from tracking them down. As a result of this, the corrupt politicians began to keep those money in uncompleted buildings. It was during this period that huge amounts of money were found in uncompleted buildings, inside empty houses, and more.
The only disadvantage is losing this data in the hands of fraudsters. That's why the government should ensure that all this data are highly secured and can't be bridged by hackers. Apart from this, I don't have an issue with the government having access to my private data. As long I don't do anything that is against the law I believe there is nothing to be afraid of.
Although, in countries like Nigeria. There should be a coordinated or organized way of acquiring data from citizens. I remember some years back when we were asked to go for BVN registration, it was a stressful one. We have to be in a queue for hours inside the sun. It was a tedious one. Many people began to faint as a result of the stress, which ought not to be. The process ought to be an online process where everyone can do it at their various homes conveniently.
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Is there a way of having data privacy? I don't think so. Because to be identified as a citizen of a country, your data must be entered into the country's database. In the case of internet privacy, I will only advise we should be cautious of things we put out on our social media handles or online. Many people thought they can't be tracked down online and they use that medium to put out information that can be used against them. I know many Nigerians will remember the man who was arrested for insulting the first lady on social media. I believe when he was doing that he believed he couldn't be tracked down not knowing that they could track his location through his mobile device.
We can't stop the government from accessing our private data but we can be cautious of giving out information online that could affect us negatively.
Thanks for reading.....
