Woman born without fingerprints recounts JAMB, NYSC biometric struggles

A Nigerian woman born without fingerprints has shared her ongoing struggles with biometric identification systems, detailing the significant hurdles she has encountered during critical life events, including academic registrations, national service, and financial transactions.

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I was born without fingerprints, and for many years, I thought I was the only person with something like this in Nigeria.

Using the Instagram handle J for Jidds, she recounted in a video posted on Saturday how she discovered her condition in 2017 while attempting to register for her first Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination. The process became arduous as officials were unable to capture her fingerprints, leading to hours spent at the registration center with her father. "I was born without fingerprints, and for many years, I thought I was the only person with something like this in Nigeria," she stated. After sharing her experience online, nearly a hundred people reached out, revealing she was not alone.

Her initial JAMB registration involved numerous attempts to make her fingerprints readable, including suggestions like using sand, spirit, chalk, and even scrubbing her hand on a stone. The difficulties persisted during examinations, where she sometimes could not authenticate her identity to gain entry or complete processes. "Living in Nigeria without fingerprints has been, has been terrible, honestly. From NYSC to JAMB to the bank, to any other thing that needs biometrics. I always have anxiety, It has been frustrating," she expressed.

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I stayed there the whole day with my dad. I watched over 200 people register before me. It was, I cried.

During her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, she resorted to using a part of her foot for identification, as the ridges on her toes were also too faint. Beyond institutional challenges, she has faced misconceptions and stigma, with some people wrongly accusing her of being a "ritualist" due to her inability to provide fingerprints. "Some people will tell you that, ‘Oh, you are a ritualist.’ Some people will say, ‘Ah, this one is a ritualist.’ Some people will say, ‘Ah, you carry too much hot things,’" she recalled.

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Living in Nigeria without fingerprints has been, has been terrible, honestly. From NYSC to JAMB to the bank, to any other thing that needs biometrics. I always have anxiety, It has been frustrating.

The woman, who identified her condition as adermatoglyphia, questioned the lack of clear provisions for individuals like her in institutions that are aware of the issue. Adermatoglyphia, according to MedlinePlus, is a rare genetic condition characterized by the absence of ridges on the skin of the fingers, toes, palms, and soles, caused by mutations affecting epidermal pattern development.

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If they have knowledge of this issue, why is it that there’s no provision for people like us?