OMOGBOLAHAN L.A. BABAWALE
For the Minister of Interior, Hon. (Dr.) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, his leadership at the Ministry will leave no stone unturned in giving its all for Nigeria and her people. For the man who has come to be monikered the ‘poster boy’ of the Renewed Hope administration, letting the country down is never an option. Even the most acerbic of his adversaries has to come to terms with the incontrovertible fact that the young man has been working round the clock on all fronts to accentuate Mr. President’s agenda in the Ministry in practical terms. Idiosyncratic of his person with witty viva-voce, again, in a recent event, Hon. (Dr.) Tunji-Ojo had this to say;
What you see today is a testament to the fact that the President believes and is also walking the talk in making sure that never again will Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) go southwards… the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces will NEVER leave you stranded…let us work as partners. I do not want to be the winner, even the President is not interested in being the winner. Your CG should never be the winner. Let there be only ONE winner. Let Nigeria be the WINNER -HM Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
The above concise and laconic speech was delivered at a recent event to mark the commissioning of operational vehicles of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) by the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. (Dr.) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. Just as the numero uno himself, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR recently said, on the economy, _*“We cannot allow Nigeria’s economy to be exploited. We cannot abandon our economy to marauders. I am determined to re-engineer our finances and curb selfish interests permanently”_; the Honourable Minister with his actions since taking over the helm of affairs at the Ministry has proved over and time again that the era of a few exploiting the multitude would never be allowed again. This, he had clearly shown with the sterling reforms he introduced at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) with the passport process.
Today, one of the reasons why the insecurity bedevilling the country seems intractable and unending aside its commerciality by unscrupulous and unpatriotic souls, is the porosity of the country’s many borders. In the Abuja neighbourhood of the writer has several street urchins who engage in all sorts of illicit business activities ranging from sale of narcotics, Indian hemp among others. These young lads are majorly from Niger Republic. Many of the arrested bandits up North are not of Nigerian origin. This is hitherto largely due to the lack of capacity by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to combat this menace headlong. Capacity in the area of necessary equipment sine qua non to addressing the migraine. With the commissioning of operational vehicles among other logistics from the Ministry, the country is set to witness a new re-invigorated immigration service with gusto and enthusiasm to deliver on job schedules.
Letting Nigerians win means that men and women of the country’s immigration service must live up to their responsibilities given the right and conducive environment. Having assured these officers of Mr. President’s decision never to leave the agency stranded. President Bola Tinubu, according to the Honourable Minister, would do everything to ensure the Service has what it takes to deliver on its mandate. Now, the bulk is pushed at the door step of the agency to think outside the box on areas where there can be synergy with other sister agencies to combat the seeming hydra-headed insecurity in the country. For the Hon. (Dr.) Tunji-Ojo, the Immigration Service can no longer afford to use 20th century methodology the country has been used to in solving 21st century problems that are more sophisticated and largely technology driven. Nigeria is wont to using decades method to address problems of a dynamic society. That will never guarantee the desired results.
Today, Nigeria has over 4,000 land borders spread across the country. A huge number of these are domiciled in the North. A visit to these borders would present nothing but an eyesore as more than 70 per cent of them are poorly manned, seriously compromised, and physically de-marketing of a country like Nigeria. While some have bamboo trees as barricades, many are only barricaded with mere planks! Imagine such in this 21st century leadership strides. The last time the veteran journalist, Babajide Kolade Otitoju of TV Continental (TVC) gave an eye-witness account on the state of the nation’s borders on the popular evening programme dubbed Journalists’ Hangout on the continental TV, it was a grotesque representation of the most populous black nation on planet earth.
The new Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap has her job well cut out for her. Women, generally, are known to be more efficient and result-driven at the top echelon. Nigerians want to see that happen with the new CG of Immigration. The Honourable Minister on his own has always promised (and in many instances, delivered too) to support every agency under his supervision. When Nigeria wins in the opinion of the Hon. (Dr.) Tunji-Ojo, the Immigration Service must have seen a drastic reduction, if not total stoppage of infiltration of foreign nationals through illegal entry into our territorial integrity. This is the task before the new Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). It seems and sounds herculean and onerous given our decades of straight-jacketed approach to solving problems.
But like the passport conundrum, this is solvable too. Not many thought the milestone achieved on the perennial migraine attached to passport procurement in so short a period could be achieved, at least not within the first one year of the new administration. But here we are today with plethora of positive testimonies from home and in the Disapora. It all boils down to leadership. When a leader is focussed on achieving success, the only stumbling block or hurdle between that goal and success is the leadership itself.
When Immigration Service wins, CG wins, Minister wins, President wins and Nigerians win. There is no looking back on winning.