When Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who had been re-elected a member of the House of Representatives, was appointed minister of interior by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, not many paid heed. But those who knew his antecedents were upbeat that the appointment was tantamount to putting a round peg in a round hole.
To be sure, the Interior Ministry is one of the oldest in Nigeria. Created in 1957 as the Ministry of Internal Affairs to maintain internal security, and metamorphosing in 2007 into the Ministry of the Interior when the Ministry of Internal Affairs merged with the Ministry of Police Affairs, it exercises supervisory control over critical security agencies, namely: Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
In the last 68 years under the watch of 22 ministers that included Joseph Modupe Johnson, Usman Sarki, Shehu Shagari, Shettima Ali Monguno, Kam Selem and Rauf Aregbesola, the ministry, no doubt, has had a fair share of political heavyweights at the helm. But most of them were the axiomatic square pegs in round holes. What was lacking was the requisite innovation and creativity and the consequences were dire for the country as the ministry’s most perfunctory duties such as consular and immigration services became rather daunting tasks.
What was needed, therefore, was a new way of doing things – creating new ideas, products, services, or processes – that will solve the avalanche of problems stultifying development. In an increasingly digitalized world, it required new and problem-solving ideas that will leverage cutting-edge technology in delivering impactful results.
And in steps Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. Though he gained admission into Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife to study Electrical and Electronics Engineering, he eventually graduated from the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) with a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering, and obtained a post-graduate qualification in Digital Communication and Networking in 2006. Even before he turned 24 years, he held certifications in multiple professional qualifications in ICT, including the prestigious title of being one of the first set of certified ethical hackers from the Royal Britannia IT Training Academy in the United Kingdom.
So, knowing that most of the problems bedeviling internal security could be easily solved by simply deploying technology, the minister laid out an explicit agenda that will enhance internal security by ensuring efficiency and societal integration in his inaugural address.
Outlining a multifaceted approach to fortifying Nigeria’s security landscape, he listed his priority areas to include: deployment of cutting-edge technology in enhancing border security, streamlining international passport procedures by eliminating bottlenecks, optimizing the processes of the Federal Fire Service by addressing challenges hindering efficiency and reforming custodial centers. Tunji-Ojo vowed a collaboration with other stakeholders in revamping the administration of criminal justice by decongesting custodial centers and facilitating ex-convicts’ successful reintegration into society. His idea was for the custodial centers to become transformative institutions that offer hope and second chance to ex-inmates.
Of course, the idea of transforming correctional facilities into rehabilitation centers, streamlining passport and visa processes, enhancing national security through digital border monitoring, and modernizing the Federal Fire Service will require proactive approach to governance. But the mere fact that he articulated this vision during his inaugural address means that he had a blueprint even before he was sworn in. That is untypical in our shores.
Two years thence, the jury is still out on the achievements of Tunji-Ojo. But one thing is indubitable. He is striving very hard in doing exactly what he outlined in that inaugural speech by proactively fostering an environment where citizens can live without fear, a fact that makes him the lodestar in Tinubu’s cabinet.
And he is doing this by simply providing the sorely needed visionary leadership that continues to inspire staff of the ministry to work towards his long-term, compelling vision for the future through innovation, collaboration, and strategic planning. Having effectively communicated a clear picture of the future he envisioned in internal security and motivating his team to believe in it and take action to make it a reality, the result has been impressive.
In two years, Tunji-Ojo has transformed what used to be a boondocks ministry into the centre of gravity of Tinubu’s administration by digitizing ministry processes and automating e-gates at international airports, clearing a significant passport backlog, reducing processing times, and launching a contactless biometric passport and e-visa system. He has also not only significantly decongested correctional facilities and rehabilitated the former inmates, he has promoted over 50,000 paramilitary officers, and improved the capacity of the Federal Fire Service.
None of these is an easy feat considering the fact that these were the problems that held down governance over the years.
Take, for instance, the issue of international passport, that government-issued travel document that serves as official proof of a person’s identity and citizenship when travelling abroad. What essentially is a key to mobility became a hindrance because of the difficulties in acquiring it. But Tunji-Ojo not only cleared a backlog of about 204,000 passports within a few weeks of assuming office, he went ahead to reduce passport processing time to about three weeks by digitalizing the process. Minimising human interaction by launching contactless biometric passport technology which culminated in the introduction of a centralized passport production and personalization center not only enhanced efficiency but also increased transparency. The act of streamlining the application process by revolutionizing the passport processing timeline and introducing home delivery automatically restored the sagging confidence of Nigerians in the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS. Today, the ministry has also introduced an online e-visa application and processing system.
But the digitalization and e-governance vision went beyond passports to include installation of e-gates at international airports to speed up passenger clearance and the development of a state-of-the-art data, command and control centre to support border management.
In a bid to address the overcrowding crisis in correctional centers, the ministry paid fines worth N585 million to secure the release of about 4,068 inmates serving time for petty crimes. With the reforms in the correctional services aimed at the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into society, facilities have been modernized in most centres, including the Kuje Medium Custodial Centre, to create a more humane and effective correctional environment.
But appreciating the fact that these reforms will be difficult if not impossible to accomplish without the critical personnel saddled with the execution being adequately motivated, Tunji-Ojo has not only ensured in the last two years that over 50,000 paramilitary officers were promoted across various agencies, but also implemented life assurance policies and approved the payment of peculiar allowances for paramilitary officers. This is no mean feat considering that some of these promotion exercises had been delayed for years.
To enhance border security which has been one of the country’s most notorious Achilles heels in view of the very long stretches of criminally porous borders, the ministry initiated smart border management and the advanced passenger information system. Essentially, the deployment of digital systems have enabled the immigration authorities to better manage and monitor the flow of people across Nigeria’s borders.
All these innovations have birthed revolutionary initiatives such as Electronic Visa, e-Visa; Landing and Exit Cards, LEC; Advance Passenger Information, API; Migrant Information Management System, MIMS; Citizen and Business, C&B; Single Travel Emergency Passport, STEP; Temporary Work Permit, TWP; Guard Management System, GMS; and Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens.
Does it mean that it is now Uhuru? Not at all. But what is not in doubt is the fact that fundamental has been made. If the momentum is sustained, it will lead to significant improvements in the way and manner Nigeria is secured internally. These achievements which are hitherto unfathomable in the ministry are, no doubt, products of good thinking. It is arguable if any other ministry in the present dispensation has been able to record such significant level of innovations, a proof that Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is unarguably the lodestar in Tinubu’s cabinet.
The post Tunji-Ojo: Lodestar in Tinubu’s cabinet, by Ikechukwu Amaechi appeared first on Vanguard News.
