IN HIS OWN WORDS
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan unveils the vision of the man in the interior ministry
There’s never been any question of a shortage of high performers – persons with clear visions, tall ambitions and the capacity to deliver to the expectation of the Nigerian public – elected or appointed to Nigeria’s public sphere.
The trio of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello blazed the trail in the pre- and immediate Independence eras; while the Osaigbovo Ogbemudias and Audu Bakos flourished in the military era of mid-sixties to the mid-seventies. There’s no prize for guessing who the stars of the Second Republic were – the Lateef Kayode Jakandes and Sam Mbakwes.
The Olusegun Obasanjo-led Third Republic unearthed its own high performers in the Nasir Ahmad El-Rufais, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealas, Oby Ezekwesilis, etc. The Goodluck Jonathan regime gave us the Akinwumi Adesinas, Sarah Ochekpes, etc.
If the well of high performers appeared to have dried up in the last eight years, there seems now to be a floodgate of them. For one, there has emerged a dynamo in Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a charismatic, outspoken, courageous and visionary minister. The young engineer that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put in charge of the Ministry of Interior is sanitizing the issuance of passports in the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), one of the agencies under his purview.
Tunji-Ojo started his tertiary education at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife before moving to the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) where he studied Electronics and Communication Engineering and graduated in 2005. He obtained a master’s degree in Digital Communication and Networking from the same institution in 2006. He holds certifications in 18 professional qualifications in ICT before he turned 24 years. He ran a leading indigenous ICT consulting company in Nigeria, Matrix IT Solutions Limited and consulted for the World Bank and several government agencies
He joined politics and was elected into the House of Representatives for Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency of Ondo State. He was, in his first term, chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
With his performance so far, he has emerged as another right person for the job – a veritable round peg in a round hole. He’s shown a clear vision, commitment and courage in dealing with bad situations that the passport department of NIS was in. He has given Nigerians the basis to expect spectacular performances from not only the Ministry of Interior but all the Federal Ministries. It is worthy to note that, the performance of the President is the sum total of individual performances of the MDAs where the ministers provide leadership.
Remember that, until now, the Ministry of Interior was famously known for announcing public holidays! And this is a ministry whose equivalents are considered the most strategic in the more advanced countries of the world!
The interior ministry (sometimes called the ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency management, supervision of regional and local governments, conduct of elections and immigration (including passport issuance) matters.
In Britain, the Ministry of Home Security was established in 1939 to direct national civil defence. In the United States, the Department of Interior (DOI) not only has organic linkages with several other departments but also has international functions that require it work with institutions of other countries. In Kenya, the Ministry of Interior and National Administration is closely linked with the Presidency in Harambe House.
Similarly, the Ministry of Interior in Nigeria has monumental responsibilities because of the wide scopes of the functions of the agencies supervised by the Ministry. These include Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), etc.
Prison breaks in Nigeria have been rampant. Fire outbreaks occur in different parts of the country with the fire services mostly incapacitated in responding to them. Nigeria has gradually become one of the most unsafe countries to live in, with crime rates ever soaring.
On each and every one of the challenges confronting the nation, Olubunmi Tuni-Ojo has a deep perspective. On every one of the constraints confronting the agencies of government set up to respond to them under the purview of the Ministry of Interior, the minister has an antidote. He underpins his drive by strong beliefs. On the passport issuance issue, for instance, he says, in a recent interview with BusinessDay: “Our visa and passport policy or immigration policy has a lot to do with economic development. And of course, if there is internal security; it will encourage business and development. So, the two are directly related. Without the Ministry of Interior playing its role to an optimum level, to the best of its capacity or capability, we might not be able to attain the highest level of national development.”
Tunji-Ojo elaborates on his approach and style:
“We have critically created a work plan, implementable strategies, and methodology of approach, in terms of how to tackle all these issues one by one. From the issue of decongestion of our Correctional Service to skill acquisition, and even enhancement of mental health of our inmates and their psychological upliftment knowing fully well that though they are in custody, it does not make them lesser Nigerians. Their mental health is very key, and we will work to uplift them psychologically.
“We will also protect our correctional centers and provide suitably adequate and befitting facilities needed for our inmates. The fact that they are inmates does not deprive them of certain fundamental rights that they should enjoy and they should be treated as Nigerians. They are Nigerians and they have to be treated with such levels of respect that they deserve.
“Also, for the fire service, we have planned our strategy in terms of using the fire service to create hundreds of thousands of jobs through what we call the Fire Rescue and Safety Office officers that we will bring on board. This is because most of our commercial places should have these people who are first responders in case of emergency. The fire service will now be like the train the trainer as well as the regulators so that it becomes a hub for job creation, a hub for enforcement, and a hub for adherence to compliance processes.
“For the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, which is meant to secure critical national assets, we have to look how to enhance their capacity, and how to also make sure that in areas where we are losing revenues, they can make such revenues through the provision of these services. This revenue can be used to enhance the equipment and training capacity, and to also build cross-border alliances with other countries with similar challenges in terms of critical infrastructure. We have to build alliances in terms of training, knowledge transfer, and capacity building.”
More than these, he has articulated a framework for collaboration with other government agencies in discharging his responsibilities and those of the agencies under his watch. He gives an example: “We are also looking at the Border Community Development Agency being able to develop our border communities and make sure that our border communities no longer become contagious communities.”
He would do well also to coopt the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to stem the tide of intercommunity boundary disputes that frequently lead to confrontations, loss of lives and paralyses of economic activities in rural communities.
He’s quite modest about the legacy he would like to leave behind his tenure:
“Well, the legacy for me is very simple. What I would want, and pray for, is to be remembered as the man who believed that government business is not nobody’s business. Government business is everybody’s business; a man who is committed to making sure that Nigerians do not see a right as a privilege. That is the most important thing to me. And I know that is in tandem with the renewed hope agenda. I want to be remembered as a man who will protect the rights of Nigerians as Nigerians, and Nigerians will never see a right as a privilege, never.
“We need all the support and understanding from Nigerians. The journey, as the president keeps saying, might be a bit rough at the beginning, but Nigerians should just be patient with this government, and hold on to the renewed hope.”
With the “reformist” Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo at the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Interior, the future is looking bright for Nigeria.
Hassan writes from Abuja
