By Femi Salako
The name Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has in the last one year become very synonymous with innovative achievements, highest level of efficiency and dogged determination. The Interior Minister is evidently one of the best appointees of President Bola Tinubu, who has been carrying out ingenious implementation of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’
The ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ campaign mantra of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is known to have been vigorously and faithfully implemented by Tunji-Ojo in the last one year, even to the admiration of so many Nigerians at home and abroad. This to a large extent, has ignited renewed confidence and trust in the Nigerian project.
The former federal lawmaker has in the last one year assuredly convinced all doubting Thomases that a Nigeria that can work is indeed possible. He has leveraged on his background in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to transform operations of the four agencies subsumed in the Interior Ministry.
Upon assumption of office, BTO as he is popularly known, immediately made it known that the era of business as usual in in the Interior Ministry was gone and gone for good. He had promptly hit the ground running with the demonstration of his unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation. He had since instituted several reforms unprecedented accomplishments in the four agencies under the Ministry of Interior.
The Interior Minister has thus far set new standard in Nigerian public service, and this stride encapsulates a vision of efficiency, equity, and progressive change. Through the maximum support of, and fatherly encouragement of President Bola Tinubu, the Interior Minister has used his good office to bring much desired relief to Nigerians.
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One of the landmark achievements of Tunji-Ojo in the Interior Ministry is the clearance of the overwhelming backlog of 204,332 passports and over 50,000 new passports within a record-breaking period of three-weeks. This was hitherto, a shameful and most frustrating conundrum that Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) had struggled with for several years. This was in addition to the clearance of 2.5 million NIN modification backlogs he inherited.
Of a truth, the passport backlog clearance by Tunji-Ojo has not only relieved Nigerians of endless stress, it had equally restored confidence in the NIS’s capability to handle the responsibility of passport issuance without having to wait endlessly.
The intellect personified Tunji-Ojo quickly consolidated on the passport backlog clearance by coming up with a visionary directive that heralded a new era of efficiency and service delivery in the Interior Ministry. He had since revolutionized and benchmarked the processing and issuance of Nigerian passport to a two-week timeline for applicants. Good enough, this has been the case since February 2024.
Tunji-Ojo has also moved a step further to put measures in place for office and home delivery of passports to applicants in Nigeria and for those in the diaspora. This innovative service is aimed at enhancing convenience and accessibility. He equally came up with the initiative of personal uploads of passport photographs to streamline the application process, and make it more user-friendly and efficient.
He had equally taken a proactive stance on international relations; a measure that underscores his commitment to fairness and reciprocity in visa processing. This bold stand manifested in his frowning at the inequitable privileges granted foreign nationals. He also championed the rights of Nigerian applicants and canvasses that they receive just and fair treatment abroad. This bold stance is not only protecting Nigerian citizens abroad, but also strengthening the nation’s international standing.
The Midas touch of Tunji-Ojo has equally impacted the welfare of paramilitary officers. BTO has been a vocal advocate for a commensurate remuneration for the paramilitary officers. Similarly, he had initiated plans for a functional pension’s board that will in-turn boost the morale and productivity within the ranks. He plans to align salaries of paramilitary officers with that of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), in a quest to ensure fairness and equity. He had also carried out the promotion of thousands of paramilitary personnel in Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigerian Correctional Service and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the last one year.
Tunji-Ojo had also taken decisive steps to decongest the correctional facilities across the country. He had since paid the fines and compensations worth N585 million for 4,068 inmates. The fund was raised by cooperate bodies as Corporate Social Responsibility. This gesture truly underscored his compassionate approach to justice. He is also evidently committed to the transformation of correctional homes into centers of rehabilitation, and this definitely signified a paradigm shift from punitive measures to holistic rehabilitation. This approach has to a large extent fostered hope and redemption for inmates.
He has in the last one year won several awards in recognition of his outstanding performance in the Interior Ministry. The latest of the several honours and awards is the “Public Service Person of the Year 2023” by Leadership newspaper. He was done this honour for his bold, extensive, and exceptional reforms in tackling the perennial passport booklet debacle at the NIS, in less than five weeks of assuming office.
The latest achievements of Tunji-Ojo include the completion of a state-of-the-art Data Centre and Command and Control Centre at the NIS headquarters. These projects are due for commissioning any time soon. These new facilities are also fully set to support the new visa and passport application policies, as well as an effective border management system.
Testaments of unwavering dedication and transformative leadership of Tunji-Ojo has remained unceasing in the last one year. He has also gone ahead to achieve the installation of E-Gates at several international airports across Nigeria. Essence of this project is to reduce human contact with passengers arriving from abroad; thereby reducing time waste and corrupt practices.
More so, the Interior Minister has undertaken the rehabilitation of various correctional centers. This has further highlighted the commitment of Tunji-Ojo to the modernization, improvement and fortification of Nigeria’s security infrastructure. The relentless pursuit of excellence by the Interior Minister in the last one year has continue to give hope of a better country to Nigerians at home and abroad.
As things stand in the Interior Ministry, Hon. Tunji-Ojo is definitely poised to move the ministry to a greater height as the years roll by. Through the innovative and ingenious performance of the minister and absolute support of President Tinubu, Interior Ministry has changed the narratives of hopelessness in Nigerian public sector service delivery. He has equally given assured hope to Nigerians that the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ is for real and not a mere rhetoric.
The minister had also launched the Safe School Initiative. He had followed this up with the improved emergency and fire response time by commissioning new fire engines and rapid intervention vehicles. He had equally completed the Dell 1.4 PetaBytes (PB) Tier 4 Data Centre and Command at the NIS Headquarters.
In a quest to reduce vandalism incidents across mining sites and boost revenue in the mining sector, Tunji-Ojo had launched the Mining Marshal at the headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). This is also in addition to the launch of 10,000 Agro Rangers across 19 Northern states, and the Federal Capital Territory to safeguard farmlands and protect farmers from escalating attacks.
Another outstanding side of Tunji-Ojo is his unrelenting defence of the administration of President Bola Tinubu. An instance of this was captured during the period of recent national protests against some policies of the president. As expected, BTO turned out to be a lonely voice that vigorously defended his principal, President Bola Tinubu.
It is a fact also, that majority of the appointees of President Tinubu lost their voices while the protests lasted. However, the highly cerebral and courageous Tunji-Ojo took advantage of all available mediums to reel out the achievements and plans of President Tinubu. He also made passionate appeal to the protesting youths to give the president more time for the manifestation of his administration’s economic plans.
As Nigeria steps into the third quarter of year 2024, numerous achievements of Tunji-Ojo continue to resonate as a prelude to a greater stride ahead. Thus far, the brilliance, courage and superlative achievements of BTO have cemented his earned reputation as a transformative leader in the annals of Nigerian public service.
- Otunba Femi Salako, Media Consultant to Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, wrote in from Abuja
