I recently rated Dave Umahi as the best Minister of Works Nigeria may ever have till date owing to his approach to the duties before him.

Though some of us are labelled enemies of government because we aren’t into the sycophancy that runs on crumbs from the government table.

Those who led the entrusting of Nigeria into Muhammadu Buhari’s hands did this nation a great disservice!

From the very day his candidacy fell through at APC primary at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, my role as a social critic of his government was cut out. I just never believed Buhari could lift the nation an inch up and he did not disappoint me. No thanks to him and his APC administration for the depth of misery and poverty to which the country has sank.

Our criticism is unlike what is obtainable among social critics generally. In spite of our presumed anti-government tag. We still found reason to work with Buhari led administration within the philosophy of our commitment to nation building. When as the President of Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija initiated the need for Psychosocial Trauma Clinic for Nigerian students returning from Ukraine at the break out of war with Russia. The ever ready partnership spirit of the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Hon. (Dr.) Abike Dabiri-Erewa extended the partnership to National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons led by Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the Federal Commissioner in charge of NCFRMI. Success of our partnership with both agencies of government is on record.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is another appointee of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is heading for “A” performance.

Asides being a one-time member of the House of Representatives who represented Akoko Okeagbe Federal Constituency, little was known of him until his name surfaced on the Ministerial List, and since taking the oath of office and resuming on the 21st of August 2023, he had hit the ground running. You may, like me, not like his consistent reference to BAT’s mandate to all appointees, for you can hardly listen to him in 15 minutes without a reference to his Principal’s charge to them for performance. Putting him forward as a man who understands stewardship as the reflection of successful leadership. The rarity of his style is unknown in our clime, a click online for his profile brought out an address and two phone numbers. I made a text to one of the numbers on Friday 3rd of November 2023, my message was delivered at 1:35PM.

My message reads; Honourable Minister,

A pleasant afternoon Sir.

This is Bolaji O. Akinyemi

I am not a fan of your principal but I am a die hard believer in the possibility of a new Nigeria.

Your approach to the tasks of nation building has impressed me greatly.

Sir, I will appreciate an appointment to discuss with you an idea that will obviously solve our insecurity problem as a nation under your oversight as Minister of Interior.

I look forward to it Sir.

Thanks.

The text message was deliberately sent just to measure if our interior ministry is shut down every weekend. Today is Tuesday the 7th of November 2023 and nothing is heard. It’s looking like my suspicion may be right. The appointment, if dignified, I will honour to discuss ideas bothering on security. The Interior Ministry for me is the closest to us as citizens of Nigeria.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was born on 1st May 1982, at 41 he is no doubt a representative of the Nigerian youth who is making the demography proud through his stewardship.

On the assumption of office, nothing has been the same in the Ministry and all the agencies under it.

His drive to shorten processing time of Nigerian passports is delivering success.

Correctional Institution with its officers are waking up to the new Sheriff at the Ministry and are learning to match his pace and dynamism.

Honourable Minister, the incessant jail attacks of the past must not just be attended to, the substitution of inmates as a result of non-existence of biometric capturing of inmates before admitting them into our facilities is an issue. The true identity of inmates must henceforth be prioritised and ascertained. Gone are the days when escapees from jail attacks or breaks would be searched for by name and face. The nature of some high profile condemned criminals behind our bars demand due diligence to avoid substitution of hardened criminals with paid criminal agents when there is jail break or attack.

The functions of the Ministry of Interior in Nigeria centres around ensuring the safety and security of the country’s citizens and residents, as well as overseeing immigration and related services, this is very crucial at achieving internal peace which is the most needed social ingredient for national productivity.

To carry out the aforementioned, the Ministry of Interior in Nigeria is responsible for a wide range of functions which are related to internal security; such as immigration, and civil protection. Some of its key responsibilities include:

Immigration Services: It oversees the issuance of visas, permits, and passports, as well as the regulation of immigration matters within Nigeria.

Internal Security: The Ministry plays a role in maintaining internal security and works in conjunction with law enforcement agencies.

Civil Protection: It is involved in disaster management and response, including coordinating efforts to mitigate the impact of natural and man-made disasters.

Prisons and Correctional Services: The Ministry is responsible for the management and reform of prisons and correctional services in the country.

Fire Service: It oversees fire prevention, firefighting, and rescue services in Nigeria.

Community Policing: The Ministry works on community policing initiatives to enhance security and community involvement in law enforcement.

Regulatory Functions: It carries out various regulatory functions related to private security services, firearms, and explosives.

Within the ambit of the Ministry is the regulation of firearms and explosives; are there structures that can be put in place for effective control of firearms and explosives within the country?

According to the SBM report, between June 2022 and July 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnap-related incidents in Nigeria.

SBM said, “The north west and north-central regions exhibit higher numbers of in-kind ransom demands. kidnapping is no longer restricted to the core North as our forests across the country have become dens of kidnappers. The strip of the Minister’s home State, Ondo, and neighbouring Kogi State are the most dangerous in the journey to Abuja. The high cost of aviation fuel has forced many people back on a road trip to Abuja from Lagos, it will be the most unfortunate thing if people avoiding flying for its cost become victims of kidnapping and are forced to pay what is not available as ransom.

On Sunday, the 29th of October 2023, another kidnapping took place between Akure and Owo in Ondo State, said, the driver who took me from Akure to Owo on a private investigation mission on insecurity.

The Minister and his ministry are the gatekeepers of 923,768 square kilometre of the geographical area named Nigeria, obviously a task demanding high intelligent quotient. He and his ministry are also carers to over 230 million citizens and residents. The task is huge but are deliverable.

If the capacity of Interior Ministry is fully deployed in partnership with other relevant ministries and agencies of government to activate an initiative we have as a project of the Presidency to be championed by the IT savvy, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who is both logical and analytical in his thinking, insecurity in Nigeria will be a thing of the past within his first year in office. It is left to the Minister to write his name in gold by embracing this possibility.

Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder, Convener Apostolic Round Table, ART. Also the Chief Executive Officer of Masterbuilder Communications and the BOT Chairman Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA, PVC-Naija.
bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
08033041236