Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said he would not want to be remembered for easing the international passport issuance processes but for securing the nation’s borders against external aggressors and movements of arms.
Mr Tunji-Ojo said this at the weekend when he was hosted by his friends and old schoolmates at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, where the minister spent a session before travelling to the United Kingdom for studies.
“I don’t want to be remembered for addressing the bottlenecks with the issuance of international passports when I leave office. That is not the core mandate of my office. There are so much more. But I want to be remembered for securing Nigerian borders and enhancing internal security,” he said.
International passport as a right
The minister said he regretted that the issuance of international passport passports for qualified Nigerians had for long been seen as a privilege, noting that it is a right for deserving every Nigerian who can afford it.
He, however, said the core mandates of his ministry include the protection of Nigerians through border security, managing the people’s identity, making the custodial centres livable, and ensuring that fire incidences and other emergencies are addressed promptly and professionally.
He said efforts are being made to provide the required tools and gadgets at various border posts and airports to monitor real-time the activities of the movement of people and goods “as it is done in advanced countries of the world.”
“With adequate technology, we can achieve much and we will do just that to maintain sanity and identify every individual visiting our country and those going out of the country. That is the vision of President Bola Tinubu, and this is what we will achieve,” he added.
He pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with Mr Tinubu-led administration, saying all “Ts” are currently being crossed and “Is” being dotted, insisting that the country is on its part to reclaim the lost glory.
On reunion
The minister, who expressed happiness to be reunited with his old friends and associates, noted that his love for Obafemi Awolowo University almost discouraged him from accepting his foreign university admission when he had only spent about a session on the campus.
He told the gathering, which was graced by top officials of various agencies under his watch, that the friends who had gathered were not his friends as ministers but “friends of Bunmi Tunji-Ojo.”