By Ileowo Kikiowo
The framers of the 1999 Constitution had, in the process of putting it together, envisaged that the task of governing a sprawling and diverse entity called Nigeria would be very daunting for a single individual to accomplish.
To make the job simple and seamless for the president, the wise men who came together to forge the nation’s article of faith inserted some clauses into it to compel whoever is saddled with the job of leading the country to look for competent hands to assist him in the day-to-day task of managing the country.
Like all others, Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was sworn in as Minister of Interor in 2019 upon the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term of office.
The announcement came as a surprise to many as tongues wagged in some quarters regarding whether someone without any background in military or paramilitary services would function well as the head of the ministry.
Three years down the line, opinions held by these skeptics has somehow changed due to the laudable strides made under him so far.
Aregbesola has not only identified the numerous problems in the ministry as they relate to internal security, he has also come up with numerous solutions to them in a manner that has continued to draw accolades to him from those who were formerly skeptical of his ability to deliver.
To ensure quality service, the Ministry of Interior has introduced Quarterly Performance Reviews for agencies and service providers within its purview, something that is considered a novelty.
For instance, the current leadership in the ministry under his supervision has ensured a lot of work is done in the area of ensuring credibility and respectability to the nation’s passport.
It has increased greater access of Nigerians to the document by issuing 2,742,207 passports to Nigerians in the last three years. A breakdown of the figures reveals geometric rise over a period of time. In 2015, the figure was 795,373; 838,298 (2016); 872,864 (2017); 1,036,682 (2018).
The figure has even risen since then to show that between December 2020 and March, 2021, 790,000 passports have been supplied and that the figures will eventually surpass the one recorded for the year before. Conversely, a total of 40,009 passports have not been collected by applicants.
This feat has been achieved via a combination of measures that have been put in place by the agency involved – the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) such as opening of more front offices as well as introduction of state-of-the-art equipment for the process of passport issuance.
It is interesting to note that new passport capture and production centres have been opened across the country with platforms to link data collected in Nigeria to global databases with the aim of curbing international crime.
This upgrade has had some positive effects on the ease of doing business in Nigeria and has the potential to attract more foreign direct investments that will, in turn, create direct and indirect jobs for unemployed Nigerians in the long run.
The NIS, under his supervision, has also ensured the credibility of the document in the international arena by bringing new measures and features into the process of issuance.
This it has done by adding some security and information generating features to it and the feat has been achieved with collaborative support of friendly international agencies and countries as well via public, private sector participation.
Perhaps, Nigerians in the Diaspora will now heave a sigh of relief with the measures the ministry, through the NIS, has put in place to facilitate prompt issuance of the document in their places of abode abroad.
Only recently, the enhanced e-passport was launched at the Nigerian High Commission in London, the United Kingdom, to the appreciative Nigerians resident there.
Since he came on board, Aregbesola has ensured that numerous various reforms have been carried out in the Prisons sector in a manner that would give some new fillip to the work of the various facilities housing awaiting suspects as well as convicted Nigerians.
For instance, it is to the credit of the minister that President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law, the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill, which repeals the Nigerian Prisons Service Act. The move completes the steps that were taken by his immediate predecessor in office, Lt.-General Danbazzau, who initiated the idea.
With the move, the Nigerian Prisons Service is now known and addressed as the Nigerian Correctional Service. The act is to ensure that a new approach is put in place by the government for those being held at the different holding centres by not criminalizing but rather to reform them.
This means that convicts who are serving jail terms would now have to enjoy the privilege of being properly reformed via vocational training and provision of educational opportunities before being reintegrated back into the society.
In the area of homeland security, Aregbesola commissioned the Female Armed Squad Unit of the NSCDC. The objective is to provide female guards to protect schools in line with the Safe School Initiative policy directive of the minister which is aimed at keeping children safe in schools.
Another critical agency that has received great attention from the ministry is the Federal Fire Service (FFS) which operations have received some boost, thus fostering quality service delivery.
Ileowo Kikiowo writes from Abuja
