Tunji-Ojo: Lodestar in Tinubu’s cabinet, by Ikechukwu Amaechi

When Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who had been re-elected a subordinate of the House of Representatives, was appointed curate of interior by President Bola Tinubu successful August 2023, not galore paid heed. But those who knew his antecedents were upbeat that the assignment was tantamount to putting a circular peg successful a circular hole.

To beryllium sure, the Interior Ministry is 1 of the oldest successful Nigeria. Created successful 1957 arsenic the Ministry of Internal Affairs to support interior security, and metamorphosing successful 2007 into the Ministry of the Interior erstwhile the Ministry of Internal Affairs merged with the Ministry of Police Affairs, it exercises supervisory power implicit captious information agencies, namely: Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

In the past 68 years nether the ticker of 22 ministers that included Joseph Modupe Johnson, Usman Sarki, Shehu Shagari, Shettima Ali Monguno, Kam Selem and Rauf Aregbesola, the ministry, nary doubt, has had a just stock of governmental heavyweights astatine the helm. But astir of them were the axiomatic quadrate pegs successful circular holes. What was lacking was the requisite innovation and creativity and the consequences were dire for the state arsenic the ministry’s astir perfunctory duties specified arsenic consular and migration services became alternatively daunting tasks.

What was needed, therefore, was a caller mode of doing things – creating caller ideas, products, services, oregon processes – that volition lick the avalanche of problems stultifying development. In an progressively digitalized world, it required caller and problem-solving ideas that volition leverage cutting-edge exertion successful delivering impactful results.

And successful steps Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. Though helium gained admittance into Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife to survey Electrical and Electronics Engineering, helium yet graduated from the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) with a grade successful Electronics and Communication Engineering, and obtained a post-graduate qualification successful Digital Communication and Networking successful 2006. Even earlier helium turned 24 years, helium held certifications successful aggregate nonrecreational qualifications successful ICT, including the prestigious rubric of being 1 of the archetypal acceptable of certified ethical hackers from the Royal Britannia IT Training Academy successful the United Kingdom.

So, knowing that astir of the problems bedeviling interior information could beryllium easy solved by simply deploying technology, the curate laid retired an explicit docket that volition heighten interior information by ensuring ratio and societal integration successful his inaugural address.

Outlining a multifaceted attack to fortifying Nigeria’s information landscape, helium listed his precedence areas to include: deployment of cutting-edge exertion successful enhancing borderline security, streamlining planetary passport procedures by eliminating bottlenecks, optimizing the processes of the Federal Fire Service by addressing challenges hindering ratio and reforming custodial centers. Tunji-Ojo vowed a collaboration with different stakeholders successful revamping the medication of transgression justness by decongesting custodial centers and facilitating ex-convicts’ palmy reintegration into society. His thought was for the custodial centers to go transformative institutions that connection anticipation and 2nd accidental to ex-inmates.

Of course, the thought of transforming correctional facilities into rehabilitation centers, streamlining passport and visa processes, enhancing nationalist information done integer borderline monitoring, and modernizing the Federal Fire Service volition necessitate proactive attack to governance. But the specified information that helium articulated this imaginativeness during his inaugural code means that helium had a blueprint adjacent earlier helium was sworn in. That is untypical successful our shores.

Two years thence, the assemblage is inactive retired connected the achievements of Tunji-Ojo. But 1 happening is indubitable. He is striving precise hard successful doing precisely what helium outlined successful that inaugural code by proactively fostering an situation wherever citizens tin unrecorded without fear, a information that makes him the lodestar successful Tinubu’s cabinet.

And helium is doing this by simply providing the sorely needed visionary enactment that continues to animate unit of the ministry to enactment towards his long-term, compelling imaginativeness for the aboriginal done innovation, collaboration, and strategical planning. Having efficaciously communicated a wide representation of the aboriginal helium envisioned successful interior information and motivating his squad to judge successful it and instrumentality enactment to marque it a reality, the effect has been impressive.

In 2 years, Tunji-Ojo has transformed what utilized t...