Nigeria Immigration Service Has No Data Centre By James Sunday

Photo caption: The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji- Ojo

In an exclusive interview with some select media outfits including the particular newspaper under reference,the Nation Newspaper of 21st January,2025, the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was quoted as saying a Centralised Visa Approval Centre was launched to stem corruption,ensure national security,and merge visa regime to ensure uniformity before March 1st and that all visa applications will be online to ensure proper vetting.

My question as an officer that has put in 35 years into the same service and served as the Head of Media and Publicity and also headed the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,the online approval before the Minister was appointed was done with ;the database of the service.
Now, if the data base was non existence, how has the service been operating to the extent that officers on duty at the Airport or connected service windows can query an application,refused entry,admit,refused departure ?
All these were data based operation.

Why calling a dog a bad name just to hang it? Yet the Minister has refused the system to grow naturally as an institution.
The Service must be allowed to function without executive interference. As it is today, I want the Minister to clarify what stemming of corruption means. Is it the visa issuance that prompts corruption or the system? The same is being said of Passport,l. Yet he chooses to to champion every discuss on Passport and now it is Visa. What is the role of the Service Public Relations Officer and what is the duty of the sitting Comptroller General of Immigration Service,? Was she appointed to sit by his side while he speaks on behalf of the organisation she was appointed to lead?

Far be it,that after 62 years of establishment,counting from August,1963, NIS will be rated as an inheritance of no data centre,non performance and grossly demonised.

During the interview, the Minister was quoted to have said, “We we’re able to build one of the biggest data centres in the history of Nigeria? Which is 8.3 petabytes.”

What was the level when the Minister took over ? Zero bytes? “Before then,we had an issue he said, because we inherited a Nigeria Immigration Service that had no data centre”

This is not true. What was the first Technology Building built for? All the personnel working inside it and the technology in the building,were they for show? Were the data of Nigerians obviously saved in private capacities with various contractors?

If the Public Private Partnership called private capacities was a failure,is it not the same people that erected the second building serving virtually same purpose as the first? What makes a PPP gross contravention of data protection Act? Has anything changed? Why the blame game instead of a continuation of a system in existence and with solid working foundation.
Altering a system is not a change rather a disruption and given a new name to a similar project is duplication.

This cosmetic surgery does not connotes efficiency. If I may ask, what major break through was achieved in the core Ministry?

Nigerians are wondering wether the Nigeria Immigration Service has no Chief Executive or is it another office annexed by the Minister due to non performance of the Comptroller General of Immigration Service?

Even the personnel are confused as to who directs the service operations and administration.

It is high time the Minister faces his policy making,while the NIS does its administrative and operational services, including posting of officers,selection of those to be promoted,since merit does not count any more.

For example, the promotion of a Deputy Comptroller to the rank of Assistant Comptroller General skipping Comptroller rank is the height of disregard for ranking system in a regimented service. Now her seniors will be saluting her and little wonder the promoted Assistant Comptroller General is still in Canada,while even those promoted Comptrollers have since returned to Nigeria.

It is high time,the Minister allows the service to breath. No officer skips a rank and perform. It is like skipping a class.

Little wonder the lack of direction and lack of performance .