By: Oladapo Sofowora
Like the proverbial Swizz knife; Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is by default a versatile and proactive member of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration because of his incredible approach to work and his burning passion for results even at the tightest corner. Representing the youth demography; Olubunmi cut his teeth first as a public servant representing Akoko North East/ North West Federal Constituency at the hallowed green chambers at the 9th assembly that’s where as a first-term Representative member, he displayed the stuff he was made off as chairman of first term lawmakers who galvanized support for the speakership election of former speaker Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in 2019.
Like the proverbial goldfish that has no hiding place in the water; his distinctiveness and magic wand were easy to spot by the leadership of the house who bestowed on him the House committee chairman on Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC. As Chairman; BTO led several campaign against misappropriation within the NDDC. He knows the legislative business like the back of his hand. Anytime he shows an intention to speak on the floor of the house; he speaks sense and everyone is willing to tap from his repertoire of knowledge. Despite being young; he wears intelligence like a badge of honour. Anytime he is addressing the parliament, you should be sure it’s proffering pragmatic solutions to issues of National interest. While as a member of the house, he sponsored several bills deviating from his colleagues who were at the green hallowed chamber to ‘Siddon Look’.
The Ondo-born lawmaker and minister for interior played his part actively and showed the world that he is indeed not to be shoved aside with the wave of a hand. When the current administration came into power; BTO was nominated and during his screening on the Senate floor he didn’t waste time to emphasize how he intends to contribute his quota to the growth of the country. He never failed to dazzle as he answered questions convincingly. When many are told to take a bow and go; BTO remained fierce with the truth, by systematically and synchronously laying down his point with workable plans on how to use his lofty ideas to move the country forward. Again he shined like a glittering star that he is.
When the appointment was announced and he was allocated the newly created ministry of Marine and Blue economy; Bunmi didn’t waste any time as he immediately swerved into action by engaging stakeholders and holding a series of meetings on how to make a loud impact in the nation money money-spinning economy sector. He was proactive and robust with his idea of repositioning the nation’s water asset and how it will increase the IGR monthly to surpass the imagination of all sundry. In the prerogative of Mr President; before their swearing-in, he was redeployed to the Ministry of Interior and that was regarded as one of the biggest moves in the renewed Hope administration. This was tagged one of the biggest calculative chess moves by the administration putting a fitting peg in the right hole.
Like the Boy Scout slogan which says; ‘Be Prepared’ BTO in his usual element didn’t wait for the whistle before he hit the ground running. From the first day of his wearing in; he read the riot act to all the agencies under him and stated that he was ready to work and one of his goals is to leave a lasting legacy and also do what is right to the glory of Nigeria. Immediately after that, he didn’t waste any time meeting with staff and familiarising himself with them and also visited several agencies to do an on-the-spot assessment and how he can further bring more efficiency in discharging their duties.
While receiving all necessary briefs; BTO acknowledged his predecessor and all the work and template he left behind and not only built on it; he also added his twerk putting more firepower and also infusing dedication. All these provided a pathway to him being the ‘StarBoy Minister’ of this administration. BTO have said that success in public service is not rocket science but only takes dedication and the ability to bring prosperity out of every misfortune and that is what has stood him out and put him in the cynosure of all eyes.
Like the speed of light, the interior ministry became a leading light with solutions created to clear backlogs of over 250,000 passports he inherited in three weeks under the Nigerian Immigration Service. To ensure effectiveness in job delivery, he commissioned thirty (30) operational vehicles dedicated to the surveillance and patrol of Nigeria’s border. While many pondered what must have caused the delay of such a passport; BTO tacked the root cause putting strategies in place leveraging technology advancement to make it easier. For the very first time; passport papers were more than sufficient. He didn’t stop at that in a bid to sanitize the system of corrupt heads who are known to milk and beat the system to their advantage; he reduced human contact when applying for a passport which has cut short middlemen who love to extort Nigerians. He is also working vehemently to localize passport production.
This also gave an easy modality for passport application without help from a third party which has been tagged seamless and hassle-free. In other to make Nigerians in the diaspora regain their confidence in their country, he Unveiled Enhanced e-passport Facilities in Nigerian embassies across Europe and also moved abroad to tackle the issues of passport shortage by putting in place channels of easy registration, capture and collection. This led to restored confidence when many were getting their newly minted passport at their doorstep. This further gathered accolades from many corners as many more people rejig their faith in the process of rebranding Nigeria’s shattered image. BTO became a household name within a few months.
While he got a commendation from Mr President for his outstanding blistering performance on delivery of his KPI he didn’t let that into his head rather he went back to the fearing board to tackle the issues of the queue at the immigration points by installing electronic biometric gates for immigration clearance in all Nigeria’s international airports when Nigerian passengers entering and exiting Nigeria. While many said it would take a long while to achieve such a humongous project BTO made it look like a piece of cake as he showed his colleagues that he is serious about making a difference.
He quickly acquired the technology instrument needed and ordered its installation at the international airports. Mock trials were done and it was certified OK for public use. With his innovative ideas, Nigeria is fast becoming a developing country that is embracing technology to its advantage. The Minister also disclosed that similar facilities will be installed in other international airports including Lagos, Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt airports. With also partner with another sister ministry to ensure we witness the much-needed change we crave for as Nigerian.
While it’s important to note his quest to guard national assets against vandals and economic saboteurs, the Minister is holding a presentation and demonstration session on a proposed 24-hour surveillance security technology project designed to monitor activities around critical national assets to curb vandals and saboteurs. To promote medical tourism and other means to attract foreign direct investment FDI to Nigeria easing visa restrictions for people who intend to do business in Nigeria and also benefit from our booking medical tourism in Nigeria He reviewed the visa application process, particularly for short-stay visitors such as entertainers, sports athletes, and tourists among others.
Not leaving all stone unrolled BTO also ensured our correctional centers were well decongested. He also worked to secure the release of over 4,000 inmates from correctional facilities nationwide. This has helped people with minor sentences regain their freedom in a bid to bring more sanity to correctional centres across the country. In a bid to curb the constant jailbreak; he ordered more security tightening around the Centres to curb the constant jailbreak we have witnessed in the past. Despite all the measures put in place to curb jailbreaks; the Suleja Correctional facility was damaged recently by the wind which caused many inmates to escape but with the help of forensic documentation, the correctional centres have been able to apprehend some substantial amount of those who escaped while a search is still ongoing. This has also galvanized the need to ensure more safety and reconstruction of all correctional facilities to avert such disasters from happening.
In a bid to foster a more healthy civil service, BTO also approved the promotion of over 32,000 personnel of the agencies under the ministry which has ensured a substantial amount of staff climb the ladder in the civil service. While he has done many more things within a short while, many are still wondering what he has in plan for the country but for BTO; he said he is yet to unveil his best and he will keep working around for clock to restore the confidence Nigerians have lost in the country.
In appreciation for a job well done; he has bagged several Laurel as he was named Leadership Newspaper ‘Public Service of the Year’ 2023, New Telegraph ‘Minister of the Year’ 2023 and also Vanguard Newspaper will this month bestow him with ‘Vanguard Personality of the Year’ 2023; among many more Laurel. While Dr Olubunmi is living up to the hype; he has said he will not let down all those who believe in him as he will continue to do things that will place the country on a high pedestal with #TheBTOEffect
