This week, the Minister of Interior, Honourable Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, assured Nigerians of the ministry’s plan for a comprehensive review of migration and visa policies aimed at easing all the processes for Nigerians both home and abroad. Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in company with the commission’s management team, Tunji-Ojo said the ministry was worried about the lopsidedness in some migration and visa policies which he said tended to make Nigeria a dumping ground. He said: “The review will take cognisance of the principle of reciprocity in line with international standards.” Last month, Tunji-Ojo, struck a chord in Nigerians when he stated that from December this year, passports would be made available in two weeks to applicants, eliminating the ugly spectre of Nigerians waiting on endless queues to upload the needed information to get the passports issued. According to him, registration would be done online and the only thing that would be required to be done at any passport office is the biometrics capture and the collection of passports. The minister gave the promise during a press briefing where he disclosed to journalists how the ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other stakeholders achieved the clearance of 204,332 passports backlogs across the country within three weeks.

The minister had, on September 7, shortly after assuming office, handed the NIS a two-week ultimatum to clear the backlog of passport applications, causing personnel of the agency to do three shifts every day of the week in order to meet the target. Following the expiration of the ultimatum, the NIS processed over 200,000 backlog of passports, with its service providers doubling up their printing efforts, especially in areas where passports backlogs were higher. However, speaking at a media parley in Abuja, Tunji-ojo apologised to Nigerians that the clearance of the passport backlogs had spilt into three weeks as opposed to the two-week deadline he gave. He subsequently promised home delivery of passports. Since then, a cross section of Nigerians, including those abroad, have spoken glowingly about the minister’s efforts following the ease with which they were able to obtain new passports and renew old ones.

To be sure, the developments in the Ministry of Interior since Tunji-Ojo’s assumption of office have been quite exhilarating. Only recently, the minister mooted the idea of decongesting the prisons by offsetting the bills of those behind bars only because of their inability to pay the stipulated fines for petty offences. Against the backdrop of the huge embarassment that Nigerians around the world have faced in Nigerian Embassies and passport offices over the years, the radical turnaround in the issuance of passports is commendable. It shows that the notion that nothing works or can work in the country can easily be countered by the emplacement of the right leadership. In this regard, the plaudits that have come the minister’s way from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other bodies have been well earned.

However, commendable as the development is, it raises serious questions about the way things are typically done in the Ministries, Department of Agencies (MDAs) of the government. What was the NIS doing previously? Why was it so difficult to get passports? Would Nigerians not have been telling the usual tales of woe by now if the current Minister of Interior had not determined to address the sore issue of passport issuance? It is difficult to understand what was responsible for the backlog of passports other than corruption given that the requirements for passport issuance are very clear and the payment required covers much more than the production costs. It is important for the supervising agency to make it clear to the NIS personnel that such corrupt and muddled processes for getting Nigerian passports will never be tolerated again. The passport issuance processes should be made so transparent as to empower Nigerians to be able to complain officially and publicly if impediments are placed in their way in terms of procuring passports, and to get appropriate official response almost immediately.

There must be clear and open guidelines on how many days, at the maximum, are required for the processing of new passports with tangible directives on what would happen to any official of the NIS found to be disturbing the processes with a view to corrupt enrichment. In this regard, we endorse the two-week timeline envisaged by the Minister of Interior and urge that concrete efforts be made to make this timeline sacrosanct, if only to compensate Nigerians for the ordeals they have been through over the years and restore their hope in the system. The reality is that it is not difficult to make things work in Nigeria if only the leadership is ready and committed to making them work. We hope the leadership of the supervising ministry and the NIS itself will continue to show commitment to making things work and actualise a sustainable and seamless process for passport procurement in Nigeria going forward.

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