Prospective emigrants, particularly,the youths have been admonished to always protect the global image of their father land anywhere they found themselves around the world .
The Comptroller of the Nigerian Immigration Service,Ekiti State Command CIS AbdulRasheed Kayode Ademola gave this admonition at the grand finale of the activities marking the 60th anniversary of the Command. said this could only be possible if they adopt safe ,orderly and regular migration.
The weeklong celebrations witnessed a number of activities which included inter agencies competitions where the NIS personnel won over 27 medals.
Another highlight of the event was the cutting of the anniversary Cake which witnessed by heads of other sister agencies in Ekiti State .
In his welcome address, the NIS Boss disclosed that the menace of illegal migration remains a big challenge not only to cimmsnd but to the image of the country .
“Permit me to say this on a trending slang known as “Japa”. This Japa syndrome is a big challenge to those enrouting illegal ports of exit in the quest for greener pasture, many of our youths die in the Sahara Desert, Mediterranean Sea and so on which does not worth it.
“From available data from International Organisation for Migration (IOM) at least 1200 Nigerians have died while trying to migrate through the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea in the year 2023 alone, for those who survive, the dream of reaching their desired destination quickly become a mirage, some spend several months, even years in cells abroad for irregular migration, some are taken hostage by pirates who rob, maim and sometimes rape the female “japaists”.
“However, we know that many Nigerians want to travel abroad for reasons best known to them, it is a welcome idea but it must be safe, orderly and regular migration.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has witnessed series of transformations which have become catalysts in positioning the Service for a better service delivery for the citizenry.
Since creation, the movement of man from one place to another has become so imperative, hence the need to control and manage migrants’ movement. Thus, every nation of the world has devised one means or the other to checkmate irregular migration and Nigeria as a tourist destination is no exception.
Consequently, the Nigeria Immigration Service was extracted from the Nigeria Police Force in 1958 as “The Immigration Department” entrusted with core immigration duties under the headship of the Chief Federal Immigration Officer (CFIO) Mr. EH Harrison backed by Immigration Ordinance 1958.
However, on August 1st, 1963, the Nigeria Immigration Service was established by an Act of Parliament, CAP 171 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; as at then the head was known as Director of Immigration and the first set were Nigeria Police Force officers being supervised by Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“Moreover, on October 1st 1992, the Nigeria Immigration Service was granted Paramilitary Status as the designation of “Director of Immigration” was changed to “Comptroller General of Immigration” and the first (CGIS) was CGI Garba Abbas.
“Retrospectively, the Nigeria Immigration Service has come a long way in its march towards reformation and restructuring to be better positioned for the implementation of modern migration management. The period saw changes in the organizational and operational structure of the Service which were inevitable towards accommodating the added responsibilities as well as emerging regional and sub-regional political alignments; these included the introduction of the ECOWAS and African Affairs division, Aliens Control and Border Patrol Management and such other added responsibilities for the Service.
In his paper entitled “THE IMPACT OF NIGERIA IMMIGRATION SERVICE IN ENHANCING SEAMLESS REGULAR MIGRATION ” retired ACG Arogundade advocated the provision of comfortable offices and residential accommodation for the personnel and improved pay package will bring about effective and efficient service delivery.
The ex Immigration officer cautioned against unhealthy competition or rivalry among the various agencies. Intelligence sharing and networking of interaction among security agencies should be enhanced.
He also pushed for the removal of the Service from the compulsory NATIONAL PENSION COMMISSION (PENCOM) as in the case of other sister agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force that does not cater for the welfare of retired officers. Different harmonized Pension Commission should be created for all security agencies.
Arogundade called for the review of Visa Abolition alleging that perpetrators of crimes and majority of members of the terrorist groups are from countries with which Nigeria has visa abolition.
“Provision of comfortable offices and residential accommodation for the personnel and improved pay package will bring about effective and efficient service delivery. The Service should be removed from the compulsory NATIONAL PENSION COMMISSION (PENCOM) as in the case of other sister agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force that does not cater for the welfare of retired officers. Different harmonized Pension Commission should be created for all security agencies.
” The use of drones’ technology for surveillance and monitoring. This has become readily available and affordable and the Nigeria Immigration Service should be at the forefront of its deployment, giving the difficulty of some of the terrains both on and and on sea. This technology can complement our stretched manpower and can access areas and relay feedbacks where officers will ordinarily not be able to access.
In addition, Arogundade said the Government should improve the funding of the Service to equip herself with needed logistics and “be a modern, people-oriented, effective and efficient Immigration Service, manned by well- trained and motivated workforce”.