The strength of every relationship is communication. Fragile as it may appear, it is the strand that holds people together and binds society. Much of the progress envisaged in policy implementation in the developing world is lost, not only to insincerity in policy conceptualisation but more critically to the failure of effective communication of policy.
The Ministry of Interior is arguably the most important ministry to Nigerians. It regulates migration and residency, oversees internal security architecture, manages citizenship and naturalisation, supervises correctional services, coordinates civil defence, and issues travel and identity documents that shape our global perception as a people. In essence, it is the guardian of Nigeria's internal sovereignty and the custodian of the rights and mobility of her citizens.
By popular perception, the young minister in charge, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is performing wonders. Yet perception is not mandate. The key questions remain: what is the core mandate of the ministry? What does it want to achieve for Nigeria and Nigerians? What policy frameworks have been designed to deliver on this mandate? Most importantly, how are these policies being communicated to Nigerians for ownership, interrogation, and partnership in implementation?
A ministry as sensitive as the Interior cannot thrive on glamour or applause. It must instead ground its work in clarity, accountability, and a shared national vision. One of its foremost assignments should be the carving of a homeland philosophy -- developing it into a national ideology that inspires Nigerian youth to value the motherland above any other place on earth.
This cannot be achieved by raising the cost of obtaining a Nigerian passport to one million naira; as long as one dollar exchanges for over ₦1,500 and the naira cannot buy a candy while a dollar can buy a meal, such pricing will not stop the "Japa" wave. Economic disempowerment, not cheap passports, fuels migration.
Lessons from Ideological Citizenship Worldwide
1. United States - The American Dream unified immigrants and natives under a common story of opportunity.
2. Singapore - Multicultural Meritocracy turned diversity into stability through merit and discipline.
3. Israel - Homeland Security Citizenship tied belonging to service and sacrifice for the nation.
4. Rwanda - Ndi Umunyarwanda healed ethnic divides after genocide, making citizenship primary over tribe.
5. South Africa - Rainbow Nation recast painful diversity as a strength for reconciliation and nationhood.
These examples show that citizenship ideology is not abstract -- it is the foundation for unity, stability, and progress in diverse societies.
Towards a Nigerian Citizenship Philosophy
Nigeria must articulate its own philosophy of citizenship, one that binds our many ethnicities into a shared nationhood. Such a philosophy could stand on these pillars:
Equality of Citizenship: No Nigerian is more Nigerian than the other, regardless of tribe, religion, or place of residence.
Service and Responsibility: Rights must be matched with duties -- to serve, protect, and contribute to the nation.
Pride in Motherland: Cultivating values that make Nigerians see their destiny tied to the homeland, not merely to foreign lands.
Unity in Diversity: Making diversity a deliberate strength for innovation, resilience, and nation-building.
Rule of Law: Ensuring that the state protects rights without discrimination, so that faith in the system grows stronger than tribal bias.
The Ministry of Interior should be the midwife of this philosophy. Through policy, communication, and civic education, it must teach Nigerians what it means to believe, belong, and build.
The Dangerous Silence of the Ministry
But here lies the present failure: the silence of the Interior Ministry when rights of citizenship are openly trampled.
When in Lagos, the Igbo community -- law-abiding citizens by law and birth -- were told their votes and candidacy were inconsequential, where was the Ministry of Interior?
If in a city as "civilised" as Lagos, Nigerians can be profiled and excluded from full citizenship on account of tribe, what moral ground does the Ministry have to intervene when settler tribes wipe out indigenous villages in the Middle Belt or elsewhere?
A Ministry that cannot raise its voice when the essence of citizenship is attacked in peacetime cannot hope to secure its mandate in crisis. Silence in such matters is complicity; worse still, it makes a mockery of the very institution tasked with protecting Nigerians at home.
Beyond Applause
Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo's heroism must therefore go beyond administrative efficiency or momentary reforms. His enduring legacy should be the laying of institutional foundations, the rebranding of the ministry's mandate, and the communication of policies that give Nigerians a shared sense of belonging.
The Interior Ministry must step out of silence into vision. It must move from applause to nationhood.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He's also the President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
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