As CG Babandede Winds Down in Immigration

As CG Babandede Winds Down in Immigration

Toni Akuneme

The name Muhammad Babandede MFR, may mean different things to different Immigration Officers both senior and junior but none of them can deny the Jigawa born officer and gentleman, the well-deserved accolade with regards to the way and manner he had repositioned the Service in the last five years.

The 11th Comptroller General of Africa’s largest Immigration Service will go down in history as perhaps the best in terms of prudent management of men and materials and also provision of capital projects with a penchant for solid state of the art infrastructures.

As at the last count, Babandede had turned the Sauka, Airport Road Headquarters of the NIS into one huge construction site with asphalted roads criss-crossing the entire space and several buildings dotted on every available land, the climax being the multi level, multi purpose billion naira TECHNOLOGY BUIDING built by the famous Julius Berger company which is indeed a wonder to behold and was commissioned by no less a personality than President Buhari himself few months ago.

Indeed, to many people both within and outside the NIS circle, Muhammad Babandede MFR, is to Immigration what Governor Zulum is to Borno State or Governor Wike is to River state (Mr Projects).

Its is common knowledge that the CGIS has built permanent Command offices in nearly half of the state Commands of the Nigeria Immigration Service nationwide and has challenged all his state Comptrollers to secure a land from their state governors and he will give them a befitting state command office in record time.

No doubt Mr Babandede will be missed by many officers as he is said to be one of the few CGs that brought respect to the Service through his avowed discipline across board and his exemplary conduct and zero tolerance for corruption and laxity. One of his silent but very unique achievements was also his determination to ensure that all officials wore the same shade of uniform each day of the week unlike the practice in the past where some officers turned up in the brown khaki jackets while others turned out in the butter colored tops and the impression for several years was that of a Service that was largely unserious and unworthy of respect from the public whom they served. Even those who criticised him previously based on his perceived preference for infrastructural development to officers’ welfare are fast singing a new song, as the CG has in the recent past inundated the entire service with a gale of promotions galore across boards.

Infact, most of the officers and men who had hitherto felt stagnated or shortchanged like the set of 1993 cadets who spent eight years as Assistant Superintendents after they were recruited as fresh graduates, are already heaving a sigh of relief and fulfilment as they prepare for rapid progression in view of the numerous vacancies showing up at the top most of which the outgoing CG is looking set to fill before his September 2021 exit date.

Thus, as Babandede winds down after a very active and remarkable 35 years of serving his fatherland the immigration way and another 365 days of extra time granted by the magnanimity of Mr President to enable the CG conclude most of his sweeping reforms and 3D projects like the enhanced e- passport and the Technology Village, many of the personnel have already started to miss the man whom they describe as having a MIDAS TOUCH and everything he touches produces positive outcomes.

Right from his younger days as a Foreign Attachee in the Nigerian Mission in Germany or when he helped to set up the now popular National Agency for Prohibition in Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), he has continued to attract positive images to the NIS. Not a few officers and men agree that perhaps the greatest parting gift which the CG can give to them is a SMOOTH TRANSITION to another equally intelligent and purposeful Comptroller General who will sustain and possibly surpass the enduring legacies of the retiring CGIS.

A lot therefore will depend on the disposition of the outgoing boss whose duty it will be to recommend to the President through the Interior minister who and who are fit in character and record of service, to become the 13th Comptroller General of the most attractive uniform Service in the world. This is a toast to Mr Muhammad Babandede, a true General who knew nothing else than the business of Migration management in the last 36 years. I truly look forward to seeing you transform seamlessly into either a firsr class traditional ruler in jigawa or indeed a Governor or Senator or minister (of Interior). For sure you are retiring but definitely not TIRED.

…Akuneme is a Deputy Comptroller of Immigration in the Service Headquarters, Abuja

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