Decision to join NIS not entirely mine – First female Immigration CG, Caroline Adepoju

Caro Adepoju

I started my primary education at the Salvation Army Primary School, Freeman Street, Ebute-Meta, Lagos, in January 1969.

In 1972, I was taken by my parents to my hometown, Ile-Oluji— a peaceful and agrarian town in Ondo State— to continue my studies at St. Peters Primary School, Ile-Oluji. While there, I lived with my paternal grandmother, Madam Mary Akindele, who was a cocoa farmer, money lender and trader.

She traded in cocoa and kolanuts, and she earned enough income from her farming to afford her the ability to lend to members of the community who might need money. Sometimes, borrowers would mortgage their farmlands or other properties for cash. While living with my grandmother, I was exposed to the core of our communal practices, traditions and culture. I learnt how to relate with elders, as well as some of our traditional and cultural ways of solving problems and managing interpersonal relationships.

I come from a long lineage of both male and female traditional title holders, and I watched them with keen interest (while growing up). I admired the way they dressed, spoke, danced and sang. I was also fascinated by how they were greeted, and how they greeted members of the community. If a member of the community is greeted, one would know his ancestry through the panegyrics that would be recited. All those formed a solid foundation for the knowledge of our culture, tradition and native intelligence that I know.

For my secondary education, I attended the popular Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, from 1975 to 1980. Some of my classmates were Kayode Fayemi (former Governor of Ekiti State), Ambassador Eniola Ajayi, Dr Ayodele Teriba, Prof Olayinka Awopetu, Folake Akintayo, Rev. Olumuyiwa Awe, Prof Kayode Adesodun, Kayode Olafunmiloye, the Adesokan triplets, and Foluke Adebiyi— a Permanent Secretary in Oyo State—, among others.

I went on to obtain my first degree in Chemistry from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, in 1985. I also bagged a Master’s degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1987.

I also have a Diploma in Paralegal Studies from Trios College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 2014. I am a Fellow of the National Institute of Security Studies as well. This is in addition to attending numerous capacity-building courses on security studies and migration management, both locally and abroad.

I was born on July 13, 1963, at Ile-Oluji, Ondo State, to Chief Babafemi Akinrinsola (a lawyer), and Chief Clara Akinrinsola (a teacher). My father was a successful polygamist. I say this always, because I have stepbrothers and stepsisters, who I am very proud of. I am the second child of the big family, which comprises of my dad, mum, four stepmothers, and my beloved 18 siblings.

Like my father, nine of my siblings are lawyers. While growing up together in a big family compound at Ile-Oluji, we were a happy bunch most of the time. Dad made us pray together and study the scriptures in the family chapel. He also ensured we took our studies seriously. Whenever a misunderstanding arose within the family, we would try to settle it as amicably as possible. By the grace of God and the resilience of our parents, we were able to overcome the issues that are usually associated with such family structure and size.

Of all science subjects, I love chemistry the most. I understand it more, and I find it easier than physics and biology. I enjoy learning it, particularly because it has a pattern, and once you understand the basics, you can always build on that knowledge. There is a formula for everything in chemistry. I had hoped to be a teacher, or work as a chemist in an industry where my knowledge would be put to use. That was why I studied Physical Chemistry at master’s level. In my post–graduate course, I specialised in spectrometry, a branch of physical and analytical chemistry.

As spelt out in the Immigration Act of 2015, the roles of the CGIS are numerous. The CGIS, as head of the service, is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the service, and the responsibility of directing the performance of the statutory functions of the aervice. These functions include controlling the persons entering or leaving Nigeria, issuing travel documents to bonafide Nigerians within and outside Nigeria, issuing residence permits to foreigners in Nigeria, border surveillance and patrol, enforcing immigration laws and regulations, and performing other authorised para-military duties within and outside Nigeria.

Some of the challenges I encountered when I assumed office were the same as the ones the nation is facing currently, which is the issue of insecurity. My major challenge was the need to keep our borders safe. I was worried about ensuring the security of Nigeria’s borders, especially in the northern part of the country where kidnapping, armed banditry, and other criminalities were rampant.

The top management team of the NIS worked with me under the leadership of the current Minister of Interior, Dr Tunji-Ojo, to brainstorm on the way forward.

I believe that every Nigerian should care about our national security. Inter-agency synergy in the fight against these criminalities, as well as a re-engineering of agriculture and re-awakening of agro-allied industries in Nigeria to engender employment opportunities among the teeming youth, will go a long way in tackling security issues in Nigeria.

The other challenges were not also peculiar to me. They are experienced by other heads of MDAs. They include handling requests from stakeholders in the posting of officers. Every head of an organisation is expected to know the strengths and weaknesses of their personnel. They also know where their capacities are best required, and where they can perform optimally. However, most of the time, the head is more or less incapacitated due to pressures from interests both within and outside the service. This was a major challenge, but, it was not new.

A lot of reforms were introduced in the NIS’ effort to make the processing of passports easier for Nigerians. More passport processing centres were commissioned, and many cadets were trained to enhance their performances on the job. The introduction of commuter buses for intra-city travel to ease the movement of NIS personnel in the Federal Capital Territory, the celebration of the NIS 60th anniversary, and the creation of an endowment fund to cater for the orphans of personnel who died or became permanently disabled in work-related accidents were some of my major highlights during my period in office.

I was determined not to fail. I was determined to justify the confidence reposed in me by virtue of the appointment. I had it at the back of my mind that to be given the role of a leader was an opportunity to showcase the best in me as a seasoned and highly experienced professional, and in terms of the ability to diligently serve the people I led.

Having said that, I will confess that I still had my ups and downs. My tenure was unique in terms of its duration( May 30, 2023 to February 29, 2024). The learning curves were there, but by the grace of God, the leadership of the supervisory minister, and the unalloyed support of most of my colleagues, I was able to do my best.

I am very grateful to President Bola Tinubu and the entire nation for the opportunity. My appointment is a reflection of my commitment to the principles of equity, fairness and gender inclusivity.

Koseleri is a Yoruba phrase, which means a phenomenal occurrence; something that is unprecedented. That was the way my appointment was seen and fondly referred to by my colleagues, friends and well-wishers. The reason is that I am the first CGIS of Yoruba descent in the 60 years history of the NIS. That is why I was given the alias.

It is one of the duties of the NIS to secure the borders of the country. While in service, what were the strategies you implemented in battling issues such as the influx of transnational organised street beggars, crime perpetration, and other threats to the nation’s security?

The NIS is the lead agency in border management. It does that by mapping out the country’s air, land and sea borders. The Nigerian land borders are contiguous, expansive, challenging in topography and artificial in nature. The ECOWAS protocol too, makes the nation feel the weight of the burden of the big-brother status in sub-Saharan Africa. While in office, we monitored the borders and tried to ensure that prohibited immigrants were prevented from entering Nigeria. However, modern border security and management is an evolving process, especially when Artificial Intelligence is now leveraged in migration management and border security.

In the area of passport issuance, the officers posted to head passport officers were carefully selected and subjected to specialised training on hostmanship, public relations and relevant software management.

A specialised task force was also put in place to monitor and evaluate their performances. Punishment and reward systems were also deployed to motivate officers.

I miss my affectionate aides, subordinates and colleagues. I also miss the company of my staff, who were very cooperative, supportive and loving. The officers and men of the NIS showered me with so much love. They made my experience as the Comptroller General for 270 days memorable and very pleasant. I miss the beautiful monthly Comptroller General’s parade. I miss the friendly Nigerian press, and the sometimes mischievous publications of a campaign of lies by a few detractors. I miss dressing up in my beautiful uniform. I also miss the colour and glamour attached to the office of CG by the retinue of aides that travelled with me daily to and from the office. Indeed, there is so much to miss. But, by the grace of God, there is much more to gain in the next phase of my life, as I look forward to more rewarding service to my Creator, family and community.

I plan to see what further opportunities are available for me in my areas of strength. I love being around people, I love teaching, I love singing and being close to nature. I will sit down with my family to plan how best I can put my time to use. My husband plays golf and loves it dearly. I hope to play golf with him too. I am still resting at home now, but I hope for the best in the future.

My husband, Chief Adeleye Adepoju— the Sagho of Ile-Oluji Kingdom— is God’s gracious gift to me. He was my neighbour, schoolmate, friend and more. We first met at St. Peters Primary School, Ile-Oluji, in 1972, where we were both pupils. We grew up together as kids in the neighbourhood. My father had a lot of respect for his parents. I was formally introduced to my husband’s family more or less by my father. I was also close to other members of the Adepoju family. For example, Engineer Janet Adeyemi, nee Adepoju, my husband’s elder sister, was my lesson teacher in secondary school. Dr Olusoga Adepoju, the elder brother to my husband, is someone I also knew as a big brother in the neighbourhood. The two elder sisters— Late Mrs Fayobi Olusegun and Mrs Tolu Adeoba— were also known to me well before I got married into the Adepoju Family.

My parents-in-law were Chief Ebenezer Akinboboye and Chief Florence Adepoju. They were a great couple and good parents-in-law. They are both of blessed memory now. May God continue to rest their gentle souls in perfect peace.

I have many children in the service; the only thing is that none of them has ‘Adepoju’ as surname. What I am trying to say is that my biological children are into other fields of human endeavour, and not the NIS. However, by virtue of my position in the service, as well as the length of time I spent there, I was able to mentor several younger officers who should be able to move the service forward, leveraging the legacy of discipline, dedication to duty and selfless services.

I like casual outfits, such as trousers and shirts. But, all that would have to change now, since I will have to dress to reflect my position as a traditional title holder. I will wear more traditional outfits. I will also wear corals, if they are affordable. If they are costly, I will experiment with cowries, which are most likely to be cheaper.

I don’t have a favourite meal. I eat good food when I am hungry. Rice seems to be the staple food in Nigeria. I am more at home with rice than with other foods.

My favourite pastime is writing poems and short stories. I also like telling stories to little children. These days, I play with my phone, read a little, or gist with my husband whenever we are both free.