Logo of the Nigerian Immigration Service used to demonstrate the story.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – The Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS has expressed its willingness to partner with Nigerian Universities to develop homegrown creative solutions that would address challenges posed by border insecurity and ineffective migration management.
The Acting Controller-General of NIS, Deputy Controller General, Isa Jere made this known when he received Management of the University of Jos led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tanko Ishaya in his office at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
The Acting CG said the deployment of digital technology and high-tech devices is the answer to the effective policing of Nigeria’s borders towards guaranteeing national security and economic prosperity.
He explained that the organization’s core function is to properly maintain the country’s 5,330-kilometer border which it shares with the Atlantic Coast, Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
According to the CG, in a statement by Abdullahi Abdullahi, UniJos Deputy Registrar, Information and Publications, “Nigeria’s borders stretch through an expanse of land and sea that were too wide to be policed only by human personnel hence the need to also rely on technology like is done elsewhere in the world.”
READ : SSANU tells Governor Lalong to pay arrears of earned allowance owed PLASU lecturers
Jere further disclosed that currently, the Service has deployed “modern technology in many of its operations including Passport Application and Issuance as well as records and document management through an Electronic Documents Management System (EDMS) which is a paperless mode of treating official files and documents.”
He thanked the University of Jos Management team for the visit and sought partnership with the University towards helping the Service achieve some of its aims and objectives.
Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, Professor Tanko Ishaya congratulated the NIS Acting Controller-General, over his appointment and commended him for leading the charge towards making the Service an ICT friendly organization.
The Vice-Chancellor who is a Professor of Computer Science, noted “the great progress that the NIS is making towards discharging its mandate” but observed that there were still “some challenges that must be overcome to achieve the desired level of efficiency.”
Professor Tanko called for closer collaboration between the NIS and the country’s citadels of learning to enable the Service utilize the knowledge and expertise that abound in the Nigerian University system, stressing, “sharing the knowledge, ideas and products of experts and researchers in the field would serve the country better and help the NIS achieve its Vision and Mission.”
