The Ikoyi Passport Office of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) was agog on Tuesday, August 25th, 2020 as officers of the Service and other well wishers joined hands to give the Passport Control Officer (PCO) Mannir Yari a befitting send off party as he retires from service this month.
The event which was chaired by the Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) in charge of Zone A of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mohammed Alfa was an occasion for serving officers of immigration and other stakeholders to recall the many good deeds of Yari who enlisted in Nigeria Immigration Service about 35 years ago.
There was outpouring of encomia as speaker after speaker among whom were immigration officers and non immigration well wishers including journalists extolled the virtues of Mannir Yari who took charge as Passport Control Officer of Ikoyi Passport Office in May, 2018.
Speaking at the event, ACG Alfa who traced his relationship with Yari to many years ago soon after they joined the Service said the PCO was retiring gloriously because he had over the years remained focused, loyal to constituted authorities, disciplined, committed and hard working apart from being God fearing.
The ACG declared that with the aforementioned qualities, Yari’s retirement from the Immigration Service would not be seen as the limit of his life but the beginning of higher achievements.
He therefore enjoined officers and men who are still in service to emulate Yari who has brought progressive changes to various formations he had worked in, particularly the Ikoyi Passport Office.
The ACG recalled that the tremendous changes brought to the Ikoyi Passport Office during the two and half years Yari was in charge were clear testimony to why he was nicknamed a transformer by his officers and men.
In 2019, the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Mohammad Babandede had commissioned a number of facilities attracted to the Ikoyi Passport Office environment by Yari from corporate bodies as part of their corporate social responsibility. Some of such facilities included bus, office buildings erection or renovation, ICT equipment and so on from banks and other organizations.
Alfa thanked God that Yari was retiring gloriously after serving his father land.
Many other speakers including the current Passport Control Officers in charge of Alausa and Ogun State Passport offices and Comptroller of Immigration in charge of Murtala Mohammed Airport Command also spoke about Yari in glowing terms.
Journalists who have covered the beat over the years also had something good to say about the retiring PCO. One of them, crime editor of the Guardian newspaper and President of Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria, Mr. Odita Sunday described Yari as a detribalised Nigerian who related very well with everyone irrespective of tribe, religion, sex or social status.
In his speech at the occasion, Mannir Yari who took the guests back in history recalling his early days in the immigration service, gave insight into the various places he had been posted to, positions held and challenges associated with them, but thanked God for helping him to attain his current position of PCO and retiring without blemish as a Comptroller of Immigration Service.
Among other things, he recalled how he was a pioneer officer in charge of E-Passport when it was newly introduced in 2007 at the Service headquarters. He explained that the high light of his service was the opportunity of serving at the Immigration Service Headquarters where he met and mingled with top officials of the Service in addition to several foreign travels on official assignment.
The retiring Comptroller recalled his early days as the PCO Ikoyi and how he was able to surmount the challenges he met on ground.
These challenges according to him, included nonfunctional electricity system in the offices, piles of files of unprocessed passport forms, and overwhelming population of touts around the passport office environment.
He pointed out that initially, the challenges were intimidating but he looked up to God and also applied some management principles he had over the years at the Service Headquarters to solve the problems.
While commending his officers and men for the relative success achieved during his time, Yari enjoined them to remain committed to their duty and strive to improve on the current situation.
For his loyalty and quality service delivery, Mannir Yari had won several awards both from immigration authorities and outside the Service. One of the awards is EXEMPLARY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE given to him by the Service headquarters. He said this very award was not only for him but for the entire Passport office personnel who helped him to succeed.
The retiring PCO paid much tribute to the current Comptroller General of Immigration, Babandede for his selflessness in moving the Service forward. He did not hesitate that he was following Babandede’s foot steps in selfless service.
Among senior officers present at the occasion were the Comptroller of Immigration Service in charge of Murtala Mohammed Airport, Abdullahi Usman, the new Comptroller of Immigration in charge of Ikoyi Passport Office, Command, E.S. Fagbamigbe, PCO in charge of Alausa Passport Office, T.A. Gbadamosi, PCO in charge of Ogun, Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Carol Ngere who represented the ACG Lagos Command of Nigerian immigration.
Also present at the event were the Assistant Comptroller, Ikoyi Correctional Centre and other senior officers of immigration.
Highpoint of the occasion was cutting of Yari’s retirement cake and presentation of gifts to him.
