FIFTY-NINE  years ago, precisely on March 23, 1953, the family of Rev. Ezekiel Nwogu Uzu and Mrs Cecilia Ozichi Uzu in the sleepy town of Umuahia, begot a new baby, a female child.

The arrival of the new baby ostensibly lit the family with joy; however, nothing in the firmament   suggested that the newly delivered baby would put the family’s name in national limelight.  Put differently, at birth, nothing spectacular occurred to betray her as a child who would play eminent role in the nation’s march to greatness.

Rose Chinyere Uzoma had an unmistakable humble background.  Her father was a priest of the Methodist Church and a teacher.  Obviously, her upbringing was devoid of luxury or the proverbial silver spoon.

Rather, what she imbibed in profound doses were the essential values of hardwork, forthrightness, humility, simplicity, perseverance and discipline, her father being a clergy and a school teacher. Her parents inculcated these significant values in her, out of the conviction that, along with formal education, they were capable of making her become useful to herself and the family.

Ironically, today, after 59 years of her birth, her mother looks back appreciating the huge impact of the training she and her husband gave to their daughter as well as the awesome goodness of God in her great life.  Indeed, there is every reason for Mrs. Rose Uzoma to feel fulfilled at 59.

She has not only attained great height in her chosen field of endeavour but has reached the highest office available in her career, and in that capacity, recorded unusual feats that will, for a very long time, stand her in good stead.

She could be described without equivocation as a woman who has distinguished herself prominently in a male- dominated world, helping to lay strong foundation and credence to the clamour for greater women participation in responsible and challenging public positions and assignments.

Mrs. Uzoma assumed the top office of Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service four months and one week after she attained 57 years.

Though her appointment by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan jolted permutations in several quarters, some close watchers saw it coming.  She had acquired and accumulated a rich dossier and vast wealth of experience that not a few observers believed strongly she was a favoured choice in the male-dominated race.

Firstly, she was the Second-in-Command in the administration of her predecessor, Mr. Chukwurah Joseph Udeh.  Secondly, as Deputy Comptroller General under Mr. Udeh, she was in-charge of the Operations Directorate that drove the many transformational innovations that were synonymous with that era in Nigeria Immigration Service.  The novel e-passport, automated border control (auto-gate) and other sundry enhanced migration management projects fell directly under her portfolio and supervision.

Thirdly, she has been properly groomed to fit into the apex leadership position in the Service, having attended crucial management courses and training programmes.  In addition to her participation in the Senior Management Course of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Mrs. Uzoma attended the Senior Management Services Course in Britain; Senior  Officers Professional Immigration Course, Glynco, Georgia, USA; Basic Immigration Training Course at Enugu and Certificate Courses in Computer Operations and French Language, among others.  With this background, her appointment as Comptroller General of Immigration on July 30, 2010 appeared to many as a good tiding to Nigeria’s migration management agency.

Undoubtedly, Mrs. Uzoma has substantially justified the expectations of people, even as she has occupied office for less than 20 months.  Judging from the cardinal areas she pledged to focus her attention at the inception of her administration, she could be said to have excelled considerably.

From the onset, the Comptroller General of Immigration was quite unequivocal about her commitment to putting in place effective migration management structures to guarantee speedy national development; improvement of the welfare of Immigration officers and men, who, she admits, are her greatest asset; protection of Nigerians in Diaspora; strengthening of border control and automation of passenger clearance at land borders; phasing out of the machine readable passport and improving the Nigerian passport regime; capacity building; invigoration of the operational activities of the Service in the local government areas; review of the Immigration Act and the nation’s visa policy, among others.

So far, her administration has notched some giant strides in key areas that are capable of enhancing the service delivery capacity of the Nigeria Immigration Service.  Among these major feats were the procurement of the PKD facility, installation of night vision/ICT equipment in NIS Border Patrol Surveillance aircraft; the approval for the supply of six million e-passport booklets that will last till 2013 and the replacement of malfunctioned e-passport equipment in Passport Offices across the Federation.

Another monumental achievement by Mrs. Uzoma’s administration is the upgrade and expansion of the directorate structure of the Service from three to seven.  This will reduce the cumbersome clustering of too many divisions under a directorate with its propensity to slow down the wheel of service delivery.  The current seven directorate structure, an unprecedented feat attained by the administration, is strongly believed to possess not only the potential to ensure efficient and effective discharge of duties and responsibilities but to enhance career progression of officers and men of the Service.

In order to ensure that foreigners and Nigerians in the Diaspora received deserving attention with profound professional dexterity, her administration has been able to attract Federal Government to approve the deployment of Immigration attaches to more Nigerian missions abroad.  From the 10 Immigration attaches operating in five foreign missions which her administration inherited, Mrs. Uzoma was able to ensure a considerable increase in the number of Immigration attaches to 46 covering an equally increased number of 12 missions.

Mr. JOACHIM OLUMBA, an Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, is the Service Public Relations Officer.