There is no gainsaying that the Nigeria Customs Service needs radical reforms. But it appears that the much-needed reforms may take generations to materialize if ever. The Customs Service appears to be a prisoner of itself. Internal dynamics seems to have irretrievably tied it to the analogue past. In this, the Devil within, rather than outside influences takes much of the responsibility. Like many law enforcement and government agencies, the Nigeria Customs Service has its fair share of the ‘Nigerian problem’.
Too many things need to be improved upon. The decay, like in many facets of the Nigerian establishment has accumulated over a long period of time. Needless to say, bringing about a turnaround in the affairs of the Customs would take quite a while. This is not something that can be done in an abracadabra manner of approach. It needs detailed study and detailed solution. To achieve this, a long-term programme of action has to be put in place. While not neglecting short-term measures to assuage the situation, it should be borne in mind that changes envisaged in the long-term plan would not materialize in a day or two. To achieve this, time and stability are needed.
But, there seems to be a systemic booby trap in the customs service that has made it difficult for it to enjoy stable leadership in recent era. No institution can attain meaningful progressive change if the leadership is changed with every change in the direction of the wind vane. Much as the Nigeria Customs Service might desire to be at par with contemporaries in the developed world, it cannot achieve it without a stable visionary leadership.
But systemic dynamics seems to make this goal difficult to achieve. There is no overlabouring the fact that the leadership of the Customs Service like the leadership of similar government parastatals is a keenly contested job. Different levels of manoeuvring both political and otherwise are often associated with it. Hence too much attention is given to the politics of who should occupy the post rather than the work that ought to be done in the post. These crises of interests have often threatened the stability of the leadership of the service.
There is a double-edged dilemma therein: Should the post of the Comptroller-General of Customs be reserved for retiring officers who are on their way out of the service or should the appointment of younger officers with better years of service ahead be encouraged?
This is the hydra-headed crisis that is threatening the Customs Service. Some have argued in favour of retiring officers. The plank of their argument is to enable more people attain the post before quitting the service. But the problem with this policy is that the retiring Comptroller-Generals are humans like the rest of Nigerians. On the mind of every retiring CG are two things: the Customs Service and life after retirement. I will not hazard a guess on which of these values will gain the upper hand in the battle for his attention. But we are in a country where every citizen has to fend for himself. A country where every home is a miniature local government. The bread winner will surely provide security at his expense, water from his purse, generate his own power as well as his own income and social security. How our pensioners and retirees are treated is too common to be worthy of mentioning here. Suffice it to say that the average prospective Nigerian retiree knows that if he must look up to something after service, he must put it there before retirement. Hence, retiring from service is a business that often takes full time attention.
More so, retiring Comptroller-Generals often do not have the time to implement their policies and programmes before handing over the baton to someone else. This obviously is not the way to take the Customs to the Promised Land. The case of the immediate past Comptroller-General of Customs is glaring. Dr. Bernard-Shaw Nwadialo was appointed Acting Comptroller-General of Customs on 15 January 2009. He operated in acting capacity until he was confirmed three months later on 24 March 2009. It is pertinent to note that confirmation is never taken for granted. Ogbonnaya Onovo at first manned the affairs of the Nigeria Police Force after the exit of Mr. Sunday Ehindero. But he did not go ahead to become IG. Instead, Sir Mike Okiro was confirmed the Inspector-General of Police, before Onovo eventually became the IG after Okiro’s retirement. Dr. Bernard-Shaw Nwadialo operated as the Comptroller-General of Customs only for four months before retiring in August same 2009. Under such circumstance, what meaningful changes could he have introduced in the Customs Service? Dr. Nwadialo was not short of ideas but he was definitely short of time! On assumption of duty, Nwadilo pledged to modernize and reposition the service to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. He never had the necessary time to do it. His predecessor, Alhaji Hamman Bello did not fare any better. He spent only six months on the seat before
Reaching the mandatory retirement age. He enjoyed relative peace among the hawks because they knew that he was on his way out of the service.
Then came the appointment of Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi as the Comptroller-General of Customs on August 26, 2009. The appointment of Dikko surely raised the prospects for a meaningful overhaul of the operations of the Customs Service. He has better years of service ahead. His experience, exposure and leadership abilities are not in doubt. He seems to be a well-rounded man. The very promising longevity of tenure may as well be his albatross. Those who believe in high turnover in the occupants of the seat of the office of the Comptroller-General of Customs might as well resort to sabotage and infighting to dethrone him or at least distract him if not derail him. He would receive quite a dose of blackmails, sabotage and distractions of all sorts, all aimed at shoving him aside. He would have had more peace of mind if only he had just a few months to serve. The hawks would let him be.
But this is not a time for boardroom politics but a period for progressive systemic change. What the customs management needs now is teamwork and cooperation. A lot of painstaking changes needed to be introduced to the modus operandi of the Nigeria Customs Service. The Customs should do itself good to neutralize the systemic death trap that is threatening its corporate existence. The retired and serving custom officers should join hands in freeing the service from this quagmire. Although, succession politics is not restricted to Customs alone, should the Customs Service let it tear the service apart? Not too long ago, Engr Ebele Okeke was made the Head of Service of the Federation. Before the euphoria of the appointment could subside, the woman was already retiring. Ms Pepple succeeded her in another ‘walka pass’. Should things continue this way? It seems the civil service has got it right this time around. Has the Customs Service realised that it has got it right this time around?
Ebo Socrates, Awka, 08064641470.
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