The New Customs' Many Battles
By Okey Ibeke
On January 3 this year, while accepting the voluntary retirement of Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed Mustapha, after about five years of steering the leadership wheel of Nigerian Customs Service, the government in appointing now retired Deputy Comptroller-General David Dayo Ogungbemile as the acting Comptroller-General, also announced her intention to set up a committee to restructure and reform the service.
When later the members of the Committee, whose mandate also included sifting through the motlely of contending forces to fashion out a new leadership for the service was finally announced, stakeholders in the maritime industry realized the seriousness of government's desire to once and for all curtail the destruction the monster called corruption is having on the sector.
This realization could only be a product of indepth analysis of profiles of individual members of the committee. Apart from the chairperson of the Committee, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the minister of state for finance whose past has not been tainted by greed, mad acquisition and selfishness which are like infectious diseases tormenting most of our so called leaders and public of fice holders, there is the Executive Chairman of Economic & Financial Crime Commission, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, who has among the likes of Mrs. Dora Akunyili of NAFDAC and Alhaji Nasir El-Rufai stand like a point, on which the hope of a new corrupt free Nigeria is measured.
There is Mr. Kanu Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who even as an Athorney General and Minister of Justice in President Obasanjo's first term, did not shy away in voicing his disdain over corruption among his colleagues. The committee also paraded among others, Alhaji Waziri K. Mohammed, who in year 2002/2003 while on assignment as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Illegal Siphoning of Foreign Exchange Outside Nigeria, despite intimidation, coersion, threat and financial inducement recovered more than US$ 4million from undue payments made to Pre-shipment Inspection Agents by companies' over- invoicing on the importation of books and fertilizers. The effort of the same committee brought information that aided the government in recovering hundreds of millions of Naira from fraudulent rice importers who had before then engaged in massive undervaluation and underdeclaration of rice imports.
Signs of an imminent purge in the service started emerging as early as January, when, during a visit by the Manufacturers Association, to Aso Rock, President Obasanjo, expressed deep bitterness against the Customs, accusing officers and men of corruption and non-performance. The President was reported to have said at the occasion that if he had his way, he would do without the customs service.
The Presidents mood ever since this disposition to the service and the opportunity created by the exit of the former Comptroller-General, left no one in doubt that something quite abnormal and drastic would soon befall the service. The Committee apart from receiving so many memoranda, was also bombarded by petitions. These petitions which contained damaging and verifiable information on almost all Deputy-Comptrollers- General, Assistant Comptrollers General and Comptrollers originated from among these top ranks. The motive of the petitioners was to undo each other, with misplaced belief that the new leadership must emerge among the top echelon.
Through these petitions, the committee discovered to their great dismay that almost all the officers who were forcefully and unethically scheming to be part of the leadership of the reformed and restructured Customs Service would not in any imaginable way, even if "Nigerian factor" is applied meet the standard set by the committee. Rather, their various petitions against one another portrayed them as originators, implementors, supervisors and beneficiaries of the corruption, greed and fraud which the service was known for. Their exposed fraudulent past activities, and coming from a compromised antecedents, would be an insurmountable encumbrance to any of them to embark into meaningful effort in re-orienting and reforming the service, if any of them is appointed. In fact, their petitions revealed that it is some activities of most of them that truncated and thwarted attempted effort in reformations and policies of the government in the past, which is even why the service is now on reformation process.
As the members of the panel realized from the outset that no matter their effort and government's measures in reforming and restructuring the service without having a courageous, patriotic, selfless, fearless and uncompromising officers to form the fulcrum around which the expected establishment would revolve; the effort would yet be in vain. It could be recalled that reformation seemingly started in 1975, when Alhaji Shehu A. Musa was appointed Director, Customs and Excise Department following promulgation of a decree in this respect, tagged Decree 40 of 28th August, 1975. In 1977, however, precisely on April 1~, the agency was re- organised such that its preventive and technical organs were merged. Apart from numerous tinkering of the service over the years through decree 14 of 1 1th January 1986, decree 45 of June 1992, Decree 77 of August 1993, General Paul Tarfa was also commissioned in 1994 by the late Head of State, General Sanni Abacha to examine, re-organise and reform the service.
With these scenario and committee's understanding that what the government desired was the total reformation of the service. And as the word reformation dictates, the whole exercise required radical changes; a total departure from the norms, as the word reformation denotes radical changes for the better in social, political, economic or religious affairs. A stage was set for the panel to recruit officers who had been tested and have distinguished themselves in their previous assignments.
In searching for such officers, the panel settled for those with unimpeachable track record, total commitment to assigned duties, unwavering allegiance and loyalty to government. Those with moral authority to redefine the prevailing values, enthrone professionalism, accountability through personal example and consistency in implementing government's fiscal policies.
That is how Jacob Gyang Buba an officer that has traversed all the various departments of the service with commendable record emerged as Comptroller General with Sani Nuhu Abubakar, Ade Fadahunsi, Ba∨ Kpagih, Adamu Rabiu and others as Assistant Comptrollers-General. In mapping out strategies to success, these new leadership realized that they need the crop of tested and trusted officers that aided them in discharging their previous assigned duties creditably in the past and those other officials that had as human as possible discharged their duties according to the dictations of government's fiscal policy in various commands and department of the service. They requested the promotion of these officers which the committee rightly obliged.
It is rather uncharitable for any one to fail to acknowledge that the Comptroller General and present crop of Assistant-Comptrollers-General and their newly promoted subordinates are men of integrity and honour who have exhibited maturity, steadfastness and dedication in the discharge of their duties. They are men who have served the service and the country selflessly without regards to personal safety. These are men who executed their assignments without fear or favour even in the face of real threats to their lives. These are men who were in the firing line of smugglers who cared less about the well-being ofthe nation's economy. These men matched them grit for grit and wit for wit. It is on record that the activities of these men most of whom served in the notorious Lagos Zone accounted for the huge revenue collection by the service and the accolades received by the Ahmed Mustapha led administration.
Led by Ade Fadahunsi in September 2001, just a few months after the antismuggling task force was inaugurated, they seized N243 million worth of cigarettes. By December, duty collection that would have been lost to smuggling rose to N433 million. In 2002, the task force nicked 464 seizures of all kinds of goods estimated at N2.6 billion, apart from 10,000 cartridges seizes in 2001. In 2003, the task force impounded 15,000 cartridges. Year 2003, marked a watershed, as it made 1,600 seizures estimated at N3.6 billion. In the Western border, 170,000 rounds of ammunition and 18 pieces of short guns were seized. This is in addition to poultry products and textiles impounded in Lagos, Idiroko, Seme, Port Harcourt and parts of the north. Those seizures attracted national honour for Fadahunsi.
Of particular note was the interest shown by the Presidency on the young off~cers on whose shoulders was thrust the responsibility of seeing to the proper execution of the 100 per cent physical examination which government ordered early 2001. It is on record that the off~cers comprising Mr. Sani Abubakar, Barikor Kpagih, Julius Nwagwu, Abiodun Adeogun, Musa Tahir, Yen Vel etal, that constituted the mangement team of the CG' s special Task Force on 100 per cent examination in the Lagos zone executed their assignment so creditably and efficiently that even the President could not help applauding.
Within one year of operation, the task force recovered for government, over N6 billion. In the same period, as result of the dedication, painstaking and ruthless manner with which it handled its assignment, it also discovered the under declaration of a ship load of steel angles and wires from which over
N106 million was recovered, and an under declaration of 95 metric tones of rice with a payable duty of about N500 million.
These were among the stunning discoveries and recoveries made by the group in the first year of its operation including bursting of serious frauds connected with clearing of bulk cargoes. On the whole, the discoveries made by the task force at this period was said to have opened the eyes of government to the extent of under declarations, over and under invoicing, concealment and fraud that have been going on in the import supervision and import duty administration process. Above all, the discoveries were said to have made government come to the realization that it had been lavishing several millions of dollars on pre-shipment inspection agents (PIAs) for work not done or for simply aiding and abetting dubious importers to defraud the nation. This influenced government decision to reintroduce destination inspection of imports.
The success recorded by the Sani Abubakar led task force especially in recovery of billions of Naira on consignments which the PIAs had inspected and given a clean bill of health and whose documents had been duely processed and passed by the Customs at command levels was not lost on government.
Though the failure of the Committee to promote officers like Deputy Comptroller H.B.Ahmed and his then team at Tin Can Island Port Customs Processing Unit that exhibited commendable performance in recovering hundreds of millions of Naira from wrong classification for the government are avoidable oversight; the postings of old war horses, like Gotip GE, Olu Adeniyi, Adamu Rufai, Usman Daura, Shehu Musa, Anpe T.V.etc. and newly promoted ones like Adeogun AA, Alagboaso Jerry, Musa Tahir, Makarfi GB, Ofem EO and Nnanna KA to head the most strategic commands of the service; and of course the deployment of Comptroller Julius Nwagwu to man the Valuation, Import/Export seat at the headquarters are good strategic decisions.
Since these promotions, appointments and postings, the new leadership has been battling on all fronts to consolidate on their well deserved mandate.
Immediately the announcement of the new leadership was made by the Minister of Finance, which saw the due retirement of the top echelon of the service, a dangerous fight was waged against the new team. Among those retired are some that mounted intense lobby to either head or at least be part of the new team. Many of them who were party to destructive schemings, desperate moves, influence peddling and mindless distribution of ill-gotten wealth in order to be part of the new management, saw what they regarded as investment dissolving into mist.
They decided not to let go without a fight. These resulted in many of them collectively and individually, unjustly raking up a lot of muds to tarnish the image of the new management team. They even went to the extent of using a credible name of Society for Economic Advancement of Nigerian Masses which they are never part of. In their act of desperation, they also without consultation and permission used the name of Editor-In-Chief of Business and Maritime West Africa Mr Okey Ibeke to author a petition against the new leadership. The effort of these petitions which contained accusation of unsubstantiated corrupt practices against the new leadership and the members of the reformation and restructuring panel, is simply to play on the President Obasanjo's strong disdain for corruption.
These desperate acts were also taken to the National Assembly. This made the Finance Committee of House of Representative led by Alhaji Lawan Farouk to summon the Committee to defend allegation against them.
While battling to exonerate themselves from numerous spurious allegations piled against them, Jacob Buba led administration did not lose sight of the fact that the main battle is to execute the government's fiscal policies as regards import trade. Admist battles against dearth of funds, lack of operational equipment, interference by government officials and other agencies, willful sabotage by officers of the service planted by some of the retired off~cers and antics of some overzealous policemen, the administration is not distracted. This amply manifested in the volume of seizures the service made in recent months.
Apart from seizure of 690 items valued at N503 million with payable duty of N310 million at Lagos, Benin and Kastina, their activities at various border and port commands also sign post the intense desire of the new leadership to succeed. At Onne port, where Abiodun Adeogun, newly promoted Comptroller holds sway, 54 containers of scrap metal, logs and antiquities which are on export prohibition list were impounded, while his counterpart at Seme, Musa Tahir has made maritime watchers wonder at the huge amount being raked in by the service at his command apart from numerous successful smuggling suppression measures.
The three old war horses at Apapa, M/M Airport and Kirikiri Lighter terminal commands of the service are not left out. At M/M International Airport, Compt. Adamu Rufai led his off~cers in impounding a B 767 jumbo Jet filled with contraband goods, while his colleague at Kirikiri Lighter Terminal, Compt. Gotip has stepped up fight against usage of fake customs and bank documents to clear goods by dubious clearing agents and importers. This has resulted in the seizure of 18 containers of prohibited fruit juices, vehicles and other items. At the premier port, Apapa, Comptroller Olu Adeniyi impounded 19 containers with fake clearing documents, 14 x 20 feet containers of can beer, 28 containers of scrap metal and 4 x 20 feet containers of orange juice. Ihe new leadership at headquarters also sent a squad from Abuia that impounded 80 containers of scrap metal at Tin Can Island Port.
While making seizures, which has now become a normal occurrence in all commands, including Port Harcourt Area 1 and Calabar, the service has also intensified effort in combating the scourge of wrong classification, under-declaration, concealment and undervaluation. This has impacted positively on the revenue generation profile, while putting dubious importers, clearing agents and their collaborators in the sewice in total disarray.
In battling the "enemies" and carrying out their statutory duties, the new leadership also did not forget the need to promote deserved personnel of the sewice. Across the length and breath of the country, effort to address the issue of promotion has translated into the conduct of promotion interview.
As the battle rages, it is clear that the new leadership is winning in all fronts. Instead of continued denigration of the new team by those who never meant well for the country, all and sundry should give theam maximum support, so that our collective desire of reactivating the local production which will put our dear country on the road of economic recove~, would be achieved.
Ibeke is a maritime specialist
|
