Interrogating Adeniyi’s service as Customs helmsman

By Lanre Aminu

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Every great institution is the lengthened shadow of a single man. His character determines the character of the organisation”. Dwight D. Eisenhower also submitted, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in the army or in an office”. Firstly, we must give resounding kudos to President Bola Tinubu for sticking to merit and competence to make most of his appointments. This is a clean break from our retrogressive past where nepotism was elevated above merit and competence. Not a few will agree with this writer that President Tinubu may be vilified for his principled position, no one can fault the altruistic and patriotic motivation for his actions. His knack for putting a round peg in a round hole is legendary. Adeniyi’s appointment as Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service is no doubt, a testament to the President’s commitment to good governance and his ability to identify and utilize the best talents to drive national development. To say that Adeniyi has not betray the confidence repose in him will merely be under scoring the obvious. As St Christopher once remarked “If you doubt my ability, beholds my work”. Adeniyi’s track record of performance in the last one year since he assumed the mantle of leadership at the Nigeria Custom Service is a reassuring testimony of his greatness. To say he has surpassed revenue projections will merely be underscoring the obvious. Massive improvement in revenue generation by the service under Adeniyi’s watch in the last one year despite a sharp reduction in the volume of trade says it all. The records are there: In a period of one year, that is between June 2023 and May 2024 under his watch, the NCS generated N4.49 trillion in revenue, from the N2.58 trillion recorded within the same period in previous year, an impressive revenue jump of a whopping N1.9 trillion! or 74% growth. Since his appointment in June, 2023, there has been sustained increase of 70.13% in average monthly revenue collection compared to the previous year which in monetary value corresponds to an average monthly revenue collection of N343 billion, compared to the N202 billion monthly average of the previous year before his appointment, indicating about N105 billion shortfall from the N307 billion budgetary target. The stats says it all. There is no gainsaying that Adeniyi has revolutionise operations at the Customs. This jump in revenue is attributable to the N15 billion recovery by the Revenue Review Performance Recovery exercise; N2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularisation of the documents of uncustomed vehicles; N1.5 billion recovered from the decongestion of 1,705 over time containers and 981 vehicles from the port, among other strategies. The catalyst, according to the Customs boss, Adeniyi is also attributable to the introduction of the Trade Modernization Project, TMP, a presidential initiative aimed at deepening and widening the scope of operations to make the NCS conform to modern global standards using cutting-edge technologies to power operations. The purpose is to boost revenue generation, deepening legitimate trade and mitigate corruption. Since the launch of TMP, the concession innovation has advanced efficiency and ensure that merit is upheld including the posting of only competent officers to sensitive post. What has happened in the Customs in the last one year is a result of purposeful leadership provided by the new helmsman, Bashir Wale Adeniyi. Unlike his predecessors, what Adeniyi has done differently is to entrenched a culture of meritocracy in promotion and posting of officers and men of the Service. He has also implemented various reforms resulting in a 70% increase in revenue collection, exceeding the monthly target of N307 billion. He has also introduced measures to streamline custom clearance processes, address revenue leakages and enhance efficiency. Adeniyi has also launched initiatives to dispose off over time cargo, implement 48-hour customs clearance process, and facilitate trade through the Authorized Economic Operators ( AEO) program. Not a few will agree with this writer that the above listed achievement of Adeniyi in just one year are no mean feat. We thank God he got deserving awards for his remarkable contribution to Nigeria’s economy at this period of economic downturn. Indeed, one cannot agree less with D. Eisenhower who submitted: “Without ambition, one starts nothing, Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. To say Adeniyi deserve the award he won recently and many others before it will merely be saying the obvious. May his tribe continue to multiply in the affairs of our nation.
Aminu wrote in from Airport road, Piwoyi, Abuja