Date Published: 08/17/09
POOR IMAGE: THE IMPERATIVE OF CREDIBLE LEADERSHIP FOR CUSTOMS.
BY IFEANYI NWACHUKWU EBERE
Admittedly, the Nigeria Customs Service plays a critical role in the economic development of Nigeria, being the second largest revenue earner to the country after the NNPC. It is understandable therefore, why every responsible government must support the Customs Service. Unfortunately however, despite its significant contribution to the national economy, the Nigeria Customs Service has been confronted with hostile and disdainful public perception. To most Nigerians, the Customs Service is perceived as the citadel of corruption and greed, which takes a significant toll on the economy in terms of diverted revenues to the government.
In fact, there is a direct connection between the integrity of its leadership and the quality of service delivery. Once the leadership is corrupt, it is hard to stem corruption down the ladder of the customs organizational structure. Therefore, for the Nigeria Customs Service to overcome the sorry public image confronting it, it requires an urgent ethical re-orientation, led by a new leadership imbued with patriotic zeal and selfless commitment to the public good.
Despite the level of corruption endemic in the Customs Service, there are still a few officers that are credible enough to lead the crusade towards a better image for the service and the efforts to significantly improve the revenue profile of the service. Once the country is able to sort out the grain from the chaff, then the country may be able to bring about the much needed ethical re- orientation for the service, especially at this time when Nigeria has initiated a re- branding national campaign.
With Comptroller General Bernard Nwadialor about to finish his tenure in office as he attains his statutory retirement age, the issue of who succeeds him is significant. In particular, at a time the nation is anxious to bring about a credible leadership for the service, the integrity, experience, vision and competence of whoever succeeds him are of important consideration.
There is a consistent consensus among the Custom Service that the next Comptroller General must be a man that can serve as a commanding moral figure capable of leading by example. As the nation searches for Nwadialor’s successor, all eyes are now on the Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Abdullahi Dikko Inde. He is the natural choice of most officers and men of the service because he is reform-minded and actively committed to the general staff welfare.
He is widely regarded as an internal crusader with a determination to restore the unfashionable image of the Custom Service by promoting such level of staff welfare that will create enough incentives to discourage corruption. In fact, he has fought battles to ensure the 7 percent bonus given to staff to boost morale for revenue generation was properly directed to the promotion of their welfare.
Assistant Comptroller General Abdullahi Dikko is on record as a fearless and credible officer that has opposed the diversion of 7 percent bonus for staff to purposes it was not intended such as buying houses for select senior officers to the detriment of junior officers. This, plus his uncompromising integrity, has pitted him against powerful forces in the past who were not comfortable with his stubborn commitment to reform.
The Nigeria Customs Service desperately needs a man of Dikko’s ethical orientation and patriotic commitment to fight corruption as a major first step to restore the image of the service. In fact, in an open recognition of his integrity, Assistant Comptroller General Dikko was awarded the national honour of the Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the former Obasanjo administration.
Born in 1960, Abdullahi Dikko Inde flaunts an intimidating tract record of experience and qualifications. He first graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Dimitrov Apostle Tshenov, Bulgaria. As he was determined not to sit on his academic laurels, the Assistant Comptroller General went ahead to pursue a Master’s Degree in Investment Finance in the same University. He also attended leadership trainings at the University of Pittsburg, U.S.A.. His first baptism with public service came in 1988 when he joined the Nigeria Customs Service as a Superintendent and through dint of hard work, he rose rapidly from one rank to another, attaining the position of Assistant Comptroller General within a few years.
Excellence is not achieved by accident but through the habit of conscious commitment and dedication. With this credible track record, he was appointed a member of the Ports Decongestion Committee in 1994. These national assignments are a reflection of the firm confidence the Federal government has in him. He held command positions at Tincan Island ports Apapa, Imo and Kaduna commands. He was also in charge of Badagry Area Command and Seme border before he was finally transferred to the Abuja headquarters as an Assistant Comptroller General.
Abdullahi Dikko is a member of Certified National Accountants and Nigeria Institute of Management, after he successfully passed his examinations to become a member of these prestigious bodies. Apart from professional laurels that he achieved, the Assistant Comptroller General Abdullahi Dikko is a recipient of many awards, including the Best Anti- smuggling command of the year Award (2007), Badagry Prime Award for Excellence (2007) and Award for Excellence conferred on him by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
With his intimidating track record of experience, competence, leadership qualities and other enviable achievements under his belt, Abdullahi Dikko Inde has all it takes to reform the Customs. He has many more years to serve his full tenure if appointed Comptroller General than his predecessors who had short tenures because their retirement ages were almost due when they were appointed. Besides, unlike his predecessors, Abdullahi Dikko would have enough time to chart a new course and vision that will lead the department of Customs to better performance and more respectable image. Short tenures carry the risk of making the holders of office more desperate to serve narrow interest rather than working for the betterment of the service.
His greatest asset is integrity which is essential in transforming the service. This virtue has endeared him to majority of officers and men. He therefore, stands out as the most eminently qualified officer to succeed Nwadialor and start a new revolution in the Customs. Dikko’s ammunition in this revolution is his tested credibility which makes him qualified in his own right. The Custom Service requires credible Nigerians of his integrity to move forward in terms of improving declining revenue profile and restoring the dented image of the service. There is truth in the saying that a good leader conquers the hearts of the downtrodden and indeed, the popularity of Abdullahi Dikko among members of the service is incredibly infectous. For a job that demands a leader to carry everybody along, Mr. Dikko has already demonstrated this quality
Ifeanyi Nwachukwu Ebere
