Date Published: 08/17/09
Customs: Dikko is Comptroller-General!
By Danladi Boyi
The elevation of Assistant Comptroller-General Abdullahi Dikko Inde to the head of the Customs Service could not have come at a better time. Dikko’s exemplary foray through the ranks of the service since joining its superintendent cadre has been so eventful that it has become impossible not to entrust him with the topmost responsibility of leading the service. It is said in several quarters close to the customs that Dikko Abdullahi Inde’s appointment serves as an acknowledgement of hardwork and dedication in the Customs.
Many may attribute Dikko’s elevation to his filial relationship with the first family. But nothing can be farther from the truth. In fact, Dikko himself admits that “such a relationship would have given anyone an edge. But I am not related to the first family. I only put in my best whenever a national assignment, or any assignment for that matter, is given to me, because I have learnt from childhood to do my best in everything.”
Indeed, doing his best has become Dikko’s imprimatur. His tenure through several departments in the customs service has not only been rancor-free but has also inspired many to see leadership as a call to serve rather than an invitation to self-aggrandize. For example, in 2004, the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Nigeria Customs Service reform received letters from the then CG of the Customs, JG Buba recommending some officers of relatively junior rank for promotion to the ranks of Comptrollers. Among them was Dikko.
The letter to the reform committee said “it is imperative that we start bringing out the best in the service by ensuring the collection of maximum duty as well as stop smuggling of prohibited goods into the country by ensuring that competent and knowledgeable officers are deployed to the very sensitive revenue related Area Commands.
The letter further stated that fifteen officers who, are identified as tested, competent and highly effective, with Dikko as their primus inter pares, be deployed to sensitive commands. Admittedly, promotion in the service from one rank, to another, is usually three years. But in the case of Dikko and the other fourteen the CG referred to compelling circumstances that would enhance the image of the service, boost the morale of officers and promote efficiency among others. And wherever he served, Dikko left men and women of the service wondering who would lead the team as effectively as Dikko Abdullahi Inde did. This is because while staff welfare has always formed the fulcrum of the secret for Dikko’s success, he has used his good relationship with men and women under his command to exceed the revenue targets expected of him.
Added to this is his chronic dislike for injustice. Dikko ensures that every officer under his command gets his due, no matter how little. In fact there have been several recorded instances where Dikko almost got himself in trouble while trying to ensure that some injustice, considered by many to be inconsequential, is redressed, sterling qualities that shot him up to the office of ACG Headquarters. In short, to officers of the customs and excise Dikko is the customs officer’s custom officer. This is because, wherever he went, his performance has been above par, and his records remain outstanding. Appointed a member of the ports decongestion committee in 1994, Dikko excelled in the assignment and his glaring luminosity easily made him the unanimous choice when in 2001 the service needed someone to lead in opening the Phase II and III of the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal to ease congestion in the existing terminals. Dikko is on record as one of rare Customs officers who are passionate about injecting positive changes in the Customs.
Dikko’s elevation to the office of CG has already set tongues wagging throughout the service. Many see his assumption of office as the last and final chance to, once and for all, redeem the image of the service. Not only that, a lot of customs men and women say the era of injustice, delayed promotions, unfair postings, nepotism and favoritism are over. But this syndrome, yes it is a syndrome, of relying on Dikko did not start yesterday. In Government College, Kaduna where he studied between 1975 and 1980, his dedication, even as a growing lad fetched him the exalted position of House Captain of El Kanemi House. There too, many relied on him for direction and guidance.
Born in Musawa, in Musawa Local Government Area of Katsina State on May 11, 1960 Dikko attended the University of Dimitrov Apostle Tshenov, Suishtov, Bulgaria where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Economics. He also took a Masters Degree in Finance, specializing in Investment Finance from the same institution. After a stint at the Kaduna State Audit he sat and passed the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria examination, becoming a full-fledged accountant and member of the Certified National Accountants and National Institute of Management. Dikko enlisted in the Customs in 1988. He is married to Sadiya, a librarian and they are blessed with four children, Hadiza, Aisha, Ahmad and Abdullahi.
