Date Published: 08/25/09
A NEW SHERIFF IS IN TOWN.
By SUNDAY DARE
With the recent appointment of Dikko Abdullahi as the new Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, a dynamic window opens for a new and progressive dispensation. The role of the customs service is central to the economic growth of Nigeria and when stretched further, the security of the country. Nigeria cannot thus afford to put in such a position a Lilliputian or an individual who has not demonstrated a brilliant and bold capacity for professionalism.
This is where Dikko’s emergence as the new Customs boss is instructive. For a man like Dikko with a proven track record, a reformer extra-ordinaire and a dedicated hand, this is another opportunity to make a point. And the point he needs to make is not entirely a new one. It is the same point he has made over and over again during the span of his career which is excelling in whatever assignment he was given. For a man who has shown extra-ordinary courage and commitment, the time is now to hit the ground running and return the customs to the enviable level for which it is known. To say the Customs Service has become somewhat of an epitome of corruption may perhaps be an understatement.
The appointment of Dikko Abdullahi Inde as the new Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service could not have come at a better time. Dikko succeed Bernard Shaw Nwadialo whose tenure was as brief as his predecessor Hamman Kojoli Ahmed’s. Dikko becomes the third Comptroller-General of Customs that Yar’Adua would be appointing. The reputation of the Customs as a professional body has been eclipsed by mounting allegations of indiscriminate approval of duty waivers and concession which have become regular crimes of customs bosses and their subordinates.
Now in the driver’s seat, Dikko has an opportunity to turn things around and I bet the task will not be easy. But his experience in the service and brilliant academic laurels and training stand him in good stead. His grasp of the intrigues and other parochial loyalties that plaque the Service are no strangers to him. For Dikko, his job is cut to order and it might suffice for me to catalogue them here. The shopping list is long but I will keep it short.
You must sanitize the system and flush out all officers who have pending cases of corrupt practices against them. Appropriate disciplinary action must be taken against anyone found guilty. You must put them on notice right from the start that the era of Business as Usual is over and that a new sheriff is in town. You must silently seek out the dedicated, committed and trusted hands within the service with which you can unleash the kind of progressive changes urgently desired. Let me remind you, to succeed, you will have to step on a few toes, not just of your enemies and friends, but your juniors and some of your contemporaries. No leader succeeds without stepping on toes.
You must commit to fighting the 60:40-syndrome between customs officers and clearing agents. The two parties use this formula to share the proceeds of deals in the goods clearing process thus depriving the government of substantial revenue. The revenue generated by the Customs under your watch must increase as you confront corruption within the rank and file. The Nigerian economy badly needs the revenue generated by the Customs and you can again place the Customs service on the platform of an economic driver for Nigeria.
A myriad of problems have denied the service its medal of excellence. The demotion of some officers in the past, the non promotion of most of the staff of the service for over eight years. Also salaries of staff have not been reviewed thus making some officers at the borders to accept bribes and allow contraband goods into the country. You will need to look into this and work out a mechanism to deal with them. The general welfare of your men is critical to your success and you must ensure that they are taken care of.
In a country where selfless service is scarce and sincere patriotism is in short supply, it is impossible to bring about change. But when a few good hands are take charge and a few good men are in placed in authority, there is a new hope that things will improve. The likes of Dikko give us hope that Nigeria will yet see a new day. That our critical institutions like the Customs Service will live up to its billing and serve as an economic power house.
You must know that the challenges before you are enormous but surmountable. The difference between you and your predecessors is glaring in the fact that for the first time, an experienced and committed officer of the Customs has been appointed, and you are hopefully expected to serve out a full tenure. Nothing could have captured it better than this quote I saw recently “Dikko is also coming to the Comptroller-General’s office with an enviable reputation, acquired through his handling of a series of difficult situations that could compromise anyone but he stayed aloof and ensured that government was not shortchanged. Dikko has also traversed the entire gamut of the customs in his enviable career there, knowing the service inside out. This reputation has earned him rapid promotions which put him in the eye of the storm with some colleagues and other observers of the service”.
You bear a great burden to prove critics wrong and have a great opportunity to demonstrate the sterner stuff ambition is made of.
So over to you Dikko. The die is cast and you must not disappoint. You have in your hands the opportunity to make a difference. Nigeria n needs men like you to help move forward a progressive agenda. The Customs under watch can be one of the frontiers of good government. Wait. Did I tell you that their will be detractors and so much filth and stones will be thrown at you? Do not waiver. It is in our tradition. Final advice-keep your eyes at the tip of the spear.
Sunday Dare , writes from Abuja.
