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| Customs Comptroller General; Alhaji Dikko Abdulahi Inde |
Listening to the Customs Comptroller General; Alhaji
Dikko Abdulahi Inde speak last week during his tour of commands and the various
meetings with stakeholders’ in Lagos, reminds me of a victorious Emperor , who is desirous of more empires or
captives .
In a bold reference to the eventual take-over of
Destination Inspection scheme from the service providers, Dikko declared that
he was taking the ‘war’ to yet another territory. Hear him- "Having fought
the service providers, it is time to fight concessionaires and shipping
companies"! "We should not allow people come into Nigeria with a
briefcase and go back with a bus full of our money”.
Not done yet, he added, before a good assembly of
stakeholders who had gathered at the Apapa Customs command that: "We
cannot fight them individually, but we can fight them collectively, and it is
only when we have the vision and the mission, the way we fought the service
providers and chase them out is the same way we are going to chase everybody
that is not working to our taste"!
At the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone 'A’ in
Ikeja also last week, Dikko alleged that out of the 21 scanners that were inherited
from service providers, only few of are functioning.
According to him, the erstwhile service providers
were grossly incompetent and deceitful. “We discovered that the scanners are
actually obsolete as at today, they are not scanners that will deliver the
vision of the Comptroller General!
"The CGC has already drawn a five-year plan
where 50 scanners will be supplied, the plan is already ongoing and the
scanners are highly advanced scanners", he promised.
Candidly, Alhaji Dikko Abdukahi Inde should tread softly and be ‘magnanimous in victory’
Candidly, Alhaji Dikko Abdukahi Inde should tread softly and be ‘magnanimous in victory’
When the CG of Customs talks like he did last week,
he might advertently be peeling banana for himself. The banana peel could cause
his fall.
Rather than suddenly realising that he could deal with
the terminal operators, shipping companies and other perceived erring co-travelers,
I think the Customs boss should realise that he will need more friends now than
before, to ensure that PAAR and indeed that Customs taking over destination
inspection from sulking service providers succeeds.
Good enough, he also acknowledged in one of his
meetings with officers in Lagos that, it is the success that the Service is
able to make of the new assignment that would determine whether or not the new
Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) will be signed into Law by the
President.
Rather than crucify the service providers for doing
a shoddy job, for not wanting to hand over and for leaving behind obsolete
scanners, the CG of Customs should hit the ground running.
Rather than vow to deal with shipping companies and terminal
operators for not working in the interest of Nigeria and its people, the
Customs boss should stop looking for more enemies.
It appears to me like he does not realise that he
needs the cooperation of these stakeholders now more than before, not only to
make a success of PAAR and what it represents.
Most importantly, he needs them to get the CEMA to
become a law.
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