By Stephen Ubanna
Not many are surprised that Ogun I, Command, of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, under the close watch of Compt. Shuaibu Ahmadou Bello, described as a workaholic in maritime circles, has partnered with Integration Palace and Tour Company to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum in Ogun, former President Olusegun Obasanjo home state.
The Customs Area Command, which may be acting out the script of Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, Customs Comptroller General and Integration Palace and Tour Company officials appears to have penetrated the ranks of students in secondary schools in the Idiroko, Ikpokia Local government, Yelwa North, Yelwa south, Imeko Afon other Local government Areas in Ogun, former President Olusegun Obasanjo home state to sensitize them on the dangers of smuggling and embrace education for brighter future.
Compt. Shuaibu had said that’’ in demonstration of its commitment to furtherance of Customs and Border Communities engagement’’, the Ogun I, Command, and Integration Palace and Tour Company agreed to organize a five-day Art Festival for Economic development and National security between Nigeria, the most populous country in the African Continent and the neigbouring Benin Republic.
An elated Compt. Shuaibu who had emphasized the benefits of the Collaboration over the years had said that the Ogun I, Command had been partnering with Bonny A. Botoku, the initiator of the programme as its own of its Corporate Social Responsibility’’ to engage the Youths to know what the mandate of the service ’’, revenue generation, anti-smuggling, trade facilitation and national security. The Customs Comptroller who sees the Platform as an avenue of creating awareness on the part of pupils and students in primary and secondary schools respectively is optimistic that it is capable of shaping their thoughts in the future to shun smuggling and engage in genuine trade.
He was said to have told participants at the 5-day event that if the youths are fully engaged to imbibe the societal ethical values of hard work, it and not seeing Customs personnel as enemies standing on their way, it will reduce youth restiveness, Banditry, smuggling and armed robbery that had been associated with the borderline Communities between Nigeria and Benin over the years.
He had said that Youths could engage in many creative arts that could make them to become self-sufficient in the future and not have the impression that it is only through smuggling that they can make ends meet. There are many of such creative arts trade skills that Youths of these borderline communities could easily engage without engaging in smuggling in smuggling activities that may endanger their lives ranging from music, performing arts, acting, visual arts, and painting.
This is in addition to crafts such as weaving, furniture-making, and jewelry-making, film –making, Television animation, visual effects, video, radio, photography and product design. Graphic design, fashion design, museums, galleries and heritage, virtual reality and extended reality among others.
Hajia Hannatu Musawa, minister of the newly created ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy and officials of the ministry were said to have also taken the campaign to Youths across the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on the need to engage on these creative arts to be relevant in the society in the future.
Bonny A. Botuku, the initiator of the programme, had said that if ‘’the society understand properly the role being played by the NCS, in the country’s economy, the people would be able to facilitate the work they are doing and create a conducive atmosphere for the officers will be able to perform their day to duty duties without any lost of life.
Giving an insider information noted that the programme is to sensitize residents of the borderline Communities and beyond, particular, the youths who abandon schools to aid and abet smugglers for their own pecuniary gains of the key functions of the service and to see Customs personnel as their friends and not enemies. Botoku, who could not hide his feelings had said that students of the secondary schools who had been invited for the event are the ones that would be the Ambassadors of the ant-smuggling war in the south west state in the future.
At the National level, the Customs Leadership was said have entered into a working agreement with their Counterpart in the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA , to promote national security and forge strong working relations . Adeniyi, the Customs Comptroller General, had told those cares to listen that ‘’the service believes in partnership’’ , stating with the collaboration with other Customs Administrations and government agencies including other organization s in the private sector, there will be a fundamental growth in the country’ economy.
Given the role of DIA , in intelligence gathering, my have informed why the Customs helmsman had expressed deeper partnership with the government security agency to enhance robust intelligence sharing , which he had said would help the two agencies to effectively address the security challenges across the borderline Communities in the north western states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, Jigawa, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo,Osun, Cross river and Akwa Ibom states.
He noted that it will further enhance the efficiency of the officers in the service anti-smuggling operations across the country. Samuel Chinda, a Vice Marshall, and Chief of Defence Intelligence , who was said to have represented Emmanuel Parker, an Army Major General and Chief of Defence Staff, who was at the meeting with the Customs Authorities where the deal was struck had described the Collaboration with the NCS, as ‘’integral to in combating border threats’’.
This may have encouraged him to assure the Customs Authorities that DIA will include the service officers in its various intelligence training programmes to further enhance the efficiency of its personnel in anti-smuggling operations.
Kashim Settima, a former governor of Borno state who incidentally is Nigeria’s Vice President, may have shocked Nigerian when he disclosed recently that 45 trucks load of maize were intercepted by security operatives while making their way to Niger and other neigbouring African countries along the Ilela axis, Araba, Damba, Sabon Gari Garu, and Kamalo, Darna Tsolawo, Tozai, Gidan Katta, Gidan Hamma and Rungumawan Gatti districts that are believed to have 32 illegal smuggling routes , between Nigeria and Niger Republic. Informed sources told The Value News that there are about 300 smugglers operating in Ilela Border Community and is 11 district Areas in Sokoto state alone.
Vice President Shettima, had said that’’ there are forces who are hell-bent in undermining the country’’, stating that this is the time ‘’to coalesce into a singular identity ‘’ to fight the hoodlums who fuel the embers of division and violence because of the current hardships in the country.
Recall that February 19, 2024, 50 trucks conveying foodstuffs out of the country to Niger Republic to sell by the merchants were intercepted by the Zamfara state Transport Agency .The Zamfara state Transport Agency which had grounded the trucks loaded with assorted grains were said to have intimated the Sokoto/Zamfara Customs Authorities about the trucks conveying the foodstuffs at Gidan Jija villa, thus given them room to move into action to block all the illegal routes used the smugglers in the state.The worry of many was that while Nigerians are hungry,
The situation in Nigeria is so bad that it could be compared to the 30 months Nigerian –Biafran war where food was served in refugee camps in Communities in the short lived Biafra Republic. This is evident going by what is happening in the north eastern state of Borno, where Ali Ndume , Senate , Majority Chief Whip, in collaboration with the Federal government through the ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, has unveiled Palliatives and the distribution of 30,436 assorted bags of local parboiled rice and maize to nine Local government areas in the state to cushion the hardships faced by the people of Borno South Senatorial district. Including foreign processed vegetable oil.
The NCS, Management was said to have also taken it upon itself to mitigate the hunger in the country and reduce the soaring prices of food items and Pharmaceutical products in the country as it announced plans to dispose off undisclosed quantity of impounded Asian countries of Thailand par boiled rice and Indian Par boiled Agricultural rice.
Angered by the hardships in the country, that has made Nigeria a subject of mockery in the comity of nations may have forced Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom and Senate President to reveal to Nigerians that all the 36 state governors have received additional N30 billion each from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, apart to tackle the food insecurity in their respective states apart from the N750.174 billion that was shared among the three tiers of government: Local, state and Fderal, in the month of January, 2024.
The hardship situation in the country may have given the Lawmakers room to probe the totality of the the N30 trn Ways and Means that was said to have been spent recklessly by former President Buhari’s Administration. The aggrieved Nigerian Senators were said to have lamented that ‘’the reckless spending of the overdraft collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the Leadership of Godwin Emefiele , largely accounted for the food and security crisis bedeviling the country at present.
The Hallowed Chamber were said to have resolved ‘’to set up an ad-hoc Committee to carry out investigation to ascertain on what and what the N30 trn Ways and Means were spent on by the immediate past government since details of such spending, were not made available to the National Assembly.
The Committee , which was said to have been constituted has been mandated to also probe the N10 trn expended on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, ABS, the North American country of the United States $2.4 billion forex transactions out of the $ 7 billion obligation made for that purpose as well as their intervention programmes.
