By Stephen Ubanna
Not may are surprised at what Comptroller Bello Ahmadou Shuaibu s doing at Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, North Western Nigeria. Described as a pace setter in Customs circles because of his antecedents at tOgun II, Command, Abeokuta and Ogun I, Command, Idiroko, where he had introduced some changes that was said to have made the officers and men of the two Commands to be happy, as he was said to have introduced similar changes in FOU, Zone B, Kaduna.
He may not have allowed his enforcement drive to contain the activities of VIP and other categories of smugglers including those of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol in in the Border Communities in the north western states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, and north central states of Niger, and Kwara, where the Command’s almost 30 Patrol Teams are doing good work by ensuring that the right thing is done. He was said to have moved a step further to give the Command’s office complex a facelift. This is evident by the ongoging work in the premises.
Hameed Ali, a retired Army Colonel and former Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Services, NCS, who had been replaced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was an ex- governor of Lagos state with Bashir Adewale Adeniyi , MFR, a career officer, was said to have awarded a multi-million contract for the renovation and remodeling of the FOUC Zone B, Kaduna, office complex.
While the Contractors handling other Customs Commands’ projects, including FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, are doing a good job, the contractor handling that of FOU, Zone B, project, appears to be seriousness as he was said to have abandoned the project mid-way. The lack of seriousness on the part of the contractor may not be unconnected to lack of effective supervision of the project by the previous Area Controller of the Command.
Informed sources told the Value News that the Contractor had actually mobilized on site and started work as some of the office complex doors have been changed but that was how far he could go. Compt. Shuaibu, may have seen it as a challenge when he assumed office at the Command last February that he was said to have looked for the address of the Contractor and got it.
The location of the Contractor’s office in Kaduna, may have encouraged him to take up the matter with the Customs Headquarters which was said to have moved in to ensure that the project was completed instead of being abandoned as is the case with many Nigerian Contractors.
A visitor to the Command office complex would be surprised at the level of work on- going in the Command without any stoppage on a daily basis. Most of the office doors have been changed and the offices re,painted according to an insider. There are indications that cartons of tiles have purchased and heaped at the entrance to the staircase in readiness to change the old tiles used in the office. The source confirmed that the are currently been removed. The contractor was said to have started beautifying offices. The Customs Comptroller may have taken then the renovation of the FOU, Zone Command very serious because he believes that a well-maintained office will make the officers to be more efficient in the discharge of their duties.
As an innovator, who appears to be acting out the Customs Comptroller General, the Customs Comptroller was said to have renovated the Command’s Quarter Guard and provided a Canteen, where the officers eat at food at subsidized prices. Perhaps one thing for the FOU, Zone B, Area Controller was the decentralization of the Command’S monthly Parade.
Given the high level of insecurity in the security and in the north western and north cetral geopolitical regions where the Bandits Group are currently operating and to avoid endangering the lives of the officers who might want to attend the Command Parade, from their location, may have informed why Compt. Shuaibu, who, many believes cares for the lives of the officers and men of the Command, to have asked the Patrol Team Leaders to hold the monthly Parade in their various Locations and pass all decisions from his office to their team mmbers and ensure proper supervision all decisions are properly carried out without compromise.
This may have informed why the Command have not lost any officer to the Bandits Group turned smugglers who often lay ambush security agencies Operatives personnel including Customs Operatives. In the same vein, the Customs Patrol Team Leaders who are acting out a script of the FOU, Zone B, Customs Controller, were said to have avoided anything that would make them come into confrontation with the smugglers that may result in the loss of life as they have continued to make Contraband seizures including the Asian Country of Thailand and Indian Agricultural par boiled rice including PMS and prohibited pharmaceutical products like Analgen products and other drugs.
Note that the Interventionist Units, base anti-smuggling Operations are on in intelligence gathering and engaging the services of informants compared to what obtains at the nation’s seaports in which Contraband or drugs are discovered and seized during physical examination of Containers. This clearly shows that anti-smuggling operations at the Land border stations and the seaports are two different ball games.
Many had expected the FOU. Zone A, Zone, Zone B, Zone C or any other Interventionist Command to win the last CG’s award for the Best Command in anti-smuggling activities. The Customs Authorities may have lumped both the Commands at the seaports and the Land the land border stations in selecting the best anti-smuggling Command s and the runners-up.
This may have informed why Port Harcourt, Area II, Command, Onne, which have been making Spectacular arms and ammunition seizures including banned pharmaceutical products and drugs to be declared the best Command in in anti-smuggling services while FOU, Zone A, becomes the first runner up and Tin can Island Command under the close watch of Compt. Dera Nnadi, which had made some weapons seizure to be the second runner up, leaving out the real interventionistCommands.
In spite of the fact that the Customs Comptroller General, did not give any of the Interventionist Commands Special recognition but that may not have stopped the Commands patrol team officers from carrying out their anti-smuggling Operations to ensure that nothing enters or leaves the country.
From FOU, Ogun, Oyo, Cross-river, Akwa Ibom, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi Katsina to Borno, the story is the same: the Interventionist Units are doing their work based on intelligence and engaging the services of informants.
