By Oguwike Nwachuku
I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts – AbrahamLincoln
President Muhammadu Buhari on November 1 approved the request of members of the joint border operation to extend the exercise to January 31, 2020.
The land borders between Nigeria and some Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nations have remained shut since August, with the government demanding conditions for their reopening.
The joint operation, code named Swift Operation, comprises officers from the army, navy police, Customs Service, Immigration and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
A memo signed by one Controller of Customs, Dimka V.D, on behalf of the Deputy Controller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection dated November 1 advised Customs officers that Buhari had approved the extension.
The memo highlighted the gains from the operation and reiterated that the full benefits are yet to be realised. That was what necessitated the proposal for an extension.
In approving the request of members of the Swift Operation, Dimka said, Buhari also pledged prompt payment of allowances to the personnel involved in the exercise, particularly to fuel operations vehicles.
The memo therefore counselled all sector commanders of the joint forces involved to take note of the extension and to take the operations seriously.
The Nigerian borders with some West African countries have been shut for several weeks now in what the authorities say is in the national interest.
The government said the closure has assisted in restoring sanity in the security situation in Nigeria and in enhancing local production of food items.
But many Nigerians have cried out that the closure is hurting their businesses and affecting their standard of living.
They say the closure has affected their means of survival.
Countries like Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Ghana have also raised serious concern over the border closure.
The government insists that all borders will remain shut until border countries agree with Nigeria’s terms on reopening them.
Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hamid Ali, while on a border monitoring tour in Maigatari, said border security is key to national security.
He said the borders were closed for three reasons – importation of arms and ammunition, smuggling and human trafficking.
“If neighboring countries are making income through taxation of smuggled goods to our country, we will continue to shut down our borders until they agree and sign all the protocol documents that will allow for the relaxation of the borders,” Ali said.
He said the federal government border drill policy is helping in improving the economy.
“We achieved in stopping the importation of arms, illicit foods and most importantly, the illegal exportation of petroleum products,” he stated.
In Jigawa, Ali lamented one critical factor fueling criminality at the borders – Customs officers conniving with smugglers to carry out their mission.
The involvement of Customs personnel in smuggling resonated with the people when Ali went to Cross River State in the company of the Immigration boss, Mohammed Babandele.
Ali said: “The days of illegality in the Service are over. It’s high time you committed yourselves to the service. If you cut corners, you will find yourself in jail.
“We will not only dismiss you from service, we will (also) prosecute you; that is the only way to punish the bad eggs. When you compromise, be ready to pay for it.
“Dear colleagues, times have changed and we must change accordingly. I urge you to be more dedicated in service and anything you merit will come to you.
“It is time to serve Nigeria with all our strength. I want you all to see your uniform as a great honour and a call for excellent service.”
Babandede urged immigration personnel not to sacrifice the future of the country for monetary value at their duty posts.
“Your small local activities can affect the whole country. I want to charge you all to be upright for the growth and development of the country.
“We will continue to reward hard work and efficient service delivery. I want to assure you that we are with you always,” Babandele said.
Recently, too, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said the borders would remain closed until all the threats to economic recovery – which include getting the commitment of some countries bordering Nigeria to sign to certain conditions – are met.
A few days after Emefiele spoke, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, reiterated that the federal government had given fresh conditions to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries for the reopening the borders.
Onyeama said on Monday November 4 at the end of a committee meeting held in his ministry that the borders can only be opened if conditions that would make for the reopening are met.
He noted, for example, that goods imported into Nigeria must be escorted directly from the ports of member states to the borders.
He also insisted that ECOWAS countries must respect rules of origin, as Nigeria would no longer tolerate repackaging of imported goods.
More importantly, Onyeama said goods coming into Nigeria from ECOWAS states must have 30 per cent local input or content.
Since the Swift Operation came alive, Ali has linked a lot of achievements to it.
When he appeared before the Senate and House of Representatives joint committees on Finance and National Planning, working on the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) last month, he told the members that the Customs Service has been raking in between N4.7 billion and N5.8 billion daily due to the border closure.
Ali said the border closure is nothing but a blessing to the country as the NASS summoned him to explain dwindling fortune in revenue generation by Customs.
He added: “When we closed the border, my fear was that our revenue was going to drop. To be honest, our revenue kept increasing. There was a day in September that we collected N9.2 billion in one day. It has never happened before.
“This is after the closure of the border and since then, we have maintained an average of about N4.7 billion to N5.8 billion on a daily basis which is far more than we used to collect.
“What we have discovered is that most of those cargoes that used to go to Benin (Republic) and are then smuggled into Nigeria now come to us. Now that we have closed the border they are forced to bring their goods to either Apapa or Tin Can Island and we have to collect duty on them.
“If that (border closure) would continue, to us, it is a welcome situation. Our revenue has not reduced. As a matter of fact, it is increasing as a result of the closure of the border.”
It is expected that Ali is in a position to know, but going by the NCS own statistics, in August 2018, the Customs generated N140 billion as against N115 billion generated in September 2019, a shortfall of N25 billion.
Against what Ali thinks, industry stakeholders say but for the border closure, the performance of Customs in terms of revenue generation would have gone higher since the ember months are critical to imports and revenue generation.
Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme border Chapter, Lasisi Fanu, feels the border closure has no positive impact on Customs revenue generation.
Fanu said: “Between when the border was closed and now, we have over 735 trucks stranded. Only a few have paid duty before the closure of the border. So the statement by the Comptroller General of Customs does not represent the true revenue figure of customs.
“This is a seasonal period. Between August, September till year end, people will travel to buy goods and Customs revenue will increase in all Customs formation. If the borders were not closed, Seme command alone can generate more than N1 billion in a month because of the season. So the closure of the border no doubt has a negative effect on Customs revenue generation because it would have been more.
“What they (Customs) generated in June should not be the same with what they are having now because this is a seasonal period with Christmas approaching. If people are aware that border would be closed, they won’t bring their goods to the border.
“Now that it is like that, they should just give us a platform where they can come and conduct physical examination and duty will be collected on the goods so that people who have them can sell them now because most of the goods are already depreciating in value.
“We are not against the border drill but genuine business should be allowed to go so that Customs can maximise their revenue collection.”
One claim by Ali which has cast doubt on the so-called gains from the border closure and given fillip to the ill-feelings of his critics that not much has been achieved is the recent parade in Lagos, of 54 containers of imported rice and other commodities, including pharmaceutical products and vegetable oil, said to worth N2.7 billion.
In what Nigerians were made to believe as a big catch and one of the gains of the Swift Operation, Ali said: “One significant finding about this seizure is that all the rice have expired or about to expire,” adding that “the rice was re-bagged as local products, though they were from China and Thailand.”
Ali had told reporters in Lagos on Tuesday October 29 that 33 containers of expired rice, 11 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical products, two containers of used tyres, four containers of refined vegetable oil in retail packs, were seized at the Tin-Can Island ports by the Customs.
But he was silent when the seizure was made.
He said in all, 54 containers comprising 15ft by 40ft and 39 by 20ft containers with a duty paid value of N2,713,865,051.00 were seized in line with the Customs & Excise Management Act (CEMA).
Ali said the importers, Masters Energy Commodities Trading Limited and others, would be investigated over the seized expired rice.
Ali added: “One significant finding of this seizure is that all the rice are expired or about to expire. Also remarkable is the seizures of Tramadol variants and unregistered performance-enhancing drugs among the pharmaceutical.
“You will recall that in the past, the service has raised the alarm and drew the attention of the general public to the fact that most of the imported rice is expired.
“Some of the rice allegedly imported from overseas had Nigerian addresses, and the service will be going after these addresses to investigate their connections to the importation of these expired rice.
“Some of the addresses include Masters Energy Commodities Trading Limited located at 31A, Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos and 103, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja. We will be going after these addresses and investigating their connections with these expired bags of rice in 33 containers.
“I want to commend officers and men of the Tin-Can Island Port Command of the NCS for a job well done. I am also aware of the command’s contribution to the Service revenue collection drive.
“Statistics in my office show the command has so far collected N286,742,551,443.00 from January 2019 till date. I, therefore, urge the Command to keep up the good work and possibly surpass its target.”
No sooner was the parade carried out and the news circulated than it emerged that the 54 containers were actually not seized within the period of border closure but in 2016 in circumstances Customs officials and the clearing agent, Messrs Destiny Impex Limited, known to Customs are very much aware of.
Despite the number of Nigerians agitating for the opening of the closed borders as continued closure hurts their business interests and livelihood, I do not think millions of Nigerians are against policies that would spike sufficiency in goods and services delivery through enhanced local production or manufacturing.
No doubt, Nigerians have shown resilience and capacity in creative thinking in virtually all areas that can guarantee self-sufficiency in the production value chain of local commodities that only circumstances would make them rely on other countries for importation.
A few instances would suffice.
In the garment/fashion sector, Nigerians have demonstrated that if we still look to Europe, America and Asia for well-tailored fabrics (wears/clothes), it must be for fun and not as a rule.
Again, the revolution Nigerians are causing in the local manufacturing of foot wears cannot be easily ignored. Anyone in doubt of the dimension of the taste, style and design of foot-wears should take a trip to Aba or Kano.
And then you talk about the beautiful adire attires from Abeokuta and the metamorphosis the once local wear has reached, then you know why we owe it to ourselves a duty to deepen the local manufacturing of the items to attract foreign exchange.
Perhaps we have been careless about the huge potentials in agriculture over the years. That is if we have an idea of the humungous benefits that can accrue from the agriculture value of chain.
Whether for employment, food sufficiency/security, exportation for foreign earnings, and more, agriculture can stand in the guard for any country with the right weather/environment, soil, discipline, mindset/attitude and government policy that desires to be, at least, self-sufficient in food production.
This is where successive Nigerian governments – federal, state and local – have failed in their responsibility, and are still failing.
The story of importation of foreign goods with the attendant buoyant smuggling of all manner of items into Nigeria is not a new one.
It has been said time and again that one of the undoing of the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria is the neglect of agriculture and other cash crops farming, as well as mining of other minerals that hitherto served as local sources of income for the country in the early years of independence in 1960.
That is why the parade of the 54 containers by Ali is important.
We may not delve into the details of the Masters Energy and Yunfei International Trading Co Limited saga (the importers) since Ali must be familiar with the details.
However, what is crucial is that our leaders must come clean in all circumstances or else their efforts would be in vain while Nigeria continues to be a laughing stock before the outside world.
It is worrisome that Ali, who goes about reeling out figures of money generated by the Customs he heads, would just believe anything his subordinates tell him and gleefully tell those he reports to without cross-checking them.
Two issues are germane here. One, the money generated by Customs in 2018 (August) that is lower than the figure generated in 2019 (September), yet Ali insists the Customs rakes in more money despite the border closure.
Secondly, the parade of 54 containers seized since 2016 which the Customs Service knows had nothing to do with the recent border closure, but because they were working with a mindset it was convenient for the leadership to deceive and hoodwink the public. Why the lie?
Ali and his core Customs team cannot be preaching change to their personnel, including threatening them with arrest and prosecution if they do the wrong things and, inadvertently, collude with the same personnel to engage in an underhand and despicable act that taints their image and that of the institution they represent more dangerously.
What is playing out with the border closure saga, despite the positive side of it, reminds one of Abraham Lincoln’s saying: “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right – stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.” Are Ali and Customs standing right as regards that 54 seized containers under examination?
We are often told that he who goes to equity must go with clean hands. I challenge Ali to say he has approached every issue about the border closure with the truth and sincerity of purpose it requires.
Unfortunately, he may not be alone in this because generally, our leaders thrive by selling dummies to their superiors which come inform of lies and half-truths. They are used to replacing truths with propaganda and getting compensated for doing so. What a shame!
I agree with Aristotle that “We do not know a truth without knowing its cause.”
Ali, therefore, cannot say he has told Nigerians all they needed to know about the 54 containers he paraded as having been seized recently, no matter how he feigns ignorance.
I leave him to think more deeply about another of Aristotle’s sayings, “The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think,” as well as Plato’s, “False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.”
Nigerians would be interested in seeing Masters Energy Commodities Trading Limited and Yunfei International Trading Co Limited with their collaborators prosecuted over acts inimical to economic growth of the country, but they also would want to be told the truth and nothing but the truth.
Failure to avail Nigerians of the whole truth in the saga would be tantamount to what former President Barack Obama of the United States once said: “Just because we have the hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.”
