Barrister Fanu Lasisi is the Chairman of Seme Chapter of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA). In this interview, he talked about border operations. He told our correspondent; Roland Ekama how licensed customs agents have been faring since the rise in the value of Cfa and Dollar against Naira. He also talked about the drop in vehicles in transit from Benin Republic to Nigeria
How has the significant reduction in importation of vehicles into the country through the land border affected your job as clearing agent in this axis?
The recession we have in the country is affecting everyone and the increase in value of dollars is affecting everybody. As we have reduction in the movement of vehicles from Cotonou to Seme, so also it affects Lagos ports. It is the same policy, same problem. So, as it is affecting Lagos, so also it is affecting us. It is a period when we have to pay some price to get things back to normal.
How do you cope with the situation?
How do they cope in Lagos? It is the same thing. Like my president (Prince Olayiwola Shittu) said some time ago, he said if you used to buy 10 cloths before, you need to reduce it to one or zero so that you can be able to manage until we go back. So, it is affecting everybody.
What have you been able to do in your capacity as the chairman of ANCLA in this chapter in conjunction with the Customs to cushion the effect of the situation on your members at the chapter?
We don't have anything special to do, what is happening is because of the situation in the country. Customs has no magic to collect revenue from what is not there, they can only collect revenue from what is on ground that the importer has been able to purchase and the agent has to clear. The customs and everybody are all in the period of change; we must adhere to the system now and make sure life continues till things get back to normal. It is affecting every aspect of life; car sellers don't make much sales because there is no money to buy cars like before.
How do you cope with your members who may not be able to weather the storm at this time even as some may partially have to be living on you?
It is a matter of telling them you don't have when you don't have or if you have been giving out N1 before, you divide it into four places because you just have to carry everybody along. It is really not that easy, but with the grace of God, we have been living together in cordial relationship with all the members.
Have you recorded any increase in membership of ANLCA in this chapter since you became the chairman a couple of months ago?
Yes, we have new licences coming up.
What is the strength of membership of ANLCA in this chapter?
We have about 778 members according to the biometric carried out. My company, NYBO limited has about eight members, so also other companies. We have not less than about 340 companies here. Now, if each company has five persons, multiply it and there is no company that has less than three persons. So, we have close to a thousand members at Seme here.
How do you run the association since it is not everyone that will be able to pay membership due in the face of this recession?
We tax ourselves; you have to give me something. If you have something, you give me little so that we will be able to give to those who don't have.
How do you remit to the national headquarters?
The national themselves are being affected; they know that there is recession everywhere. That is why sometimes when you go to the national secretariat, they won't have diesel to power the generator; that is, if there is no power supply. We are in the era of doing what you can afford.
What is your take on the issue of checkpoints because we heard that Customs officers have returned to the checkpoints?
We talked about it and our controller mentioned it too, he said that it is not all the checkpoints on the road that stop all vehicles, there are some of them that just stand by and do stop and check when the need arises. We have two official checkpoints which are Gbaji and Agbara; every other one is patrol but you know that some patrol will stand on the way and stop vehicles whereas they are for stop and check when need arises. However, they are not posing problems for us.
How true is it that vehicles coming from neighbouring countries pay double taxes?
That is true, but it is not double taxation because what they pay there is transit fee, it used to be about 500cfa, but I learnt they have reduced it to 350cfa or 320cfa now. You don't pay duty there and also pay here; all they pay is a token there as a transit fee signifying that the car is not going to be used in the country and that it is being taken out. It is where you want to use the car that you pay the duty at the point of entry.
There have been allegations that there is a divided camp among the different tribes in the association at this chapter; what have you done to correct this?
That is wrong information. I easily get angry with something, people don't know what is happening and they say something is happening. If you check this secretariat, the administration secretary we had here during the time of the previous administration is still the same person there. We have a Yoruba man, Hausa man here, we have the South South among the task force, so where is the division among us? Division was in those days, it was before the commencement of the last regime when some people were denied their rights and at the end of the day, we agreed and the vacant positions were given to them. The last Omaja tenure where I served as the secretary was beautiful and this one too, no problem, we are good.
How do you combine the task of your new office with your personal job of clearing?
They cannot rub off on each other; I have my staff in NYBO Limited in my office. They never overlap each other. If I have my official work to do, I am in my office and if I have association work to do, I stop over to do it. Sometimes I give instructions to my staff on what to do and how to do some jobs for me and anyone that has a follow-up, I do the follow-up from here.
What is your leadership agenda?
We have arranged this before and people came to talk to them and in this era of recession, the little we can do we will do. We will do training, we did one in the past and we are planning to do a leadership training very soon. In one of our meetings, we are going to discuss about it and arrange for it. We have a lot of plans to carry out.
Do you have a second term agenda?
You cannot talk of second term agenda when we still have two years to go.
Would you like to come back for second term?
God has position, if it is God's wish for the second term to come, it will be yours to do and if it is not God's wish, it won't be possible.
But as a human being that God has given the power of choice, would you choose to come back?
Me as a human being, I rely solely on God. I am an MD in my own office and as the MD/CEO of NYBO Limited, I have been in leadership not today and not when I became the chairman in January this year, no. So, it is good to be a leader when you know what you are doing. As a leader as well, it is the people that determine whether you will go again. Sometimes when you don't feel like, they will urge you to go. But to be talking about second term now is far too early as far as I am concerned, but if it is destined by God. I now my predecessors did twice, nobody has done once.
What are your challenges so far?
We have no challenges. The challenge is that we are here to serve the people. Everything is working on fine. Some of the tasks we face here are parts of our work and not challenges, they are the things that go along with the office you are holding.
What is your perception of the Area Controller of this command?
The man is okay. The man has zero tolerance to what is not good.
In comparison to other controllers you have worked with in this command, what is your rating of him?
What you should know about human beings is that even though they hold the same office, their characters and behaviours will always be different. We may all be going to America but the route to go there will be different. Everybody has his own pattern and system. What is more important is how you land, do you land well? For me, I am a disciplined person, I discover that people are not disciplined and if you want to show that you are disciplined, you have a lot of enemies. The man is a disciplined person, whatever he wants to do, he does it. Most controllers are like that but they have ways and manners through which they go about it. Dimka is a man of integrity, no matter the crisis, he resolves it and moves on. I believe he is doing great and doing well. Though some people complain about him, but me being a disciplined person, I know he is doing well.
What is your view about the statement credited to the Minister of Agriculture, that the border is porous, and that this is aiding smuggling of rice into the country?
Seme border is not like Idiroko , Kwara, Ondo or Ibadan where you have so many bush paths. In Seme, once you are caught with a bag of rice you are a goner and there is no bush path in Seme like you have in other paths linking the country. People don't investigate things properly before the go on air, but I can say it anywhere, Seme border post is manned adequately by the security agencies and I will say kudos for that.
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