Alhaji Babatunde Mukaila is the immediate past National Secretary of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA. He was recently recalled to assume the new role of Sole Administrator of the association; leading to the election of new executives. In this no-holds-barred interview with Oluyinka Onigbinde, he opens up on the real issues.
What is your greatest achievement during your tenure as the National Secretary of ANLCA?
The most important achievement I would say, personally was the fact that I was able to superintend the secretariat and have it running and open till the very last day of my handing over. I believe that is the core mandate of my campaign when I asked for this office. I promised to digitalize the office and I think I did that, to an extent. But most importantly, I kept this place running for almost 60 months without a closure; with the exception of the intermittent crisis management and the closure that came with those few times.
People have often described you as the powerhouse and one of the most intelligent National Secretaries the association has ever had. How will you react to this appraisal?
I’m flattered. What is most important to me is that I came to do the job well-prepared and I think my passion for the job has really shown that I came to do the job. While I feel so flattered and I thank those that have been saying that, I believe the most important thing is that I try to follow the rules and I try to gather data for the association; for the betterment of whoever is coming after me. The job is a job that anybody can do, if you put your mind to it. I didn’t do anything extraordinary here. Most importantly too is because I have a good team that gave me the latitude to run with what I want to do here for the association.
Talking about a good team, what are your thoughts on the leadership style and qualities of the last acting National President in the person of Kayode Farinto?
Before I talk of Dr Farinto, I would like to talk about Chief Tony Nwabunike. It is very annoying that Tony is the best president. ANLCA never had the opportunity to harness his potential and what he brought to table because of the crisis that emanated. The most important thing is, I am bold enough to say, ANLCA might never have the opportunity to have the kind of team we had because of the crisis that happened. It’s going to be a little bit difficult for ANLCA to assemble that custodial team; irrespective of our differences and weaknesses. I give it to Tony, he managed the crisis. He was a peace-loving person even with all the glaring aspects of danger to his life until he became unbearable. He still soldiered on looking forward to ANLCA with a prosperous future. Give it to Farinto; everybody knows Farinto is a brand, he is a brand that needs not to be talked about. Is it Hajia Bola Muse that can unlock any door? She’s a ceiling-breaker. Is it Joe Sanni before the crisis? Joe Sanni on a good day is the best PRO this association will ever have wished for, because (give it to him), he does his job. He writes well, he takes proper care of reporters. Who again? Or is it Dennis Okuma, my assistant? He’s a powerhouse. He has the knowledge. He has the experience. He’s an association man to the core and he commands respect generally in the Eastern Zone. Is it Oforbike? Oforbike is the first and the only licensed Customs agent that was given a medal of honor by Nigeria Customs Service for being a compliant agent. He was given a honor with money attached to it. He has never been found wanting as a declarant and a former CG of Customs (Dikko Inde) looked at it and said “look, we need to take this as a yardstick” and he was invited and was given a honor. He was part of this team. Who else? Is it Alhaji Bayo Oyekogun a Zonal Secretary? Or the professor that is a Zonal Secretary in the Eastern Zone? So we have the best hand and then this happens. So you can never wish for less. Everybody contributed and played their role.
Can you tell us the reason behind your decision to take the position of the Sole Administrator of the association, and how you’ve managed the controversies that have come along with it?
There are no controversies. I felt I should be on my way to rest, and then I saw that it is not over until it is over. You know, it was a reappointment. At the first attempt, I felt it is of no necessity, and we don’t need it. Then we came back and the board took over and because I’m so passionate about giving ANLCA a new rebirth and giving ANLCA the space to breathe and I also saw that I still have something to offer to make this NECOM election go through, as planned. I looked around and I saw that most has to do with what I can offer within this August for this election to happen. I took the position because I believe we need to give ANLCA an opportunity to breathe. And I think I have something to contribute in these few days or weeks that I’m going to be here. And that is what informed the reason I took this offer and for us to go through the process of election and let’s have a new substantive president.
You and Dr Farinto have been in the forefront in the crisis when it started but in recent time, we discovered that you were missing in action in some of the campaigns of Mr. Farinto, There are speculations that you and him have fallen adrift. How will you react to this?
Thank you very much for this question. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to react. I am the National Secretary of ANLCA. The election protocol portends and suggests that every aspirant will need to come to the secretariat to do one thing or the other towards the documentation of their candidacy before ASECO. And I view that with all sense of dignity and respect that my office portends; that this place should be opened and everyone that wants to do registration will come through my office. Dr. Farinto, who has been my immediate boss, is running. And every Dick and Harry that is running has to come here for documentation, so how do you explain it if I start jumping around with Farinto on his campaign trail? Do I leave this place closed on the day I want to follow him to the campaign ground? And probably his opposition steps in here and asks for the National Secretary and he is told I went for campaign with a candidate? So my office comes with a whole lot of responsibility and that has guided my principle the way I handle things for ANLCA for the past five years and that is what is holding me back. If a member of ANLCA is my immediate boss, anybody should campaign for him. But unfortunately I have an office that does not give me that latitude to be at the forefront of campaigning for anybody. It is like if somebody in ASECO steps out to run for an office and then the ASECO chairman is campaigning for an aspirant. How do you explain it? So that is what informed that. I hope I have been able to lay that to rest for everybody, especially all these political jobbers who want to insinuate. It’s normal.
There are also insinuations it is probably because the acting president does not support the person you have wished to become the Treasurer of the association, because he has his own candidate for that position. How true is it?
Who is my candidate for secretary? Who is my candidate for PRO? So these are all insinuations. It is allowed in politics. I have been an ASECO chairman, so most of these things don’t really bug me. I have told you that my position does not give me that latitude to say that, this is my candidate for treasurer or this is not my candidate for treasurer; everybody is a member of ANLCA. Today you saw a man running for treasurer in my office and also today you saw Hajia Bola Muse saying “Hi” to me. So if I have candidates, then I should lock my door to the other man that came today? In fact, that explains the predicament of my position. He came in here to normalize some registration in your presence. Should I lock my door and say he is not my candidate? So I don’t have a candidate. What is important is to let the best candidate emerge.
With the intervention of the Customs Consultative Council, how will you describe the current state of ANLCA?
ANLCA has been given a lifeline with this Customs Consultative Council (CCC) intervention. The mutual suspicion about all those interventionists over time, I believe this CCC comes with a lot of clout and integrity and capacity to say things and they believe as a group of people who have seen it all. They are very much genuine to seek a resting and a perfect peace for ANLCA. So I believe in what they are doing. I believe in what they are saying and I believe they have listening ears and I know they are genuine. I have 100 percent belief that this is the last bus stop for the ANLCA crisis and I think we will soon finish the cross line.
What are your regrets?
My regret in the last five years is that this is not the kind of ANLCA we labored for. In the last 12 years, I’ve given my time to ANLCA; trying to build. I’ve worked with Prince Shittu building ANLCA. It’s a thing of joy that many power brokers that left ANLCA over time decided to come back. People like Denca and Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha saw the light that this must be a reputable organization to join. It came in around 2014. The association was doing well, we were building data, putting everything in place, so transparent and predictable. People like Segun Oduntan came to run the office. Many agents and custom brokers that are doing well on their own, but that have been sitting on the fence came in and then this happened. So it’s a big regret that in the last five years, most of the grounds we have covered were lost. ANLCA was at the precipice of being proscribed or just went under before the new rays of light. So it’s regrettable, but as a human being and a Muslim, I believe there is nothing that has happened without the consent of the Almighty God. And I believe God is now ready to take ANLCA back to its glory.
What are the key qualities that you think your successors should possess?
Yeah, he should have passion for the job. That’s all. If you want to be the secretary, please do your ‘secretaryship’ well. Like this former Minister of information once said – you want to be a director, direct well. If you want to be president, be presidential and do it well. My successor should just come with passion to succeed here and to add value, that’s all. Without passion, the office is very demanding. My style of doing things might not be the best, but whoever is coming with their own style, should just know that this office demands passion. You should like what you do and do what you like to put the association forward. That is it.
What kind of ANLCA will you wish for under the new administration?
I want to see ANLCA where nothing is personalized. I want to see ANLCA where there is a fast-paced, moving departmental headquarters. I want to see ANLCA where you don’t need to see the president before the office runs, where the corporate members have free access to the benefit of their membership. I would like to see ANLCA where it is self-serving; self-serving in the sense that the account department should run and the training department should run. We really came in with a whole lot of ideas. We have a library. ANLCA should be where any fledging company comes to look for technocrats, where you come to look for delivery clerks. We should be an institution by now where everybody that wants to practice custom brokerage reckons with. So I want to see ANLCA that knows that it’s not about individuality. It’s not about a person. I want to see ANLCA where it is no more about factions.
The constitution says the Board of Trustees should meet three times in a year. The constitution equally stipulates that NEC should be held twice in a year. The constitution even stipulates that any board member that missed the three consecutive yearly meetings should be removed. So it’s not about these organs fighting and creating confusion. It’s about an association that should be self-running and that the people that hold office in trust shouldn’t see themselves as the association. The association should be separate from office holders. The association we want to see is the one that is running properly without somebody saying “don’t you know me, I’m the National Secretary, and without me this place is not open”. No, the office should remain open. ANLCA should be able to get involved with data formulation in this country. It shouldn’t be about anybody. It should be that there is a correspondence and the ICT department is working on it. It should be an organization where the department that talks about foreign policy is working on it. It shouldn’t be an organization where everything revolves around the elected people. It should be an office where there are paid staff, departments, where you can talk about research and technology. And I’m sure with this new rebirth that we are hoping for, ANLCA is ready to go places.
Lastly on this, you made mention of ANLCA where issues of personal interest will not be the order of the day. Was there any point in time where you sacrificed your personal ambition for the peace of ANLCA?
Yes, severally. I’ve just told you we started as eight NECOM members resident in Lagos. At the time we were bracing the tape, we were three: myself, Farinto and Hajia Bola Muse. That is a sacrifice. If we have abandoned this place, I’m sure today we will not have an office that is this clean and so conducive. That came with a lot of sacrifice. For five years, most of the chapter refused to pay a dime, which is against the constitution. How do we now run this place? But because I have a commitment and I’ve taken a pledge that this place will remain open. It came with a lot of financial sacrifice on my part. Besides the financial, it came with a lot of investment of my time; both financially and morally, and what I cannot even quantify. Anything that is worth doing well should be done properly. I take solace in that and I think whatever I think I’ve contributed is not lost. At the end of the day, this is the same ANLCA that is coming back together. I thank almighty Allah that we are able to continue down the road, hoping that a day like this will come, where the warring faction will sit at the table and that has happened with the CCC intervention. So whatever be the sacrifice, my regret, I think I just want to follow it through, to see that a new administration comes to place and then ANLCA continues.
Many have believed you will probably be a unifier between the two factions if you had actually gone for the position of the president. Did you at any time consider that and you just decided to let your immediate boss have his way?
It never crossed my mind to run now, because I’ve done the personal sacrifice that I think I need a time out for anybody to come on board. I’ve told you, besides when this place is locked down, either because of police intervention, I have to register to prove it. I’ve made sure I step my foot here because that is the promise. That is what kept ANLCA up to date. So I believe I’ve had some time and I believe I need a time out. I need somebody else to come and do it. Now that I’ve been able (let me borrow your word) to unify. That is what informed my acceptance of the Sole administratorship. Maybe if I do that, I’ll be able to bring everybody back to the table and let’s do this election. Let a winner emerge and let the runner-up embrace the winner. I see myself in that light and it’s the most important reason I think let me come in and see what I can do, because the divide that we’ve been able to close with CCC, I saw a situation where it was about opening again and I felt, let me see if I can come in, stop the downward trend again and then we can move forward again.
