Can The Presidential Task Force Fix Customs?

Oladepo Gbolagade (Mikkol Maritime Services)
The problems of the Nigeria Customs Service are not something that can not be solved by the task force, but one thing is to constitute a task force and another is for the federal government to implement their recommendations. So everything bores down to the seriousness of the government and the motive behind setting up the task force, we have seen other task forces set up like the one on electoral reforms, but is the government implementing all their summations? After identifying the problem, the next thing is to proffer solution.

There is law in this land and likewise in the Customs Service, but in a situation whereby the law is not implemented, everyone will be doing what they want. I also want to say that there is nothing wrong with the committee or its members; I believe that they have been into the system and they know what the problems are, now that they are no more in the system, they will not be scared of anybody and will be able to suggest positive solutions to the federal government.

The membership of the task force is okay because you cannot go and hand- pick people who don’t know about Customs Service to come and do the job, it will be like bringing the Inspector General of Police to set Customs straight.

Bayo Akomolafe (Maritime Reporter)
The task force cannot do the work on ground because they are retired Comptrollers General and they contributed in one way or the other to the decay, what the government supposed to have done is to employ technocrats and experts in shipping and Customs operations to carry out the assignment.

From the time of Esther Nenadi Usmani, (former minister of state for finance) when some Customs officers were unduly positioned, we have been experiencing the problem of corruption, that is why 48 hours cargo clearance is not working, that is why ASYCUDA ++ is not working and so many other problems. What we really need is transparency and these men of the task force are not the best for the job, its like a child that was rusticated from school because of cultism, you are now calling that same person back to come and sanitize the school from cultism, that’s just it. It wont work.

Achike Molokwu (ANLCA, TCIP)

I want to thank God for the former Comptroller General who started the up grading of officers based on qualifications and from downgrading those who are not qualified, that has given Customs a facelift. So if you now see a senior customs officer, you know that yes, he is well read, that he has attended higher institution. You will be seeing somebody who can communicate well and also interprets the CEMA.

As for the task force which is headed by the former Comptroller Genera Dr Bello, we are radical action, because there are lots of units in the Customs that are not useful and which are creating bottlenecks and bringing customs management into disrepute, an example is the CIU, there is nothing like that in CEMA. We should stop duplicating functions. The task force should look into this area because that is what is really causing problems for the Customs.

Also, the federal operations unit should be given more men, the borders are porous and we have not even covered half of it. The task force should suggest moving officers form the irrelevant units and move them to federal operations.

Emmanuel Bradillo (Clearing Agent)
This is not the first committee that the government will be putting together, there had been different recommendations from different committees, but at the end of the day what do we get? Nothing. So on the issues of this task force and the Customs, our government just have to be very sincere with themselves, because so far they have not been.

However, we cannot say for sure yet what the committee is capable of doing, so I don’t want to just criticize them. I understand that they have gone round to the different commands here and there and at the end of everything; we expect them to make good recommendations that will make for improvement.

Pastor Sunday Eleri (Stakeholder)
Corruption is the number one problem that we have in this country, at inception, most of these committees and task forces will promise to make changes over one issue or the other, they do this because all eyes are on them and people are expecting so much from them. But at the end of the day, they all end up corruptly; corruption is from the top of the hierarchy. For example, we all know these men are ex-CGs of Customs who have been involved in the system before, they have been selected again by certain powers that be and they have to pay allegiance to these powers or else they will be removed.

Everybody is happy now that we are reforming Customs, but lets just relax and see what they will do, but personally I don’t think they can do anything, because there have been others like it and they all end the same way.

Babalola Aiyegbede (Maritime lawyer)
As a stakeholder and somebody that have been following the administration and management of the Customs service for over 25 years, I will agree with the government that indeed the Customs needs urgent reform, but the people that are being used for it now are not right, its like putting an old wine inside a new bottle, there should not be rotations in the system of governance and administration of government parastatals, we should try out new hands for change.

In spite of this however, if the members of this task force can be sincere with themselves and keep a straight mind, they will be able to do something, if not it will be failure twice on their part. Nigerians are really watching and they are expecting results.