Over the years our consumption rate has tremendously increased yet our capacity to be self reliant has dwindled. It wouldn’t be over-flogging the issue to say Nigeria is endowed with adequate amount of natural resources to make us more than comfortable.
The discovery of oil led us to abandon all our products and that marked the road to our retrogression.
Malaysia that was at Par with us in palm oil production is now one of the major producers in the world. Indonesia which used to be in the same class with Nigeria with regards to performance and policy during and shortly after the oil boom has progressed to another class. The question that many have asked repeatedly is what went wrong? The first television station in Tropical Africa was built with the cocoa proceeds in the western part of the country. What happened to the palm oil fields in the east and the rubber plantation in the middle belt? Most of the inherited institution of ours has collapsed.
With the current partial border closure against smuggling of rice and others, it will enable Nigerians retrace our past glories.
It is often said that out of 200 smuggling engagements into the country, an estimated 100 are through the seme axis in Badagry west of Lagos State. The majority of the illegal activities are perpetrated by travelers on the Abidjan –Lagos corridor. Undoubtedly, these unapproved practices and trans- border banditary undermines Nigeria’s national security, its external relations and growing national economy, The borders to our ECOWAS member-states have been described as porous, giving way to all sorts of trans-border crimes such as smuggling of contraband items, drug-trafficking and trafficking in human, armed robbery, money laundry and illicit arms trafficking e.t.c
The Nigeria customs service, seme command, presently under the leadership of deputy comptroller of customs who is no other than CHEDI, WADA DALHA. He has lived his dream and has experienced a variety of cultures all around the country and beyond because of the nature of his job. He has reached the higher level of his career in the Nigeria Customs Service.
Working as a trained customs officer and calmly overcoming the temptation and dangerous situations in the cause of discharging his civic responsibilities Chedi (DC) is a proven leader and all his years as a customs officer he has not been found wanting by his superiors.
Not all can be a leader because they are selected on a high scale of academic and personal achievements. Really a customs command of seme calibre is like a fortune and anybody qualified enough to head a busy command must be smart and responsible.
There are not too many rooms for mistakes. The Nigeria Customs, Seme is the busiest customs command at our national boundaries with other nations of Africa. For the officers of the command. Devils have just one name smuggling. As a leader of customs in the Area command, you either fight or fall with smugglers.
Seme border is the international gateway into Lagos-Nigeria’s economic headquarters. Then it borders Benin, a west African neighbor which has for years now become a major port for goods meant for Nigerian markets, until the partial border closure against import and export of general goods late last year through all the land borders in Nigeria.
The features had since imposed Seme as the busiest land border in the country and this status comes with a huge price. Like bee to honey, the trade-pushed economy of the Area attracts the attention of a sea of lives and torturous vehicular traffic. In the melee, confusion and crime had also sneaked in to stay. And the security Agencies operating in Seme Area Command, the border environment have continued to do their job to the best of their abilities but with great pain.
The acting controller for the Area, Deputy Comptroller, Chedi, w.w has since assumption of office forged a fruitful alliance with other Agencies including the military, The police and the host communities to make the border environment too tough for the dare-devil smugglers and their Agents to operate. The Area Controller believes his strategy is capable of reducing trade crime through the Area to the barest. Results are there to prove the credibility of the officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service- Seme Command. The present enforcement unit of the command is defying the smugglers antics through seizures of even small quantities of contraband goods or items from persons coming into the country. This relentless drive has presently made the command unpopular among many Trans-Border travelers and traders.
The Nigeria customs service, seme command has presently set in motion a system that makes the fight against economic saboteurs more inclusive by meeting with traditional rulers.
Community chiefs, youth leaders, sister government Agencies, organizations and critical stakeholders in the border project, with these, smugglers in no distant time will have no hiding place as it is a continuos assignment, the acting controller enthused.
The Nigeria Custom Service , Seme command is set to engrave its name in gold in the annals of Nigerian history.
The border command has not been calm ever as it’s the case today. It has been focused to undertaking the core functions of Nigeria Customs Service with strict compliance in the area of revenue collection on best customs business processes and procedure.
By Kalu Okpo[pmw-magazine]