Customs: Big Task For Baba Musa

 

By Bayo Bernard

At last the hammer has fallen on Comptroller Bashar Yusuf from Abuja, headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS where Colonel Hameed Ali (retd) is the chief presiding officer. The magazine had predicted towards the end of last year that CGC Ali will redeploy his beloved controller from Tin can, in its November edition titled ‘Ali Men Head for Showdown.”

Therefore, from January 29, 2018 Comptroller Bashar, credited with modest success as the officer  in charge of the Tin Can Island command of the NCS, due to the Information Technology he introduce in revenue collection , seized to hold his position. For the whole time the bulky customs officer served, the revenue profile of the command rose up sharply.

The success in revenue collection was however not enough to save him from redeployment back to Abuja where he’s to continue serving his country. In his stead is Muhammed Baba Musa who took over baton of command last week. While the competence of the new controller is not in doubt, the big task before him, stakeholders say is to improve on the record left by his predecessor, particularly in the area of revenue generation.

Baba Muda knows that he cannot be slack in this area because his success will be measured by it, as he fully raked over the command in the next few months or probably a year. For instance, his predecessor introduced some innovations into the revenue collection of the command, resulting in the collection of over N280 billion in 2017. The figure represents over 25 per cent of the over one billion generated last year by the all customs formation across the country.

Stakeholders will also be watching whether he will be able to breed down on the command’s enforcement unit, to produce, and probably beat last years’ results which peaked when eagle eyed men and officers of the command stopped the importation of over 1500 automatic rifles into the country.

To say the new controller understands that all eyes are now on him to perform is, in fact an understatement.  While taking over from Bashar, last week, Controller Baba Musa disclosed that he will build on the foundation laid by his predecessor.

Baba-Musa has appealed to  the Officers and men of the Command to buckle up as he’s prepared to build on the ”legacies  of his predecessor on all its ramifications.” But the task ahead cannot be left to officers and men alone, he said, we will need the ”support of all stakeholders in the tasks ahead,” he further disclosed at the handing over ceremony.

The industry will be watching closely how Comptroller Baba-Musa turns things around at the command in the next few months.