Customs: Seme Controller and Troublemakers

By Bayo Bernard

For seven months, Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba, controller in charge of Seme command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has worked hard, executing the mandate of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali(rtd.)to anchor peace among all stakeholders in importation business and see to it that a roburst revenue is generated into the federation account.

Ultimately, “our job is to facilitate trade and generate revenue for the federal government” Uba said on assumption of office last August.

To a large extent, the Seme Customs boss has accomplished this task, though his critics insist that he needs to do more.

Therefore, taking a few days break away from the difficult job to attend to an important family demand, Comptroller Uba reasoned within himself few weeks ago, is not too much, after all, this is in line with the aphorism that all work without play makes jack a dull boy.

For two weeks the controller has been very busy attending to senior federal government officials.

The controller has played host to the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who commended him and other officers for operational efficiency at the busiest border in the whole of West African sub-region.

Also, DCG Dahiru praised Comptroller Uba while on a working visit to the command.

But it appears the leave of absence was the opportunity needed by some mischief-makers to upset the apple’s cart around Nigeria’s important border with her West African neighbor, Benin Republic.

On April 2, some officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS and their Beninois counterparts decided to settle an old score, by using an issue that should been settled amicably to foment trouble and chaos.

They have been working together until this latest incident when argument over the implementation of protocol relating to movement of persons between the two neighbors drew a wedge between the two immigration Services.

Ordinarily, the Immigration services are not supposed to be at the exit gate of the joint border post but CG Ali allowed the personnel in order to promote inter-agency cooperation, customs sources told the magazine last week.

Apart from Immigration officials, other agencies working with the NCS at the gate include DSS and police, and clearly they have all discharged themselves creditably well, customs sources told the magazine.

But on this occasion, the two immigration services decided to throw caution to the wind, instead they engaged in shouting match “at a point the Beninois Immigration officers threatened to stop cooperating with NIS officers. In fact they were prepared to vacate the offices the two services have been sharing for months,” a source told the magazine.

It took the intervention of senior officers from various security agencies before the matter was eventually settled.

Sources privy to the incident told the magazine that senior customs officers at the command rose up to the occasion by settling the matter before it got out of hand.

As if that was not enough. The refusal by a Beninois truck driver and his agent to bribe some Nigerian policemen had led to a free for all with other truck drivers joining in the fracas to create a mob-like situation.

“It was three days of strife by the Beninois government agencies, agents and truck drivers against their Nigerian counterparts,” sources told the magazine.

Close watchers of the Seme Border said the Beninois have been looking for avenue to get back at Nigeria.

Their anger is that the President Buhari government has implemented some unfavorable policies which have reduced drastically the revenue generation of Benin Republic.

For instance the closure of the Atlas Park by CG Ali, some Beninois reasoned was targeted to stiffen their government finances.

The park used to be a transit point for trucks exiting to Nigeria from the West African neighbor before it was shut down by the CG.

How is the park a cash cow for the Benonois and its people?

The drivers who park their trucks in the park are levied by Benin officials which forms huge revenues for their government apart from the fact that the Park created job opportunities for other unskilled Beninois laborers, analysts say.

“So you can understand why there’s anger on the part of the Beninois,” Akeem Rufai, a security analyst told the magazine.

The analyst told the magazine that the Nigerian government has been under serious pressure from her West African neighbor to rescind her decision on the park.

Obviously, “the CG has refused pressures to re-open the Park because he believes that such action will be counterproductive to the effort of the federal government for a seamless movement of goods and persons along the border,” a top custom officer told the magazine.

Meanwhile, close watchers of Seme/Krake border said the situation would have turned out differently if Controller Uba had been around at the time.

According to this line of thought, Comptroller Uba has promoted inter-agency cooperation than any of his predecessors since he took the baton at the command.

“Since the controller was redeployed from FOU to Seme last year, he has busied himself engaging Benin security officials and other stakeholders in the import chain business.

This has been responsible for the peace being enjoyed at this border.

Recall that during the time of his predecessors there were frequent disagreement between NCS and their counterparts from Benin.

Also, don’t forget that the constant dispute slowed down the relocation of all the agencies to the ECOWAS building before Comptroller Uba assumed duty last year,” an agent who identified himself as a member of ANLCA said.

“Trade can only prosper in an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence among all the stakeholders.

It’s when everybody works together that the government can generate revenue.

I believe this is the mantra of Comptroller Uba and he has demonstrated this to all officers and men since he became the head of the command,” one officer close to the controller told The Source.

Peace has since returned to the border.