By Stephen Ubanna

President Muhammadu Buhari may  find it an uphill task to convince Olusegun Obasanjo a former President and  Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General and former military President to support his re-election bid in the 2019 general election This is because of the constant attacks on the duo as having impoverished the country  and their refusal to provide  basic infrastructural facilities in the country  when  the resources was available to execute such projects  without blinking an eyelid.

Buahari, had accused the duo of  having  wasted  the enormous  foreign exchange revenue of the country during their years in office.  The aggrieved President had declared  that if the former political leaders had invested wisely on  infrastructural development  of the country, things could not have been all that too bad.  He noted that Nigeria had the money and human capital that could have turned things around in the country if they had  invested on Infrastructure.

The President may have spoken his mind about duo through Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President  at Minnesota, United States recently . Armed with official data obtained from the ministry of Finance, Osinbajo  who was rechoing the President’s voice had said  that between 190 and 1998, which falls between the period Babangida and late General Sani  ruled , the country  realised  about $200 million as against  $140.1 billion  got  between 199 and 2009 under the thenPresident Obasanjo and late Musa Yar’Adua Administrations.  Osinbajo also  disclosed  that the Jonathan Administration   generated about $381 million between 2010 and 2014 from oil sales. An angry Vice President was said to have told his listeners that  the former political leaders did not effectively utilise the funds to build on infrastructure in the country.

But political associates of Bangida in particular, may not have  found the  assessment  of the Administration by  Osinbajo funny. Mohammed Jallo, a  former  National Chairman of  the  defunct National Democratic Party, NDP, had  lambasted   Obasanjo for opening his mouth too wide to abuse Babangida nd Obasanjo , who had contributed meaningfully to the infrastructural development of the country.

He disclosed that Babangida set the stage for the infrastructural development in of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, including the building of Aso Rock, the Seat of power in Nigeria. He also cited other projects that were executed by  Administration  with the country’s oil revenue which included the third Mainland bridge in Lagos,and the Epe power plant. This is in addition to Federal Housing projects , scatered in various parts of Lagos state and the dualisation of Federal roads in the state ‘  The Babangida Administration, he disclosed was also responsible in financing the building of the Nigeria National Petroleum, NNPC,  Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,  Nigeria Development Insurance Corporation, NDIC, Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.  The aggrieved politician  further cited the multi-million  naira Shiroro, Kanji  and Gembu Dams in Niger, then military President home state. It  was also to the credit of the Administration to have built the Kaduna  Refinery and Petrochemical Company and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural  Gas plant in Bonny, Rivers state. It was not surprising why the Administration was  regarded in both official and unofficial circles as Nigeria’s ”golden era of infrastructural development”.   He was said to have challenged Buhari and Osin bajo to point at  one  project the  Administration had built in the last three  years  instead of pointing accusing fingers on past Administrations for its woes.  ”Everybody in APC wants to be a leader. They want to be President, they want to be governors, they have no plan for Nigeria and the people”, he said.

Interestingly, the same past  political and military leaders, Buhahari had described as failures in their years in office are the same people he needs their support to actualise his re-election bid in  the 2019 general election bid. He was  said  to have sent Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia state, and now Chieftain of APC, to Babangida, the former military President at his hill top country home in Minna last   September. It was learnt the politician had met with the statesman behind closed doors  to discuss the Buhari re-election project.The Abia politician who could not hide his mission of being in Niger state said he was in the state  to solicit Babangida’s support for President Buhari’s  re-election bid.  He boasted that he was convinced  of his support  in office to  Buhari in 2019  to finish his second tenure in office.

The Katsina state born  politician and President Federal Republic of Nigeria, was said to have sent another group to Obasanjo’s country home at Otta, Ogun state. The Magazine learnt that the team had entered into  the former President’s Otta home and requested to have  a closed door audience with him but was turned  down.

It was gathered that Obasanjo had asked the Buhari emissaries to disclose their mission of coming to see him before his visitors but kept quiet.  A source privy to the visit disclosed that Obasanjo left the entourage  to another  room where he had  a private political meeting with  a set of politicians  who had visited him.

Eye-witness account disclosed that  when he came out of the meeting and the Aso Rock visitors were still waiting for him , he joking asked : You have not gone, you are still around. The Buhari foot soldiers were forced to leave when it became obvious that the former President would not grant them audience.

Babangida and Obasanjo were central to Buhari’s victory in the 2015 general election and may have made up their mind  to withdraw their support from him in  2019 because of their estranged relationship.

This is evident going by the responseS of Babangida to Kalu’s plead for support for Buhari re-election bid. According to him, Babangida ‘s response to his appeals to support the incumbent President’s re-election bid was ” blue and white”.  Kanu , who was never hot of words  to say  when cornered for an interview with Journalists   volunteered ”we have discussed and he said he is thinking about it, ” stressing that” February 16, 2019  is still a long way to go” as to make any commitment to any politician.  Babangia may have tactically spoken the mind of Obasanjo  other retired military Generals when he said  ”we will continue to talk” without making a categorical statement of  going to back him up.

It would be recalled that in the 2015 general election, Buhari   had visited Obasanjo, Babangida and Theophilous Danjuma, a retired Army General and former Chief of Army Staff and  whoalso served as  former President Obasanjo’s minister of Defense to solicit for their support. He never sent any foot soldier  to these statesmen  to solicit their support. Take his visit to Babangida’s hilltop home where the duo made rib cracking jokes :” old Generals  never die”. All that jokes  appear to have gone as Buhari may not have  seen any need to solicit for their as he believes  he could win the 2019 Presidential election  without their support because of his alleged  achievements which is there for people to see.

Bukola Saraki, Senate President and and one  of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Aspirants in the 2019 general election  fears that Nigeria would be more divided than ever  if the Katsina born politician  is re-elected in   2019.  He noted that at present the country was not united under him, insisting that  what the country need now is someone who could  make everybody  feel a sense of belonging. Attahiru Bafarawa, a former governor of Sokoto state and another PDP,  Presideential Aspirant said it would be wrong for  anyone to canvass for support for Buhari Presidential ambition, with the”damaged the economy” while he watches with his economic management team.

Notwithstanding the retired  Army Generals and other political allies withdrawal of  their support to Buhari in the 2019 general election, Nuhu Rbadu, a former  Chairman  of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  who contested the 2011 Presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, said” it would in the best  interest of the country  for Buhari to win the 2019 general election. He described  the Administration ant-corruption  war  as the most difficult job to do , adding that  ”it takes a man of integrity  to make a success of it”.

But the fear that Buhari of the ruling APC may want to win the 2019 Presidential election at all costs may have sent a wrong signal to the international Community that Nigeria may disintegrate . Abdulsalami Abubakar, a retired Army General and former Head of State  shares the same view .

At a recent  maiden lecture  orgagnised  by the Staff  and Students of Abubakar  Post Graduate  Students’ Hall of University of Ibadam,  titled  ” Collaborative peace Building  in Nigeria” , the former Head of State  cautioned politicians  against disrupting 2019 general elections, saying ”we have no other country to run to should the country be engulfed on fire”.  He noted that ” no matter how good those managing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC  are, if things are  well managed as they are , it might be difficult  to have  a credible election in 2019”.

Appealing to oliticians to be  conciliatory in their relationship and utterances , he stressed  that it is the only way  to have acceptable election results in 2019.

By Stephen Ubanna

Binga Olofinyilola, a former Deputy Comptroller, Administrations,  Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone B, Kaduna , may not have done his home work well before jumping at the offer  over his  first  major deployment as a Comptroller   to take over Western Marine Command, Apapa , Lagos from Sarki-Kebbi, who took over at FOU, Zome B.

Unknown to Olofinyilola , he was coming to a Command which had been  operational tools, particular, patrol  Crafts to contain the activities of waterways smugglers in the six states in the south west geo-political region:Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun Ekiti and Ondo.

Past and Present Comptroller Generals of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, were said to have made  no effort to equip the Western and Eastern Marine Commands, the two Amphibious Commands of the Service  to effectively tackle the activities of waterways smugglers who are  equipped with sophisticated weapons for  operations .

Investigation by the Magazine shows that Premium Motor Spirits, PMS, popular petrol, which have continued to be smuggled into Republic of Benin  from Nigeria while  foreign parboiled rice and  second hand clothing are smuggled  into Nigeria  as  the Western Marine Command, WMC,  or Eastern Marine Command based in Port Harcourt, have no answer to the Water ways smugglers.

Investigation by the Magazine  shows that two Customs Amphibious  Command have insufficient operation Crafts to patrol the Coastal waters from the East or western of the nation . The situation was so bad in the south west that that the Command  could boast  only of one patrol Craft. That much was confirmed by Binga , the Comptroller.

The Magazine learnt from the onset he  had made the officers understand that he was out to learn from them.  It was gathered he did not keep his distance away from the officers  as he waas  always  in regular Consultations with them, particular, Adamu Mohammed, the Command, Deputy Comptroller, Enforcement.  The relationship between the duo, according to a source, had been very Cordial  as the Comptroller could  hardly stay  alone without Adamu by his side for one operational meeting or the other, a soruce told Magazine. This is because the Comptroller  do not want to been seen as running the Command  alone as was the case by former Comptrollers of the Command which resulted in operational failures as  waterways continue to outsmart the officers on their way to deliver their smuggled goods to their sponsors either in Nigeria or Republic of Benin.

The Magazine  learnt that the Contraband seizures that had been made  in the last one month by the Command  was not without the support of the Navy officers who mobilised their patrol boats  into the sea to give the Command officers security support. This is evident with the recent Ijofin operation in Ogun state, in which the Command , was contacted by Aliyu Mohammed, Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, to mobilise its  patrol Craafts into the sea to contain the activities petrol smugglers. Given that the Command has only one operational patrol Craft in the whole of the south west, the Navy became the alternative source of support.   With the Navy support,  the Command  was able to take over the Ijofin axis  leading to the sea and all the  locally built boats  carrying  the smuggled Jerry Cans of ”25”  petrol   were evacuated  to the Command waterfront  at the Apapa office Complex.

Eye witness account disclosed that the  locally  built boats   were loaded  with about 15,000 kegs  of 30 litres  of petro each and which had been aushered to the general public including security operatives on the advice of Mohammed, the FOU, Zone A, Comptroller and the arrowhead of the Ijofin operations. The Comptroller  had put the Duty Paid Value, DPV, of the ”30” litres keg of petrol evacuated  to the Command with the local bults at N81 million. True to his promise to his FOU, Zone A  counterpart that the boats would be destroyed after  evacuation of the kegs of petrol, it had been destroyed  with the use of labourers hired  for the job.

Many believe that without the involvement of the Navy, the Ijofin operations may have flopped as  the smugglers were well equipped to contain any Customs attack both on land and  sea to be able to smuggle the product into Republic of Benin through the Ijofin Creek.

A senior Customs officer informed the Magazine that the Ijofin operation was just one of the many operations supervised by Binga since he assumed duties about a month  ago.  Emaanuel Tangwa, an Assistant Superintendent  and the Command image maker  confirmed that barely four days in office , Adamu mobilised his patrol team officers had made massive seizures of  Cannabis, popular , India Hemp along Badagry Creeks, thus signalling a challenging mission for him in the Command. The seizures included 800 ”50” bags of Thailand parboiled rice each. There are  many Creeks in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto ,used by the Smugglers to carry out their nefarious activities , which needed to be fully expored by the WMC officers, as an Amphibious Command.

It would be recalled that Riks Lura, a Chief Superintendent of Customs and the officer and the FOU, Zone A, officer  in-charge of the Command Operations and Lagos Roving team was said to have disarmed at different times  some  rice smugglers who  had entered Oyingbo  and Ekre Creeks in Lagos and Ogun states respectively . the water ways smuggllers were said to have been  dispossessed  of Thousands bags of foreign parboiled rice of ”50” each.  The seizures were said to have b een made  early this year by the Command without the support of the officers of the WMC, the Navy or the Marine police. The  seizure was a lesson to the smugglers that the game  was up and hiding place for any category of smugglers  either by land or Creek or sea.

Maritime analysts believe that if Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, could adequately mobilise the two Amphibious  Commands of the service to police the  nation’s Coastal waters , the FOU, Zone A, operation and Lagos Roving team other teams would be freed of the troubles of extending their operations of running after smugglers in to the Creeks but  concentrate on the land to  contain their activities and force them out of the illegal business .

But Binga, the WMC,  Comptroller, has assured Nigerians  that they have no cause to worry about these waterways smugglers  as his  officers are equal to the task. He disclosed that the seizures that had been made in the Command in the recent  time at Idiroko, Yekeme and Badagry Creeks was a clear indication that the waterways smugglers are in for trouble if they do no not change their  old ways of doing business in the country,  insisting that  more ” seizures  of Contraband will be made”  between now and the tail end  of Decemeber 20, 2018.

But the anti-smuggling  situation in the far north  may not  be as rigorous in the far north as in the southern part of Nigeria. This is evident going by the call of Usma Bello, a retired Comptroller of Customs and now Kanwan Katsina III to the officers  when Oyeleke Abdullaziz, Comptroller of Kaduna/Katsina Command  called on  in his  Palace at Ketare.  The retired Customs Comptroller  could not hide his feelings when he  urged officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service  to ”double their efforts  in curtailing the  smuggling of prohibited goods, particular rice and poultry products into the country to enhance the service revenue generation. Bello noted that with  the heavy investment  in the anchor borrower scheme  for rice production  and other agricultural programs, smuggling of foreign parboiled rice from  the nation’s porous borders  must stop.

An angry Traditional ruler declared that  if smuggling of foreign parboiled rice  will be allowed  to continue, it will affect the government on Agriculture and local rice production. Bello is in a better position to advise the Customs anti-smuggling personnel  in the north and the country in general to sit up to  contain the activities of  Smugglers as an insider  who  retired as a Comptroller.  Smuggling of rice , vegetable oil and poultry products  remain a regular phenomenon in the north as the Customs personnel appears to be collaborators. Areas in the region where  Customs personnel appear to be alive to their duties, the smugglers and youths of the Communities had been very hostile to them. Take for instance the recent incident at Zamfara state in the north west geo-political region where  two officers were allegedly kidnapped at a Customs Checkpoint as others ran for their safety even with the AK 47  in their hand.  Sources told the Magazine that  the kidnappers are  demanding for millions of naira  before the officers could be released. The kidnap of the alleged two officers may have put the officers  in the north and the country in general on the red alert at their respective duty post.

pix:

1. Intercepted Local Boats loaded with smuggled Jerry Cans of Petrol
2. Usman Bello: Kanwan Katsina III: Advises Customs officer To Stop Smuggling Of Rice

By Stephen Ubanna

Worried at the rate at which importers rush to Peoples Republic  of China to import goods into the country  and the problems that are encountered by Nigeria Customs Service, NCS,  officers  at the seaports and land the land border stations with such  imports over cases of  under-declaration and Concealment may have forced, Hameed Ali , a retired Colonel and  Comptroller General  to take bull by the the bull by the horn to checkmate  the importers activities  decisively .

His insistence that officers  must have an idea of the transactions going on between importers and their Chinese suppliers before the Consignment finally gets to Nigeria ports  for clearing and delivery to the Importer’s warehouse  was  said to have encouraged the Customs Comptroller General, to approve the China trip for Aminu Dahiru, an Assistant Comptroller General in -charge of NCS, Zone A,  Lagos, Comptrollers Muhammed Uba Garba, Baba Abdullahi Musa, of Seme and Tin-can Island respectively including Adama Ptiskum, Comptroller, Customs Information Communication Technology, ICT.The premier port, Apapa and Tincan Island ports, alone handles over 70 percent of the imported cargoes into the country while  Seme is is the busiest international border route in the West African sub-region and African, in general.

The Magazine learnt that the team headed by Dahiru, the Assistant Comptroller General, had left the country about two weeks ago and had been traversing the ports and border areas in China to see things for themselves and be in a better position to deal with importers and  ensure trade facilitation in the country. The the Dahiru led team were said to have been taken to Shenzhi  Customs , where over   8,000 Contairised  cargoes, going into different countries in the world, including Nigeria and  other West Afirican countries  were processed daily  and given clearance to  be loaded into ocean going  vessels awaiting to carry  them  at the port. The trip, acccording to a Customs source, was an  eye opener to the senior Customs on the trip.

The Shenzhi Customs operational base, according to a Nigerian based importer in China  is about 52 km from Hongkong, another Asian  country, which was formerly part of China. it is not surprising why Nigerian importers rush to the two Asian countries with ease to place ordesr for supplies of goods to them without putting into consideration the country’s fiscal policy measures.

It would be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had banned the importation of 41 items into the country, including tooth paste, on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.  The ban  made the items ineligible for foreign exchange allocation . This is because of the speed at which importers who were given approval to buy foreign exchange at he official exchange rate abuse the privilege to place order for unnecessary goods which found their way to Apapa, Tincan-Island ports  and Onne ports, in particular, thus wasting  the country’s scarce foreign exchange earnings. The situation was so bad that  most of the Containers that were said to have been shipped from China and India, in particular , were found  to contain different  items as against what was declared in the importer’s  Bill of Lading.

There is no gain saying the fact that China is the biggest  destination for importers  all over the world, including European and United States importers. Indeed, different  types of cargoes ranging from   personal effects to  industrial machinery are said to be manufactured in the Asian industrial giant  because of cheap Labour and which were sold cheaply to Customers.

Take for instance, furniture, Children toys,  fashion items, Electronic gadgets,  fancy ceiling pendants,  Household Utensils, Building materials, Security and Tracking gadgets and Laptops/Pads/Phones.  ”These may have  made the country a den  of goods for importers”, a Customs officer remarked.  It was not surprising why  Ali, the Customs  Comptroller General , has decided to  keep a close tap on the goods  imported in into the country  from China to ensure that they comply with the government fiscal policy measures by sending his officers to he country.

Many believe that that the Nigeria Customs  officers on the trip could tap enough knowledge from the vast repository  of products  that are available in the country to the benefit of the nation.  Financial analysts  averred that since the Chinese  Renminia, RMB, popular Yen,  had been included  by the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, IMF,  among  the basket  of reserve Currencies that have Special Drawing Rights, SDR,  the country has continued  to see it  as a reflection of the importance  of its Currency in the world  trading and global financial market.  The fallout  was the expanding of  its trade  and the substantial increase  in the international use  and trading  of the RMB,  as  the  country is increasingly entering into  Currency Swap arrangement with other countries in the world, including Nigeria.

Given Ali’s desire to checkmate the activities of Nigerians importing goods from china by sending his officers to the country, Maritime analysts expect him to still send other senior officers to India, another Asia Country, that had been identified  going by Customs records  where Pharmaceuticals Companies   connive with their Nigeria Customers to ship Tramadol and other dangerous drugs, Concealed with other items into the country. They believe that Nigeria Customs  officers interaction with their supposed Indian  Counterparts, should they be allowed to  go there, as  was the case in Shenzhi Customs in China, it would go a long to curb the excesses of importers with their Clearing agents and their Customs Collaborators in Nigeria.

While Tincan Island port, had remained a haven over the years for importers who Contravene the government fiscal policy measures  and still take delivery of their goods with the active Connivance of Customs personnel, a    senior Customs  officer who spoke to the Magazine    disclosed  that the rot in the port  would be minimised  considerably as Abdullahi  Musa, the Command Comptroller, who was on the recent trip  to China,  would not  hesitate to put into practice what he had  learnt from his counterparts in Shenzhi Customs, China, to put the officers on their toes, particular, the Command Enforcement and Customs Intelligence  Unit, CIU, officers to do the right thing and plug all the loopholes and tricks employed  by importers to  shortchange the government.

For importers who also think they could  import their goods which Contravene the  government fiscal policy measures through Cotonou port and any  other port in the West African  sub-region and still smuggle them into the country , through  approved and unapproved routes, had to watch it as the Chine Shenzhi , ChinaCustoms officials appear to  have exposed their tricks to their Nigerian Counterparts.

A close source at the NCS Zone A office, Lagos,  informed the Magazine that given the experience acquired by the officers on the China trip, they were enthusiastic to return to Nigeria to implement what they have learned from their Chinese counterparts to tighten up security at the seaports and land border stations  and which is expected to go a long way to improve the revenue collection of the Service.  The return of the Customs team to China   may have put fears on importers who place order  for made in China goods as Customs personnel now scrutinise to the last pin, all imports from the country. The same attention were said to have been  extended to imports from India and Turkey, an European nation. The Customs officials at the ports and land border stations have to take special interest on imports  from, China, India  and Turkey, because of the 2019  general election  to forestall the shipment of dangerous drugs such as Tramadol or arms and ammunitions into the country.