“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Late DCG Umar Sanusi

I am uncertain if Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, DGC, Umar Sanusi (rtd), who passed on recently was a palace Prince or had the blue blood in his lineage. What I am sure about is that he must have impacted lives and careers of officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, to command/attract the outpouring of emotions on his transition to the great beyond.

It is not surprising therefore that tributes to the late DCG Umar Sanusi have not ceased to trail his passing, beaming light on his earthly sojourn and the selfless services he rendered to Fatherland.

As officers and men of the Service including maritime stakeholders speak on the late DCG, this very touching tribute as penned by Comptroller Dera Nnadi, CAC, Seme Command of the NCS, succinctly captures the life and career of the departed Customs management staff:

“It is with a heavy heart that I received the news of the death of DCG Umar Sanusi (rtd).  A gentleman-officer to the core and an erudite Nigerian. My first encounter with the senior officer was in 2003 or so at the Comptroller General of Customs CGC Conference in Calabar, Cross River State, where, as an Assistant Comptroller of Customs, he presented a report as the APM of Apapa Command.

“It was not common then to present papers and reports on PowerPoint, but he did. This was not the only remarkable thing he did at the conference. The then AC Sanusi was detailed in his report, which was a departure from what others presented.

“He was factual and honest and admitted where things were wrong in the operations of the service at Apapa Command and highlighted them in writing during his presentation. This was visibly shocking to the entire audience as it was rare then for officers to admit that their acts were not optimal while discharging their duties,

“Some attempts by the moderator to stop him was rebuffed by a lone voice. One man and indeed the then Comptroller General of the service, and current Gbon Gwom Jos, Elder Jacob Gyang Buba was the voice and he overruled everybody and urged him to continue and to even say more if he has the facts.

“He gave him more time than the allotted 30 minutes allotted to him. If pin dropped, the sound would have been heard because of the silence. The then AC Sanusi earned a place in the service after that encounter. He also earned my admiration as a young Deputy Superintendent of Customs then.

“Our path was to cross again when I was posted to Apapa prior to the commencement of the second phase of the Nigeria Customs Service-Nigerian Ports Authority port reforms, which was concluded in 2006. The then AC Sanusi was the APM and I was the Public Relations Officer of the Command.

“The NCS reforms included migration from the basic Automated System for Customs Data ASYCUDA 2.7 to ASYCUDA 3.0, the use of the precursor of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report PAAR, to Risk Assessment Report RAR, the introduction of e- Payment regime and the introduction of Non-Intrusive Cargo examination- Scanners all with Apapa Port as the pilot Command.

“On the other hand and going on simultaneously was the port concession which saw NPA handing over to private sector operators of the port facilities.

“The challenges then were enormous, but we survived all through DCG Sanusi’s diligence with the then Comptroller Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo“ It was a milestone for me and indeed for the senior officer then AC Sanusi. I learnt a lot from him.

“Yet another remarkable encounter with late DCG Sanusi was at the NCS headquarters when he was appointed Assistant Comptroller General in charge of headquarters. “I had gone to greet him and pay homage when he did the “unthinkable” at least in my little understanding of life then.

“After taking my compliments, he offered me a seat and of course, I refused to seat in his presence as an Assistant Comptroller out of courtesy. “He said ‘Nnadi, I have observed that we are not close anymore and I think this is an opportunity for me to address it’. I was shocked.

“What he said next shocked me. He said:” I know I offended you but I want to use this opportunity to apologize and request that you work closely with me. As ACG headquarters, I will need you around me since you are in SR&P”. I responded that I did not know that he offended me, being his junior who respect and admired him. He said I should never mind.

He offered me a gift, stepped out, shook my hands and gave me a hug. “I left his office confused, overwhelmed with emotions and thereafter held him in greater esteem and awe. His death is a personal loss to me”.

“Farewell DCG Umar Sanusi. NCS and indeed Nigeria lost a gem”, Nnadi wrote.

Records show that DCG Umar Sanusi retired in 2019 as  DCG Human Resources Department. He also served  as ACG, Headquarters under  CG Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), in 2015.

We at Maritime Nigeria join Nigerians to pray for the repose of the soul of DCG Umar Sanusi.