Customs: Revenue, Trade, Security, CSR and Citizens

The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has progressed from collecting billions of naira to trillion in recent years-whether we have the people and economy of Nigeria to accredit the collections to is a matter on which stakeholders are divided.

Could the figures be from an economy that is buoyant, industrialized, self-reliant;  where unemployment is not a worry to parents and guardians whose children and wards roam the streets in search of elusive jobs-where the few available opportunities are either the preserve or reserved for connected and highly placed persons whose kids rarely need such jobs but must be employed for the employed to retain their jobs/appointments?

 

Trillions from an economy where poverty prowls proudly on all fours unchallenged and even escorted by arms wielding goons in agbada/khaki should be a worrisome concern rather than a celebration but Customs has a mandate and target set for it by men in power-as men in Service to fatherland/motherland-“Yes sir” is the response by officers of the Service.

 

As the NCS modernizes its offices and operations to collect more revenue into government coffers, it is of greater national interest if the ongoing modernization is inclusive of other government agencies without which Customs could be helpless, redundant or handicapped no matter the amount spent modernizing.

 

From Automation to modernization, it should be of interest to Nigerians to know how much has been budgeted and spent by various Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs, on the intertwined Automation/Modernization projects by government institutions over the years and the returns there from.

 

Going forward, the options are clear: either we industrialize, create jobs by halting importation of many of the items we import or we concentrate on importation, improve on unemployment and its attendant ills and boost government revenue to unprecedented heights even as society quivers from dependence on foreign workers producing for citizens to consume.

 

As Sea Port modernization and Trade Facilitation processes proceed as endorsed, the process must be sustained and continuity ensured in the interest of the country and people-no stories, no excuses. Nigerians have suffered enough from broken promises, abandoned  projects/programmes or haven’t they?

The era of ten steps forward and thirty backwards must not reoccur. If you lack ability kindly decline if/when called upon to superintend at any level.

 

The Figures

Could it be trade boom? Could it be professionalism or innovations introduced by the Dr. Wale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General of the NCS?

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) collected a total revenue of ₦1.562 trillion in 2020, ₦2.24 trillion in 2021, over ₦2.60 trillion in 2022, ₦3.21 trillion in 2023, and  ₦6.1 trillion in 2024.

Against permutations in consideration of the declining purchasing power of Nigerians and crunching economic realities-rising inflation/increased unemployment figures, more factories shutting down than expanding, the NCS collected ₦7.28 trillion in the 2025 fiscal year-could this be as a result of increased patronage of Nigerian ports by neighboring countries, higher exports, improved compliance by traders or deployment of technology by the NCS? The strident trending wailings by Nigerians on increased pangs of hunger and pains of poverty are worrisome issues in the face of consistently rising Customs revenue.

Curiously and very inexplicably confusing is the  disparity between inflation and employment opportunities. If they were in tandem with Customs Revenue, Nigerians would  jubilate. There seems to be a disconnect between Customs Revenue, inflation index, economic growth, national indebtedness ( put at ₦159.28 trillion )  unemployment, insecurity, agitations etc. The more revenue recorded the more indebted Nigerians become-what is wrong?

We propose that that the NCS be assigned national projects to handle from its collections annually. Roads, Schools, hospitals or rural electrification etc for citizens will impact lives meaningfully -to the credit of government.

 

Anti-Smuggling

The seizure from Customs Zones are as overwhelming as the Duty Paid Value, DPV, of the Seizures made are staggering even as the items leaves one dazed and dizzy. From hard drugs to foot wears, cosmetics,  clothes, rice, machines, drones/vests, etc,  Customs warehouses are bursting and festering with seized items-something needs to be done on timely disposal to avoid wastage as some of the the valuable seized items rot, expire and become useless exponentially. Watching seizures rot away as poverty, hunger and diseases ravage citizens seems disproportionate, we cant be doing same thing and expect different results as displaced citizens and many others suffer.

 

National Security 

Customs in collaborations with its local and foreign partners are bursting syndicates, crippling cartels and hurting smugglers fatally. The seizures recorded by the NCS from all zones of the Service attest to the commitment and dedication of officers to national security.

“The nature of crime has evolved beyond borders, requiring enforcement agencies to move from isolated responses to coordinated global action. Collaboration is no longer optional; it is the foundation of effective security”   Adeniyi stated at a recent international Customs conference. The Service scores high in the battle against criminalities.

 

CSR

We salute the Service on its coordinated Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, initiatives that loudly say “Government Cares”. Its numerous partnerships and support to institutions is a huge plus to the Service under the leadership of Dr. Wale Adeniyi, MFR; taking the “Customs Cares” vision to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria could reassure Nigerians that government is not as far away as many citizen are accustomed to thinking.

Leadership is the bane; he who can fault Chinua Achebs’s submissions in “The Trouble With Nigeria and “There was a Country” should step forward.

Getting leadership right in other agencies as exemplified in Customs could rekindle renewed hope by Nigerians.