Operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service manning the Seme and Badagry International Border axis/highways have been urged to rise above unprofessional practices by desisting from extorting funds from road users.
A renowned public affairs analyst and author, Mr. Martins Ikhilae, gave the charge while on an unguarded tour of the axis during the week.
The analyst urged the Custom personnel operating within the axis to consider themselves as mere privileged Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by status and professional placement who owe the nation the supreme duty to remain consistently patriotic.
According to him, extortionist customs personnel caught in the act must be instantly dismissed from the service to serve as a deterrent to others, adding that aside legitimate revenue collection for government, the service owes it a duty to project the corporate image of the country in good light.
Mr. Ikhilae, who described the extortionist attitude of some Customs personnel on these routes as highly disgusting, embarrassing, shameful and an act of economic sabotage, said urgent measures must be adopted to salvage the situation.
Ikhilae, who was a senatorial candidate of the National Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP) in Edo State, at the just concluded 2019 presidential and senatorial elections, queried the rationale behind changing the uniform of NCS operatives by the agency’s managers, saying outright attitudinal and psychological reorientation of the workforce should be given priority attention.
He insisted that a cursory and indebt look must be placed on the administrative and operational management of the Seme Customs Command, with a view to bringing about a total overhaul of the team for a desired maximum national benefit.
He advised that the headship of NCS commands should not be based on favouritism and nepotism, but rather should be on competence and exposure for maximum operational benefits.
According to him, extortion by Customs personnel is a gross abuse of employment privilege, stressing that while the corrupt and unpatriotic should be shown the way out, the patriotic and the just should be ushered into the service for national development.