How Afeni is Grooming Discipline, Loyalty, and Professionalism in Ogun Customs

BY FUNMI ALUKO

When it is said that a golden fish has no hiding place, the expression is often reserved for individuals whose qualities naturally command attention without the need for self-advertisement. In the evolving story of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun I Area Command, Deputy Comptroller Olukayode Afeni increasingly fits that description.

Eight months into his tenure as Acting Customs Area Controller, the more interesting question is no longer simply what Afeni has seized, recovered or generated. It is what kind of institution he is building behind the statistics.

That distinction is important. Revenue figures and anti-smuggling seizures are measurable outcomes of Customs operations. But beneath those figures is another, less visible dimension of command leadership—the ability to shape people, establish standards, cultivate loyalty to the Service and leave behind a workforce that can function effectively even when the commander is not physically present.

This is where the emerging “Afeni Effect” becomes particularly compelling. Afeni’s leadership appears to be driven by the conviction that enforcement effectiveness begins with the character and professional confidence of the officer on the frontline. His emphasis on discipline, ethical conduct, teamwork and recognition of deserving personnel is gradually creating a work culture in which officers understand that professionalism is not an optional virtue but an operational requirement.

In a command as strategically sensitive as Ogun I, that matters enormously. The command operates across a challenging border environment where the pressures of smuggling, commercial interests, local networks and inducements can test the resolve of even experienced officers. Consequently, the ability of an Area Controller to maintain discipline while sustaining morale is as important as the number of seizures recorded.

Some recent operational episodes provide useful windows into this emerging culture. The interception of 2,547 parcels of cannabis, alongside seizures of foreign rice and other prohibited consignments, offered more than an anti-smuggling narrative. It also provided an opportunity to test the integrity of frontline personnel. The refusal of officers to compromise operational responsibilities in the face of inducements reinforces the argument that Afeni’s approach is increasingly about building an ethical reflex into the command’s enforcement architecture.

The subsequent collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in handing over seized cannabis consignments further demonstrated that professionalism does not end with interception. Proper custody, documentation, inter-agency coordination and lawful transfer are equally important components of modern Customs enforcement.

The same philosophy was evident in the handling of four live pangolins intercepted at the border and subsequently transferred to appropriate wildlife authorities. That incident is significant because it places Customs enforcement within a broader national responsibility. The officer who stops an illicit wildlife shipment is not merely preventing smuggling; he is participating in the protection of Nigeria’s biodiversity and the fight against trafficking in endangered species.

Similarly, the transfer of two antique artefacts dating back to the 19th century to the National Museum in Abeokuta demonstrated another dimension of professional Customs practice—the responsibility to protect the nation’s cultural heritage.

These cases collectively suggest that the Afeni doctrine is gradually moving enforcement beyond the narrow definition of “seizure.” His officers are increasingly being positioned as custodians of national economic interests, public health, environmental protection and cultural heritage.

But perhaps the most consequential part of the Afeni Effect is less visible. It is the investment in people. Recognition of frontline officers who distinguish themselves in difficult operational circumstances can have a powerful multiplier effect. It tells the rank and file that competence is noticed, integrity is valued and hard work can translate into professional recognition.

For younger officers especially, such an environment can become an informal leadership school. That is where Afeni’s approach intersects with the broader leadership philosophy of Comptroller General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, whose reform agenda has consistently placed emphasis on professionalisation, capacity building, institutional integrity and preparing officers for increasingly complex responsibilities.

The Customs commands of Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne and other strategic formations require officers who can combine operational toughness with administrative sophistication, stakeholder management and ethical judgement. Those competencies are rarely acquired overnight. They must be cultivated progressively at commands such as Ogun I.

In that sense, Ogun I may be functioning as more than an enforcement formation under Afeni. It is becoming a testing ground for leadership development. The real measure of a commander, therefore, may not be how loudly his presence is felt, but how effectively his values continue to operate through the officers he has influenced.

This is perhaps the strongest argument for the Afeni Effect. Discipline without professionalism can become rigidity. Loyalty without institutional ethics can become personal allegiance. Enforcement without capacity building can produce impressive short-term statistics without sustainable institutional growth.

But when discipline, loyalty, professionalism, mentorship and accountability are deliberately fused together, the result can be a resilient command culture.

Eight months into Afeni’s stewardship, Ogun I appear to be demonstrating precisely that possibility. The seizures will continue. The revenue targets will rise. The operational challenges will evolve. Officers will be tested by new forms of smuggling and increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.

The bigger question is whether the culture being cultivated today will withstand tomorrow’s challenges. If the emerging evidence is anything to go by, the Afeni Effect is already becoming bigger than one officer or one tenure. It is the gradual construction of a professional culture in which Customs officers are expected not merely to stop contraband, but to understand the larger national responsibility attached to the uniform they wear.

And perhaps that is the most enduring legacy any commander can build: not merely leaving behind impressive statistics, but leaving behind better officers.