The Man Who Brought Zeal Back To Public Service 

• The Man Who Brought Zeal Back BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

In a public service ecosystem too often bogged down by bureaucratic inertia and the aloof “big-man syndrome,” the appointment of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR as the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) in June 2023 marked the beginning of a quiet revolution.

Transitioning seamlessly from an acting role to substantive leadership, Adeniyi has not merely met expectations—he has rewritten the standard operating procedure for public officers across the nation.

While revenue collection, robust enforcement, and trade facilitation remain the traditional yardsticks of performance for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adeniyi has elevated the agency’s mandate into something far broader. Under his stewardship, the Service has smashed revenue records while pioneering deeply impactful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that target education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

Yet, beyond the impressive balance sheets and operational victories, the most defining hallmark of the Adeniyi era is something rarer: unadulterated passion, humility, and an infectious energetic stride.

Smashing Records: A Legacy of Fiscal and Technological Leadership

Under Adeniyi’s visionary guidance, the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded historic fiscal performances. Moving past legacy operational bottlenecks, the Service generated an extraordinary ₦6.1 trillion in revenue in 2024, surpassing statutory targets by 20%.

NCS REVENUE MOBILIZATION TRAJECTORY
  2023: ₦3.21 Trillion  █████████████
  2024: ₦6.10 Trillion  ████████████████████████
  2025: ₦7.27 Trillion  █████████████████████████████

This remarkable surge was not achieved through draconian measures, but through modern trade facilitation, stakeholder engagements, and technological innovation. Adeniyi championed the deployment of B’Odogwu, an indigenous cargo-processing trade management system designed specifically for the Nigerian trade environment. Coupled with the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) scheme and the Advance Ruling System, his administration has drastically slashed cargo clearance times, audited years of import records to recover billions in evaded duties, and positioned Nigeria at the forefront of global customs administration.

His global peers took notice, unanimously electing him Chairperson of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council—making him the first Nigerian to lead the 186-member global body.

Humanizing the Uniform: Corporate Social Investment and “Customs Cares”

For decades, border communities and business operators viewed the Customs Service purely through the lens of enforcement, taxation, and physical checkpoints. Adeniyi recognized that sustainable border security requires community trust.

To bridge this divide, he institutionalized structured corporate social investments through initiatives like Customs Cares. This program actively extends the agency’s footprint into critical socio-economic domains:

• Education: Massive rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools in port-adjacent communities and border corridors, alongside the distribution of essential learning materials, bags, and writing supplies to thousands of pupils.
• Healthcare Outreaches: Providing free medical drives, essential drugs, and health screenings to underserved communities along trade routes.
• Greener Environment & Food Security: Sponsoring environmental sustainability projects and launching interventions targeted at local food security within marginalized border areas.

Adeniyi’s approach proves that public sector CSR does not have to be a mere ceremonial gesture. By addressing basic human needs, he has transformed public perception, turning host communities from defensive bystanders into active partners in border protection.

Breaking the Mold of Civil Service Arrogance

What truly sets the CGC apart is his deliberate rejection of office-bound comfort. In an administrative landscape where high-ranking officials frequently hide behind heavy doors, executive protocol, and bureaucratic distance, Adeniyi brings an uncommon physical and emotional energy to the job:

• Frontline Transparency: He is personally seen leading press briefings to display the outcomes of high-profile operations, guaranteeing direct public accountability and discouraging illicit trade.
• Open-Door Diplomacy: He personally attends strategic meetings with sister security agencies, maritime industry leaders, and private sector trade groups, building a collaborative framework rather than enforcing rigid authority.
• Stakeholder Respect: Whether addressing international trade delegations or micro-level traders, Adeniyi maintains an ever-ready posture—soldiering on with a characteristic smile that treats public duty not as a burden of power, but as a privilege of service.

A National Blueprint for the Tinubu Administration

If even a third of Adeniyi’s official effervescence, humility, and unremitting commitment were replicated across the entire federal civil service, the transformative agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would achieve its objectives at an accelerated pace.

Adeniyi has demonstrated that fiscal discipline, operational enforcement, and genuine human empathy are not mutually exclusive. By infusing the Nigeria Customs Service with grace, vigour, and open-door partnership, he has established a landmark standard for national assignment: one where public office is executed with uncompromising excellence, and service is delivered with total devotion.