Importers and agents are facing difficulties clearing goods at the ports. In this interview with Maritime Correspondent OLUWAKEMI DAUDA, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) President Olayiwola Shittu blames it all on security agencies.
With the economic recession, what is the situation at the ports?
The recession is affecting everybody. Importation has reduced and what is happening in the port now is what I will call the perfection of the ‘blame game’. That is what is going on in the ports. The leadership of the security agencies is always playing the ostrich. They see no evil, hear no evil and know no evil. That is why I said what is happening now is the blame game.
Can you please expatiate on that?
When an agent is intimidated and frustrated to the level of parting with something in order to get out of the systemic web, and the headship turns round and says the agent is not ‘compliant’ and that the officer would not have been corrupted if not because of the corrupter, which is the agent, you can only imagine the experience.
I believe that to whom much is given, much is expected. The Federal Government posted these people to the ports for the purpose of revenue generation and prevention of revenue leakages. That is why today in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), there is the enforcement arm and the revenue arm.
But, they are all the same now. They are all both preventing revenue leakages as well as ‘generating’ revenue now. Sadly, however, most of the people in the port are more interested in generating the revenue into their pockets, than generating the revenue for the government. Things have gone so bad. It is now worse to the extent that the Nigerian police have taken over the functions of the NCS.
In what ways?
When the Customs releases cargoes, the police still turn round, to take the containers to their places, and in one way or the other, ‘uncustoms’ items are found inside. I also think that it is the responsibility of the security agencies and by this, I mean the Customs, police, all of them in the ports, including those who are at present clamouring to be here, and that includes the NESRA, so as to protect the nation’s environment from the dumping of e-waste; the Quarantine, which wants to be in the ports to prevent the smuggling of woods out of Nigeria; as well as the pallets with which you package your imported cargo was not treated abroad before being used to bring in your goods. Everybody has ‘valid’ varying excuses for wanting to be in the ports, yet the infractions continue.
How do we stop the infractions?
The truth is that nobody is genuinely thinking of stopping those infractions over there. It is in their best interest that the infractions are not prevented. Sometimes, it may even seem as if those infractions are deliberately encouraged to happen. But the lies they are selling to the government and the public is that it’s the agent that is corrupting. That was why I started by describing the situation on ground as the blame game.
But why would an agent want to bribe a Customs officer?
Maybe not because there is no amount of declaration you do in the port that would satisfy the expectation of the average officer. When the Customs came up with the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), it was supposed to be the final document. Now, if I buy an item from abroad, and my declaration is that it is $5, on the submission of that document, the bank is supposed to do its verification from their side and confirm the cost of the item. However, by the time they receive it in PAAR office, they are also supposed to do their own due diligence and if they confirm it is $5; they should issue a PAAR as a good facilitator of trade. The importer should, thereafter, simply pay his duty and carry his cargo and go. But that is not the situation because some people would now start querying the file, beginning with the value. And once you are stopped, there and you are able to succumb to the subtle extortion, the news would go down the line that there is chop on this cargo. And thereafter, the new value could become $7, a debit note (DN) would be raised and before you know it, the agent is already being made to look like a mediocre and frustrated.
Does that make every Customs unit fall to extortion?
The Valuation Officer may not be happy, but he knows he cannot afford to stand his ground and be accused of working against the overall goal of boosting revenue; and so he jacks it up to $7. Now, after doing that, on your way with your cargo, the Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) would now intercept it, saying: ‘you must have done something with the value, because this is supposed to be $9’. Now, while these are all going on, you are not moving anywhere. You are stuck. Your demurrages are mounting. And at the end of the day, even if you were the one begging the importer, he would by now be upset with you as an agent. A frustrated importer would bring more money and ask you to pay; so you pay. Yet, for even daring to stand your ground against the officers, you have, without knowing it, committed an abomination. You have frustrated some gentlemen and you must pay for it. So, when you get to the gate your penalty is to be tasked again to come for the re-examination of what they have earlier examined at the terminal. Never mind the fact that the representatives of the gate were all fully there at the terminal when the goods were earlier thoroughly examined.
Are you insinuating that the new process is frustrating?
Yes. That is exactly what the average agent faces at the port.
When Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) first came in as the Comptroller-General of Customs, there was hope that he would sanitise the ports. What is the situation now?
You are wrong. Some of us were skeptical from the onset, because Ali was never within the system. It would take an average of three years for a non-Customs officer of a particular rank, to understand the rudiments of what is going on in the ports. So, what do you expect from Ali, a retired soldier and at his age, to start learning what classification is all about because it is not by book? It is by practical experience. What Ali was supposed to be is a symbol representing what we know the President for. It is not that there is no corruption in America or Britain or elsewhere for that matter. Even in China and Japan and South Korea where they kill people for stealing, people still steal. But the maxim is: don’t be caught. But why must my people suffer because they are not ready to compromise? You want to be patriotic, you want to pay your correct duty and if you make noise too much, they will come after you.
What do you think Customs brokers elsewhere are doing better than their Nigeria counterparts?
Several things. It is only in Nigeria that the Customs doesn’t treat Customs Brokers as very important. For instance, the entire African Customs Brokers representatives at the World Customs Organisation (WCO), except Nigeria, were all sponsored by the Customs Service of their various countries. We, from Nigeria, travelled to the summit with our money. Participants from Angola, Liberia, Mozambique, Jamaica were all sponsored because they appreciate them there as revenue generators. The proliferations of associations you see now were engineered by Customs officers because they did not want a united, strong, single agents’ body. And that’s why we have come with different names so that if one group says this, the other group will counter it. At the WCO in China, we were told that Nigeria has become the Regional Head of Customs Brokers in West Africa. And this is not unconnected with our modest contributions to the cause of Customs growth and recognition. But at home, we may not be genuinely recognised, let alone appreciated. Some people even see us as mere freight forwarders.
Is there any difference between freight forwarders and Customs brokers?
Yes. The difference between a Customs Broker and a freight forwarder is very great. The demarcation is not made here in Nigeria, because everybody wants to gain access to the port- so that they can make money. FIATA is the headship of freight forwarders all over the world. They are a member of the PSG ( Policy and Strategic Group) of the WCO. But who is the Chairperson of the PSG? The DHL. And what does their chairperson focus on? That shows the relevance of the Customs Brokers.
The Federal Operations Unit of the Customs is known to always intercept cargoes on the highway on allegations that the importers didn’t pay the correct duty. What is your reaction to this sir?
Those are the challenges we expect the Comptroller-General to help us surmount. We strongly believe he can still do it. And such a gesture can dramatically uplift the cargo facilitation job in Nigeria. It would end the growing wave of accusations that agents and Customs officers are sharing money. If the importer already knows how much he is supposed to pay; won’t he just pay it, collect his goods and walk away? But why is it that such very simple thing cannot be done? Or do we need to first report to the WCO through our own international federation of the Customs brokers that the Nigeria Customs is creating such and such man-made challenges for us? Must we first appeal to WCO to help us beg the NCS to assist us do the job better? For us, we feel we should not be exposing our ineptitude; we feel we should not expose ourselves. That is why we seek dialogue.
Have you met with customs chief over the issue?
As I am speaking with you, I am bold to say that three letters have been written by our association to the Comptroller-General (Col. Ali), soliciting for dialogue between the Customs agents and the CGC. Only one was replied. All what they are telling us is that the man is busy and I have not seen any interview he granted any major newspaper since he was appointed.
