It was a gathering of the all maritime journalists in the country, the  who is who in shipping sector, friends and well-wishers  in Lagos recently, when the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi was conferred with the 2024 iconic maritime personality of the year.

The award was anchored and given by all the journalists Associations practicing in the maritime sub-sector of the Nation’s economy.

It was a very colorful occasion. However, the event not being a speech making one, but  the apex Customs boss, Adeniyi, seized the occasion to call for, not only the unification of the journalists in the maritime sector as one body.

The CGC also observed that the proliferation of associations that had become rampant among the journalists in the industry was also commonplace among the Customs Agents.

He charged both the journalists and customs agents to come together in their various fields unified bodies, saying they stood to gain more when they come together and speak with one voice.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, Adeniyi said: “This award has inspired me to raise one or two issues.

“The first is to express my deep and sincere gratitude to all of you for putting this together. It had been muted a number of times, perhaps, some of you know one attitude I have about this kind of awards. What I normally say is that you are in a better position to assess us because you are in the right place.  I am not really keen about awards. But, for the persistency from different people and at a time when I got a call that all the maritime beat associations have unanimously agreed to confer to me with this award.

“For me, it is a very symbolic thing. Symbolic because somebody has said it that this is the very first time in the history of the maritime industry that this is happening. Even before I became CG, I have worked quietly behind the scene to address this proliferation of the beat associations. And I got one of you who share the same vision with me. And incidentally, that gentleman at that time was heading one of the associations.  And I told him that you guys will make better impact if you are able to collapse all of these associations into one. He agreed to work with me, and to demonstrate his sincerity, and kind of gentleman that he is, he said first, he will have to step down from being head of the one that he was, I was indeed very-very appreciative for that gesture. He is Ismail Aniemu. He was Chairman of one of the groups then. He said he will begin to make his consultations, speak with one group after the other, and see what we can do. But it did not materialise.”

The Customs boss was impress that in order to ensure that he was honoured, all the beat associations in that sector, shelved their differences, came together to ensure that the honour did not only materialize, but also was a successful one.

He said: “And then because Wale Adeniyi became CG, one year on, everybody started to come together, and say let us give him this award. The symbolism of this is that if we use this popular social media name for 2023, what God does not do, does not exist. 

“It means that we could have something that will serve as a rallying point, a unifying factor, for all of these beat associations, who never see any issue from the same point. It is indeed a very humble experience for me. 

“It actually tells me that we could actually get it right. If it is the interest of the maritime industry that we want to protect. It means it is still not too late, for all of us to begin to work together as a very strong Unit. If well come together, I am not sure there is any beat within the NUJ that will be as strong, that will be as potent, that will be as impactful as this maritime journalists that we have.

“I am not too sure if you have any beat, where you have a 70-year-old person, who is actively participating, and he is making impact. I was very-very touched when I saw Asu Beks, possibly, the longest-serving and the oldest journalists that we have in Nigeria.

“The way we are going, we are going to have so many Asu Beks in our midst. Because I have seen so many people who are still strong and active, meaning that there is something we have in the industry that we don’t have in other places.”

He called on the journalists reporting the industry to continue with those things that bring them together, rather than those things that separate them.

Citing examples of such things that will bring the maritime journalists together, than separating them, Adeniyi said:

 “And I give you an example, look for training programmes that you can bring in agencies, or bring all of us, all of you, journalists per Agency, various Agencies  to come together, take you outside,  go to Togo, do a story on African Ports, or take you out to know how Customs is funded in other climes. These are opportunities you have to explore.

“Before I leave, this is also sending an e-mail to the Customs Agents that we have. The Story of Customs Agents, followed that of the maritime associations. When we started, we knew them as only one.  And I think, the journalists have shown that it is actually not impossible for us to also begin to identify one voice that will bring all the associations together under one umbrella. The maritime journalists have already shown the way. This is one challenge that I believe the Provost General,  Olayiwola Shittu, this is a task that I believe that you can undertake. To make sure that I periodically, bring all these associations together, identify areas that you can use to speak with one voice in the maritime industry. There is so much discordant tones in the maritime industry. And it is not every policy maker or policy makers that will want to respect you when they see that you are not united. That is my second charge.”

The CGC passionately spoke on the welfare of the journalists reporting the maritime industry.

He lamented that a lot of welfare benefits are eluding them due to inability to speak with one voice.

He made reference to insurance schemes, housing schemes and other benefits which journalists in other climes benefited, saying there was nothing wrong if these benefits also come to journalists in the maritime sector.

“The third and possibly the last charge, is important because from where I started the speech, the need to put priority on the welfare of maritime journalists.  If all the operators in the industry, are getting bigger in their business, some of them started as portfolio customs agents in the industry, but becoming bigger and bigger, and you are reporting them. I rose from 2 Stars in Public Relations and I became the CG. 

“I believe that your welfare should be the concern of all other Agencies you are reporting. There is a lot that we can do for you in customs, but there is also a lot more that you can do for yourself. You must begin to think how you can come up with initiatives to drive your welfare programmes. Yes, you organize programmmes for the Agencies in the industry, I have not seen programmes that you are organizing for yourselves.

“What about the initiatives about your welfare. Can we think of an insurance cover for journalists that are practicing in the maritime industry? This is something that you can start and call for assistance, and this is one thing I believe that I can talk to the head of the maritime Agencies in the maritime industries for us to join hands together with you and look into the welfare of maritime journalists, only if you can come together as a united front. Is it not possible that while maritime reporters are reporting the beat, that they should also be house owners by themselves. If journalists in the maritime sector come together, with a scheme, that will allow them to own individual houses. It is not a rocket science, the Federal Mortgage Bank has been doing it. There are lots of companies that are doing it. So, it is just for you to come together, establish the scheme, and call for the money that we will use to start it, and we can take it up from there.”

According to him, there are some journalists that are staying comfortably in schemes that are organized by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

He said that the way he looked at the maritime sector, the reporters in that sector are possibly going to be stronger than their parent body-NUJ that birthed them, “only if you can come together, strongly and united with the common purpose for the advancement of your interest.”

“Gradually, we are beginning to restore some sanity in the environment of policy formation and in the area of implemention, where we play a significant role.

“In 2025, we will continue in the same trajectory of ensuring that duty collection is done in an environment where there is ease in trade facilitation,” he stated. 

 On his award, the CGC was full of appreciation to maritime journalists for considering him for the honour. “The symbolism of this award is that we have something that serve as a rallying point for all associations in the maritime journalism industry.”

 He called for unity among maritime journalists and freight forwarders in the nation’s shipping industry, while also encouraging maritime journalists to engage in training programs that would make the association stand together and benefit more.

Chairman of the Award Planning Committee, Dele Aderibigbe, described this as a unanimous decision by all maritime journalists. “This is the first time in the sub-sector everyone will come together to honour a deserving performer per excellence who has made the NCS and Nigeria proud by his purposeful, professional, and patriotic leadership.”

Some of the important personalities that graced the occasion which took place at the Airport Hotel include the Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘A’, Lagos of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ACG Charles Obih, ACG Charles Edike(Rtd); Olayiwola Shittu, former President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), who was the Chairman of the occasion.