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…Says ordinary Nigerians not feeling impact of subsidy removal gains
By Dickson Okafor
Chief Chukwumalu Emeka is the Executive Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA) and alumnus of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. At the time he was an undergraduate, the tertiary was facing the challenge of cultism like most other universities in the country. Then he became the Igwe Unizik, a position that made him the custodian of Igbo culture within the institution’s Student Union Government set up.
In this interview, he relives the dogged fight to combat cultism in the institution and other philanthropic activities that earned him an award from Nnamdi Azikiwe University. He also speaks on other relevant issues.
Nnamdi Azikiwe University recently gave you an award. What does the award mean to you?
I’m an alumnus of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. The meritorious award was given to me on account of my outstanding character and contributions not only to the university, but Anambra State and Nigeria. During my time, I was the Igwe of Nnamdi Azikiwe University and custodian of the traditions of the Student Union Government of the prestigious and highly regarded tertiary institution. You see, in those days there was cultism on campus and it was like a reigning fashion because if you were not a member of the cult they believed that you did not belong. But when I came on board as the Igwe, when Prof. Peter Ejiofor was the Vice Chancellor, I told him I had an idea to form an anti-cult group that would work with the Area Commander and the Commissioner of Police, Awka to checkmate the activities of the cultists. Through the effort, cultism was drastically reduced by almost 70 per cent. I went further to affiliate with the Anambra State Government House for them to be giving us stipends to enable us guide the school system. That enabled us to use the anti-cult group to get every student into one fold. We made them understand that killing a fellow student was like killing a future local government chairman, commissioner, legislator, governor and President of Nigeria. I told the students it was better for us to come together and help each to graduate from the university and become gainfully employed. The students keyed into it. With the approval of Prof Ejiofor, I started bringing some government functionaries, business magnets and captains of industries, and assisted in building a lot of structures within the university circle. Even recently High Chief Dr. Arthur Eze was also given an award as a friend of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University. In addition, Dr. Ebuka Onunkwo a prominent industrialist, philanthropist, politician and founder/CEO of SeaHorse Lubricant Industries Limited was also given an award as a friend of the university. I have enabled over 150 qualified candidates who passed UTME to secure admission and they are doing well in various fields of human endeavor. I will continue to support the university in any way I can.
There is concern that Customs Duties are high, which contributes to high cost of imported goods. Is ANCLA making any moves to lobby the Federal Government to lower some of the duties, to reduce hardship?
Execution of some of the fiscal policies of the government is domiciled with the Nigeria Customs Service and the management of the agency knows the best way to go about it. We are the people who are helping the Customs Service to generate revenue because before an importer will bring in any cargo he has to consult a clearing agent to know where the Form M will go, and where he will take delivery of the cargo, either from Apapa or Tin Can Island ports. Our duties as clearing agents are to ensure that the government doesn’t lose revenue. As an association, we ensure a high level of compliance by the clearing agents. In essence, our job as clearing agents is to play a part in the timely clearing of imported goods and assisting the Customs Service to deliver on its mandate, which is to generate revenue for the government from collection Customs Duties.
ADC Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar has said he will reopen Eastern and SouthSouth ports to ease pressure on Apapa and Tin Can ports if elected in 2027. How do you feel about this – especially given that President Bola Tinubu vowed and failed to deliver steady power in his first term?
Talking is free, but action is not free. So, we are waiting and watching. But the former President of the United States, Barack Obama captured the desire and wishes of the majority of Nigerians in 2015 in one of his quotes. He said: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
That change we sought for is the direction President Tinubu is leading us. Before now, Nigeria was exporting crude oil because all the nation’s refineries were moribund, but today while the refineries are under reconstruction Dangote Refinery is now refining crude here in Nigeria. So, it is left for Nigerians to either choose the return of fuel subsidy or retain the ongoing economic reform which is gradually revamping the nation’s economy through the removal of subsidy. The choice belongs to the masses. I’m not a politician and hardly comment on political issues because as Isaac Asimov said: “When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.”
If the masses are convinced by Tinubu, Atiku or Peter Ob’s campaign promises let them vote for any candidate of their choice.
The Federal Government said that it saved N15 trillion by removing subsidies on petroleum products, and the savings have been ploughed back into the economy in different ways for the benefit of the citizens. Do you agree with this?
Right now we are yet to feel the gains of the subsidy. The benefits of the economic reforms declared by the government are yet to trickle down to the masses. So, President Tinubu who is seeking re-election should allow the gains of his economic reforms to trickle down to the masses.
What is your association doing to ensure that port operations in Nigeria meet international standards in terms of adherence to maritime laws and compliance to freight forwarding regulation?
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it and that is what the Comptroller of the Nigerian Customs Service, Bashir Ademola Adeniyi has done with the clearing agents in the country. That is why you see us having collaboration with the Nigerian Customs through B’Odogwu which is an original homegrown project and aligned with it. It is a one-stop shop platform that enables us to do business without wasting time because the new method is cashless, paperless and has a reduced time clearance process. With it, you can do your business at a comfortable location without coming to the ports. It is obtainable all over the world as the best practice whereby you can initiate your transaction once you are a compliance agent. Hence, the transaction will now move seamlessly. You will just take your cargo out of the port without any encumbrances because what they are trying to remove is the human interface. If you go to Dubai for instance or other international ports, once you are done by supervising your transaction you can be drinking coffee with your shipper while your container will get to the port of loading without you being present or running around. And we are trying to achieve that in Nigeria with B’Odogwu. By the time we achieve this project initiated by the Federal Government, everybody will do their businesses seamlessly without any problem. That is why we are supporting the project to make sure it works because it is a home grown project. There is no foreign intervention. It will also create employment because it is our people that will be employed and that is why it is very important that all of us key into it to ensure the delivery of cargo will be seamless.
