Follow Us on Google
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified preparations for the 2026 basic training of new recruits with a strategic retreat for trainers from various disciplines.
The retreat, held in Lagos on Wednesday, brought together trainers responsible for drill, medicals, security, sports and other aspects of the Service’s training programme.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, represented at the event by the Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Human Resource Development, Frank Onyeka, said the initiative was part of measures introduced to ensure a unified approach to the training of recruits.
He urged the trainers to work as a team and review the training modules with a view to producing officers the Service and society would be proud of.
Adeniyi warned that working in silos could undermine the desired outcome of the exercise, stressing the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the trainers.
“If you don’t work like a team, you will not get the desired results. Working in silos will not give us what we want, but if you come together as a team, it is a natural answer,” he said.
The Customs boss also urged heads of the various training units to take full responsibility for their areas while remaining open to contributions from other trainers.
He said nobody had a monopoly of knowledge and advised the participants not to dismiss or condemn the views of their colleagues.
“To deliver this process and to get the desired results, all of us must work as one,” Adeniyi said.
He recalled his experience as a trainer in 2008 and 2009, noting that some of the officers trained during that period had risen through the ranks and were now serving as Assistant Controllers.
According to him, the success recorded by the trainees was partly attributable to the collaborative efforts of their trainers.
Explaining the rationale behind the retreat, Adeniyi said the Service previously trained its trainers in segments, with different resource persons and instructors meeting them at different times.
He said the new approach was designed to bring all the trainers together under one roof to promote a common understanding and ensure that they worked towards the same objective.
“You bring a resource person, talk to them. You bring the drill instructors, talk to them. It was taking time. So, instead of breaking these segments, we brought everybody under one roof for the same purpose, to get the same results and drive towards the same purpose,” he said.
He added that the approach would save time and promote greater coordination among the trainers ahead of the commencement of the basic training programme.
On his expectations from the new recruits, Adeniyi urged them to demonstrate discipline, perseverance and calmness throughout their training.
“They should be calm, they should be gentle, they should have perseverance, and they should exhibit a very high level of discipline,” he said.
Earlier, the Commandant of the Ikeja Training College, Deputy Comptroller Precious Atah, described the retreat as the first of its kind.
Atah said the retreat was important to set the pace for the training programme and urged the trainers to approach the exercise with an open mind.
The Coordinator of the retreat, retired Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs Greg Itotoh, also addressed the participants.
He charged the trainers to feel free to discuss issues without holding back, noting that doing so would expose grey areas and make it easier to find solutions.
