Listen to story here
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has linked teamwork, discipline and strategic thinking among officers to effective patrol operations and improved revenue generation.
Adeniyi made the connection at the closing ceremony of the Zone A Inter-Command Games held at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, urging officers to carry the unity and brotherhood displayed during the competition into their daily duties.
The competition, which began on August 17th 2026, featured football, badminton, table tennis and chess, bringing personnel from various commands under Zone A together.
The Comptroller-General said the camaraderie developed through sports should translate into stronger collaboration during official assignments, stressing that officers must remain their “brother’s keeper” whether working individually, in pairs or in teams.
“We must always be our brother’s keeper in everything that we do,” Adeniyi said.
He said the discipline and strategic thinking developed through sports were equally critical to Customs operations.
“Without an overarching discipline that we are going to take into a patrol operation, that patrol will fail. Without an overarching strategy that we want to deploy into revenue generation, it will fail if there is no strategy,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Zone A Sports Committee said the games were designed to promote physical fitness while strengthening relationships among officers across commands.
He said the competition allowed officers to exercise, interact and build friendships regardless of the commands they represented.
“Our greatest victory is that we exercised together, we competed together, we interacted together, we laughed together, and we strengthened our bonds and friendship even more,” he said.
Although officers competed under different command jerseys, the chairman noted that they remained members of one Service even as he urged the Comptroller-General to institutionalise the competition across the NCS and establish a National Inter-Zonal Sports Competition.
Under the proposed structure, command-level competitions would produce representatives for zonal contests, with winners progressing to a national competition. He also called for the improvement of sporting facilities across the Service.
Responding, Adeniyi backed the expansion of sporting activities but clarified that the Zone A competition should not be regarded as the first zonal games in NCS history.
He recalled that similar “Zona Games” had previously been held in Kano, Port Harcourt and Makurdi, adding that he participated in one as a young customs officer in Kano.
The CG also disclosed that plans were underway for a new Customs training college in Iperu, Ogun State, with sporting facilities incorporated into its design.
The ceremony featured parades by Apapa, Tin-Can Island, PTML, Idi-Iroko, Seme, Lilypond and Western Marine commands, alongside representatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Adeniyi commended the commands for their creativity, particularly Western Marine for its outfit despite limited resources. He also praised PTML’s colour coordination before jokingly withdrawing the commendation after alleging the command had “bribed” him with an orange, drawing laughter.
The event ended with the presentation of medals and trophies to the winning commands, with organisers describing the games as the foundation for a lasting sporting tradition within the NCS.
