Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources. What is not working for the country is the error of putting a square peg in a round hole. The problem of the country is as much of followership as it is of leadership for every society as scholars put it, deserve the type of leadership it has. Our inability as a people to identify and support the right people to lead us is our bane.
It is on that subtle note that I have made it a point of duty to identify achievers, people with track record, who have excelled in their chosen career especially those with inclination to help the vulnerable groups among us. As Nigerians march progressively toward 2023, I expect the people to keep their eyes on our political gladiators, to profile those jostling for elective positions so that we will not repeat the blunders of the past. In advanced democracies, those who have pedigrees are preferred to political jobbers. And that is why their environment is more stable politically.
And in my dispassionate search for those who have excelled in their various endeavors in Nigeria of today, I stumbled on Alhaji Mera Ibrahim Mohammed (OON) who is an accomplished custom officer, an outstanding public administrator, a conscientious public servant and a goal-getter. He does not need much introduction for he is a known public figure in government and business circles.
Alhaji Mohammed’s career in public service began when he joined the Customs after his graduation from the university. While in the customs, he rose meteorically through the ranks by dint of hard work and commitment to service ethics, holding many leadership and managerial positions. He had over three decades of experience that took him to many departments and commands in the Nigerian Customs Service. He held the position of Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Federal Operation Unit Lagos, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Enforcement, Apapa Port Complex, Deputy Comptroller Intelligence, Tin can Island Port, Customs Area Comptroller, Kano/Jigawa State Area Command, Customs Area Comptroller, Tin Can Island Port, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs (Admin and Technical Services), Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Human Resources Department, Member, Management of the Nigerian Customs Service Board, among other sensitive positions.
He is a performance-driven officer who believes in meeting and achieving set goals. He is also a stickler for rules. He follows due process and does not compromise his position. In 2005, as the Customs Area Comptroller of Kano/Jigawa States Command, he made the largest ever single seizure of smuggled textile in the history of Nigerian Customs. He also reactivated the Kano/Jigawa States Command to meet and exceed its revenue targets.
The same thing he did in 2009 when he was appointed Custom Area Controller for Tin Can Island 2 command, raising the monthly revenues from 3.7billion to 11 billion Naira. He believes in operational efficiency and accountability and thus he was able to automate and modernize the processes, systems and procedures for operational effectiveness. And his performance and commitment to duty did not escape government attention. For instance, he received from the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2014, commendations for outstanding performance; the only person in the annals of customs service to be so recognized and honored by two serving presidents.
Alhaji Mohammed is a man of many parts; a man of great erudition and strong intellectual dept. Apart from being a public officer, he is also a scholar with many scholarly publications to his credit among which are: Impact of Tax Adjustment Policies in Nigeria, International Trade Compliance and Nigeria Custom Service, Reform of Maritime Sector, a Case Study of Cabotage Law, among others. He is an expert in Customs, international trade, trade facilitation and public policy and management. He is also a farmer and an accomplished business man who understands the dynamics of the modern business environment. He is a director in many business conglomerates with investment across different sectors of the economy, from trade, consulting, manufacturing to Agriculture.
He believes that knowledge is power. He is a multi-disciplinary scholar with an insatiable appetite for learning. His quest for knowledge took him to several universities and centers of learning across the globe. He is a graduate of University of Sokoto where he had his first degree. He attended University of Lagos where he obtained Masters in Public Administration (MPA) and Munster University in Germany where he obtained Masters in Customs, Taxation and International Trade. He attended London University Business School Strategic Management Course in 2016.
He had Certificate on Leadership Training; On Change Management from Karmas School of Transformational Leadership Pittsburgh, United States. Among other courses, he also attended American University of Sharjah School of Business Administrations Certificate in Budgeting and Financial Management and Advanced Leadership Training on Ethical Leadership and Managing Change from Seneca College, Toronto, Canada. Apart from learning, he also believes in training and capacity building and hence, he facilitated many courses, seminars and workshops.
He is affiliated to many professional bodies. He is a fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants (FMIC), a fellow of Institute of Industrialist and Corporate Administration (Fiica), fellow, Institute of Security Management and Operations in Nigeria, fellow, Certified Institute of Management (Fcim), member, Institute of Directors, among others. He has a plethora of awards and societal recognitions to show for his personal and corporate accomplishment. He has the traditional title of Ciroman Kebbi since 1992. He has the national merit award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
The Ciroman Kebbi is a man of integrity and strict personal discipline who has zero tolerance for unethical conducts. But beyond the no-nonsense façade of Alhaji Mare Mohammed which is expected of a public officer of his caliber, he is an amiable, gentle and a kind personality who has invested his personal resources on charity and social works. He believes in prudent resource management and in empowering the people as a sure way alleviating poverty and attaining economic progress in the country. He is of the view that enduring peace is achievable in the polity with economic empowerment.
No doubt our political arena needs people like Alhaji Mare Ibrahim Mohammed; people with dignity, proven track record of accomplishments, public-spirited individuals with a sense of duty, seasoned administrators and technocrats that are purpose-driven to come and rescue the nation from the brink.
Hajia Mohammed, actress, social activist, politician, writes from London, UK, via [email protected]
