The Customs NPRO DC Abdullahi Maiwada at the occasion.
Story by Dili Utomi.
The main hall of the Customs Training College Ikeja Lagos was the venue of the “End Of The Year Media Parley” hosted by the Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service. The event took place Friday night with notable Maritime journalists in attendance .
It was a great occassion for all the public relations officers present to feel the heart beat of the people who have over the decades highlighted their acheivements, critiqued their operations, instinctively nudged them forward in a manner of speaking and occasionally disagreeing on some issues.
The public relations officer of the Zone ‘A’ , Chief Supretendent of Customs, Akaninyene Edeminam opened the occasion. In his speech he said “I am delighted to warmly welcome you to this End-of-Year Media parley organised by the Nigerian Customs Service, Zone ‘A’, your presence today underscores a strong and enduring relationship between the service and the Media-a relationship founded on mutual respect, transparency and a shared responsibility to keep the Nigerian public well informed.
“As we approach the end of the year, this gathering offers us an important moment to reflect on our engagements, assess our progress and exchange views for a better year ahead. This is because the NCS recognises the media as a vital partner in the execution of its mandate.
Speakers after speakers were invited to the podium to give their Goodwill messages, Jennifer Igwe of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) warned that “As we meet to Parley, we should be totally aware of our responsibility to our nation”.
Ismail Aniemu opined that “The public relations unit of the Nigeria Customs Service has become the unsung hero of the Services. They have churned out so many stories that make our job easier in the course of the last two years. The Service has done so well”. He concluded.
Udo Onyeka noted that “The Customs has been very remarkable in the execution of their mandates including in the area of corporate social responsibility where many projects have been carried out to aid communities”.
Vera Osokpo in her assessment opined that for 50 weeks of the year, the PR department of the NCS has given us contents, things to write about. She urged that the spirit with which they carry out their duty be sustained.
Jaiyeola Babatunde commended the Zone ‘A’ of the NCS, but also suggested that “The Parley be made a quarterly event”.
Veteran journalist, Okey Iroegbu said that the NCS has acquitted itself well in all considerations, but also appealed that they try and put smile on every maritime journalist’s face in their magnanimity.
The interactive session ushered in a more critical engagement to the Parley. Kingsley Anaroke advocates that the public relations department should cultivate more media relationships.
A cross section of PROs at the occassion.
Dili Utomi looking at the relationship between the PR units of the various Commands and the press opined that it can be better. He said that some of the journalists have been on the beat for over three decades and have cultivated personal relationships with some officers who over the years have been elevated to higher ranks.
He appealed that these relationships with higher ranked officers should not be viewed by the various PR departments as affront on their positions, but as means of engendering more cordial and symbiotic engagements with each Command.
Innocent Orok suggests that Maritime journalists should be empowered more through training and also be gifted with modern tools to do their job.
John Iwori opined that the NCS should should match their intention to do good with due diligence especially as it concerned the auctioning of vehicles.
The public relations officer of the Lagos Free Trade Zone Command, Chief Supretendent of Customs, LA Abdullahi-Lagos stood in for the Customs National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada whose flight was delayed.
A cross section of journalists at the event.
CSC Abdullahi-Lagos in reaction to some of the matters tabled by the journalists said that the Parley has been worth it as he implored everyone of the journalists present to continue to work symbiotically with the Service to make jobs easier.
DC Abdullahi Maiwada came in much later and also weighed in on some of the matters at hand. He promised that the issue of training is very important to the Service and will be taken seriously as we enter the new year.
His words ” I promise that there will be impactful training as we know that to be able to inform, you need to be informed first. On the matter of empowerment, we are all managers and should continue to learn how to manage with the little resources at our disposal”.
The NPRO also admonished all PROs to lean a bit more on the side of emotional intelligence while dealing with journalists. He advised that sometimes, you need to remove your personality to be able to deal with the public. By and large, he noted that the public relations officers are humans and are not infallible, but that they will continue to give good service as demanded by their training and the Nigeria Customs Service.
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