… CGC Adeniyi Urges Reflection, Discipline, Team-Driven Leadership
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reinforced its commitment to cultivating future leaders through a strategic training initiative for senior officers at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada.
The Senior Customs Command and Leadership Course (Batch A), which commenced on Monday, February 3, 2026, is aimed at equipping officers for higher responsibilities amid evolving operational, security, and trade facilitation challenges.
Addressing participants on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Adewale Adeniyi described the programme as a critical investment in the Service’s future. He emphasised that leadership within the NCS operates at every level and cautioned against complacency, erosion of standards, and weakening institutional culture as senior officers transition out of the Service.
“The authority you wield amplifies character. It exposes strength, but it also reveals weakness,”,Adeniyi stated. “Throughout this course, you will be challenged to reflect on your judgment, discipline, values, and behaviour under pressure. That discomfort is deliberate because growth does not occur in comfort zones”.
The CGC further stressed that strong institutions thrive on shared purpose, continuity, and mentorship, urging officers to avoid personalising authority, hoarding knowledge, or engaging in unhealthy competition.
The course features intensive sessions on leadership essentials such as authenticity, integrity, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, business acumen, and effective stakeholder engagement.
Officers also analysed lessons from a 4×100-metre relay as a leadership case study, underscoring teamwork, synergy, timing, and collective responsibility.
Discussions highlighted the consequences of poor teamwork and identified key elements of high-performing teams, including mindset, mission, methods, movement, message, and leading by example.
Adeniyi challenged participants to justify the Service’s investment by translating knowledge into tangible results that strengthen teams and groom future leaders. He congratulated officers on reaching a significant career milestone and encouraged them to fully embrace the experience, reflect honestly, and apply the lessons learned to advance the NCS.