Garlands for Joshua Usenbor at 64 as he relives times with Customs Service

Garlands for Joshua Usenbor at 64 as he relives times with Customs Service

Encomiums have been pouring in for a former officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr.Joshua Usenbor  who retired from service in 2014, after serving  the Nigeria Customs  for 35 years.

His date of birth  boosted Usenbor’s moral recently as family members, friends, captains of industry, retired customs officers and other dignitaries across board gathered to celebrate him in a grand ceremony.
The ceremony started with prayers, reception music, reading of poems from a religious text, just as some other literary renditions were infused into the ceremony.
Joshua, who was born 64 years ago in Benin City, attended St. Peter’s Primary School  Benin, Baptist High School and lka Grammar School, Agbor from where he later proceeded to Auchi Polytechnic Edo State, where he studied Business Administration.
He enlisted in the Nigerian Customs in 1979 and retired in 2014 after 35 years of service, during which time he served meritoriously in various capacities.
He explained that his first posting was to Sapele in Delta State, from there to Koko and Warri from where his long journey to the North started in 2002.

“My destination was Kano to Sokoto, Maiduguri, Yobe, Kaduna, Katsina and from there I was redeployed back to southern part of the country. I later found myself in Port Harcourt and from Port Harcourt to Lagos and Idi-Iroko, Ogun State, being my final destination from where I retired in 2014, to an enviable rank of Chief superintendent of  Customs,” he narrated.

Joshua described their time in service “Seven Up” saying: “The difference is very clear, the relationship among officers was cordial during our time, but now there is no trust again. In short, the Customs was a very nice place to work, but I don’t know what they are doing today. However, with the arrival of Acting Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, I believe things will change for the better.
Joshua, who is married and blessed with beautiful children and a wonderful wife all of who are now in Canada, dedicated his birthday to the Glory of God “because I was sick sometime ago of sugar complicated ailment, but God in infinite mercies saved me.”
One of his bosom friends, Jeff Ejiogu, who was a guest at the ceremony, described Joshua “as a good man, a jolly good fellow a man with a good heart.”
Jeff Ejiogu was born in Isu-Njaba Town, Isu Local Government Area of Imo State, bless with wonderful children and a beautiful wife they are all alive I thank God,
Jeff explained that he and Joshua met in Kano during one of his postings in 2002 “and since then we have been like twin brothers, as people normally call us twins in Kano, although he was a few months my senior in service.

“I even attended his younger brother Kingsley’s wedding in his own town Edo State in 1995/96, where I met his parents for the first time and we left Kano the same time to Lagos, but while I was posted to Seme, he was deployed to Apapa  though we later met again in Apapa where I serve in warehouse road strike force. I retired in 2015 after completing the maximum 35 years, having joined the service in 1980,”
Jeff said the customs started to depreciate when they started recruiting people from anywhere, adding: “During our time there were checks and balances until Abuja 88, where they started recruiting people from anywhere. At that time, your junior becomes your senior overnight.
“I had an encounter with the Customs sometime at the Benin By pass where an officer told my driver that he underpaid his customs duty. He called me immediately I asked the officer what is underpayment when someone bought a car from the port, paid all the duties and was cleared by the same Customs you are staying underpayment. He was only released when one of the senior officers saw the papers of the owner of the car,a retired Superintendent of Customs
“This is what ordinary citizens suffer in the hand of security outfits in Nigeria. I left the service before Col. Hammed Ali took over as Comptroller-General of Customs, but I believe under the new Acting Comptroller-General of Customs,Bashir Adewale things will change and the Customs will take its rightful place in the Nigerian economy.”