
*A breath of fresh at Customs House* By Pius Mordi
On August 27, 2015, then President Muhammadu Buhari took the unusual step of appointing a retired army colonel, Hameed Ibrahim Ali, as comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs Service. But it was not until two weeks later, precisely on September 10 that he accepted to take up the job.
Initially, Ali was reluctant to take up the offer, having thought that the job was not befitting enough. His expectation of something more befitting for himself was not misplaced. He was the Chief of Staff to Buhari during the campaign that led to the 2015 that brought the former president to Aso Rock and thought he would return to the position with his principal now in power.
Ali had been able to establish a strong bond with Buhari who not only trusted him intensely but considered him incorrigible. I...