SOMETIMES, one feels bad and shameful about Nigeria and to call oneself a Nigerian, because of bad citizens disgracing us, both in and outside the country.

YOU will, no doubt, particularly feel painful that you can be treated shabbily, disdainfully, and subjected to excruciating and psychologically traumatic experience in the land of your birth (Nigeria) all because some idiots (God-will-punish-fellows) in Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) insisted on taking bribe (via crude extortion) from travelers at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) in Lagos.

AND one of such disgraceful occasions occurred on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 between 6pm and 10.20pm at the MMA in Lagos.

NO doubt, I will paint the scenario for President Muhammadu Buhari; the Aviation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; Interior Minister, Abdulrahman Dambazau; and Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Hammed Ali, and you too, to see and know that if urgent steps are not taken the war against corruption will continue to be a mirage.  But, on our part as patriotic citizens, we should, and must, continue to expose these bad elements in our midst, at least to begin, or carry on, the anti-corruption crusade.

BUHARI, Amaechi, Dambazau and Ali have opportunity now to wage war against not only corruption at the nation’s airports, but exploitation of fellow Nigerians by people in vantage (uniform) positions.

FOR security reasons, until probably a probe is instituted when I will fully disclose the identity, let me refer to the person involved here as “patriotic citizen”.

PATRIOTIC citizen arrived MMA at 6pm for 11pm flight on this Tuesday, few days ago, to avoid delay.  She was travelling to Canada via Frankfurt, Germany.  Patriotic citizen subjected her luggage to scrutiny at the check-in point.  With mere 1 kilogram above the recommended 23 kilogram allowed for her luggage, patriotic citizen was asked to pay a bribe of N145,000 (which was the conversion of the dollars demanded) and be allowed to go.

BUT, patriotic citizen insisted on not paying.  She preferred to drop the excesses, like the book written on Egba by a media guru, Hakeem Adenekan, and cultural clothes to wear (not to sell) but ultimately to promote Nigeria’s fabric image abroad.   At this juncture, let me ask: is it a sin, or could it be an offence, to wear our cultural dress in foreign lands?  Well, as the patriotic citizen remained adamant, not ready to offer any bribe, the luggage was reduced, excesses returned home and the first hurdle was over.

INDEED, after the luggage had been cleared at the counter, the next stumbling block was the “almighty” Customs.  Unfortunately, the Customs lady, who was looking for every available opportunity to extort money, spotted the few “adire” (locally made clothes) in a luggage.  “Oh, you must be going abroad to sell these adire to make money so you must pay N50, 000 for taking more than two allowed by the law,” the lady Customs fired the extortive salvo, in fearful manner.  “No my sister, these are just “adire” for personal use, not for commercial purposes,” patriotic citizen swiftly responded.

UNFORTUNATELY, those who escorted the patriotic citizen to the airport had left.  So there was no one to give the “local dresses” to take back home.  Indeed, a great dilemma for patriotic citizen in her home country that she should be proud of, even outside the homeland!

PATRIOTIC citizen said that all the explanations and pleadings she offered to let her go, without offering the

demanded bribe, fell on deaf ears. The Customs woman would not yield. Woman to woman!  I thought women are of the soft side?

HOWEVER, a bit of change of heart came at a point, and the Customs lady, in company of her colleagues and a police officer (as I was told), lowered the bribe to N20, 000.  But the patriotic citizen, who thought the “Buhari Change” had reached the Customs without knowing she was in illusory transit, was not ready to part away with any amount.

AT this point, I was contacted on phone because couple of the “adires” are meant for the oncoming convention of my association, Olumo Progressive Association Canada Inc, which comprises of diasporan Egba and Yewa citizens who are promoting their culture outside the country.

APPARENTLY thinking that as the President of this association in Canada, I could persuade the Customs woman to show understanding, I attempted to talk to her.  But, she refused. All I could hear from her, via the phone, was “I’m not ready to talk to anybody, take away the phone.”  How would I sort out this problem?  I kept thinking until I remembered few guys I could reach pronto.

IN a jiffy, I picked my phone, got in touch with my professional colleague, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.  He responded that he was in Saudi Arabia, and that he didn’t know who to contact immediately.  So no respite!  Failure one!

WHILE I was ruminating who else to call, I remembered the Osun State Police Commissioner, Kola Sodipo, and his one-time counterpart in Edo, CP Adebanjo.  I’ve known both for years before they attained such enviable police top shot post.   First, I reached Sodipo.  He responded: “I only know their ‘ogas’, and should I call now, all the ‘ogas’ would not be there at work, by now they will all be at home,” Sodipo responded before asking me to tell patriotic citizen to call him.  On is part, Adebanjo only lamented, as noise was oozing in the background apparently as if he was watching a football game on television or at a busy place.

WHO else could intervene?  Yes, I remembered Dotun Oladipo, the Publisher of The Eagle online newspaper, fellow journalists, Chief Kayode Odunaro, Ba’aroyin of Imala and Media Adviser to Senator Solomon Adeola, and Itunu Ariyo.  I also reached out to my friends whose memory came to mind: Kings Ameachi, Bimbo Durojaiye and few others.

ALL we could discuss together was their handicapped position to help, after few minutes of lamentation on how our country continued to frustrate fellow citizens due to insistence on bribe.  Indeed, there was no one to halt this corruption and exploitation.  I kept cogitating again on what next to do, but I could not immediately think of even any Customs friend, or a friend to a friend in Customs.

WHILE I was making contact the time was ticking.  The scheduled time for the patriotic citizen to board the Lufthansa aircraft was closing up.  After the insistence of the Customs lady (or woman) to collect the bribe, with patriotic citizen remaining the last person on the counter, it was obvious she can’t win the “Buhari war against corruption.”  She, patriotically in morose and dejectedly shameful mood, dashed to the ATM to withdraw N10, 000, and handed it over, even with much pleading against the N20, 000, to the Customs woman, without issuing any receipt, before she could be given passage to walk away, with anger, to board the plane.

HOWEVER, by the time I reached patriotic citizen back, she merely responded: “I’ve given THEM N10,000 instead of missing my flight, as there was nothing I could do again.”

NOW, fellow Nigerian citizens, why is this the way to go in our country?  N10,000 without receipt?  If the money was

going to government purse as revenue, probably it would have been understandable.  But into the purse of Madam Customs Officer!

WHY must we continue to exploit ourselves just because we are in vantage positions of wearing uniform or office of authority?  Is it an offence to carry your cultural clothes abroad to wear, particularly to showcase your native attire, like Indians, Chinese, English guys, etcetera, often do?

WHY are we so wicked, soulless, and corrupt-ridden people despite our claim to be highly religious, with churches and mosques, and others, in almost every available space in the land?

SO, because of N10, 000 the Customs woman was ready to sacrifice ticket bought with thousands of naira (dollar)?  Giving out N10,000 could be a small issue to the patriotic citizen, and you and I too, but the manner it was collected was not only ludicrous and disgraceful, but extortingly annoying.

AT this juncture, let me ask this: if one, or all, of those I contacted couldn’t help, or intervene one way or the other at the crucial point in time, where lies the hope for the common man whose rights are being trampled upon daily in our society, and no one to turn to easily for help or intervention?  And the common man does not know anyone except his to pray for his luck and to God?

BUT, Buhari, Amaechi, Dambazau and Ali must look into this matter as a test case to weed out the idiots, in uniform, and other corrupt people wherever they exist, in our midst.  And this scenario I painted above is a simple, not humongous, assignment for my friend and brother, Femi Adesina, the spokesperson for Buhari to pass across to Mr. President, Minister Amaechi and others for appropriate intervention and sanctions, where applicable.

AND this matter is simple: who was the Customs woman on duty on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 between 6pm and 10.20pm?   Surely, patriotic citizen can identify the “thief in uniform”, if necessary.  Should this Customs lady and her ilk lose their jobs, over corruption and extortion, it is good for Nigeria and our society!

THE war against corruption and the CHANGE mantra must begin from somewhere, if we are serious in turning our country around for good.

SINCERELY speaking, the time for change in Nigeria is now; no further delay in our dear country or else…..!

• By Femi Shodunke (Oluwo), Ba’aroyin of Igbeinland, President, Olumo Progressive Association Canada Inc. and Publisher of Canada-based online newspaper, GatewayMail, Toronto.