3. Bashir Abubakar: The Revolutionary Ethical Senior Public Servant
The BBC once did an exposé on how imported and locally made controlled substances and highly addictive drugs were being abused by youth in certain parts of Northern Nigeria. It drew attention to how this embarrassing this youthful pastime was ravaging the health and productivity of youth. The BBC report focused on Tramadol and its harmful effects on the health of youth from the North.
The Nigerian Customs & Excise Department has the responsibility for checking importation of illegal imports. It is however an organization with very bad image, often accused of colluding with importers to under-declare duties. It has also been said that, at the right price, officials will look the other way while papers for illegal imports are processed and passed. Over the years, Customs has made very little effort to clean up this poor image, as bosses and workers struggle to get rich quick.
There is a certain Bashir Abubakar that works in Customs & Excise Department. He was once approached by drug traffickers and offered a bribe of N150m to look the other way while 40 containers of Tramadol are smuggled in. His conscience could not let him; he not only rejected the money but ensured that containers of the ruinous substances were seized and destroyed.
Bashir Abubakar is a revolutionary champion public worker and humanist, an icon of empathy, proactiveness, innovation and courage, and a true warrior of the 2020 new national integrity movement (NIM) – as I see it.
Next: The revolutionary Security Agent
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