Ronke Kehinde/
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a woman made history in the United States of America, when she said ‘No’ to government’s obnoxious policy.
That was Rosa Parks.
She was a civil rights leader whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The United States Congress called her the ‘First Lady of Civil Rights’ and the ‘Mother of the Freedom Movement’.
Like Rosa Parks, who brought change when she rejected bus driver James F. Blake’s order to relinquish her seat in the ‘coloured section’ to a white passenger, after the whites-only section was filled, a Nigerian woman is also on the verge of making history as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila made a definitive pronouncement that is set to bring a change in government’s outdated travel policy.
Adaeze Udensi Nwagboliwe became the poster woman of the struggle against an obnoxious policy suspected to be fuelling corruption at the country’s entry point after she resisted alleged questionable activities of officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) who asked her to pay about N175, 000 duty on one pair of Sneakers and a mini-boy bag. She also refused to see a superior that some other travellers were asked to see privately when she arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on a British Airways flight from London, at about 4.30 am on October 18, 2019.
Addressing lawmakers at a session on Wednesday, Hon Gbajabiamila said, “Honourable colleagues, while we were away in the last two weeks, there was a National issue that came up on the front burner. We all got messages about one of us, a citizen of Nigeria, that supposedly ran into problems with Customs at the airport, where she was charged for the purchase of a bag, apparently the duty threshold was N50, 000, and we all know, at least in my opinion, that it’s unrealistic. So, I would want to ask the Chairman, Customs, and Chairman – finance, perhaps, to put together, very quickly, a review of the Customs and Excise Management Act so that we can reflect this time and make the necessary amendments.”
NewsmakersNG broke the story that caused the hoopla on all news media after Mrs Nwagboliwe posted her complaints on Facebook.
Reacting to the story, the National Public Relations Officer of NCS, Mr Joseph Attah, argued in his official statement that the estimated cost of the mini-boy bag and a pair of Sneakers, bought at the duty-free shop in Heathrow, advised the imposed duty because it was above the allowable value of N50, 000 and “beyond what normal discretion would allow”.
Mrs Nwagboliwe, however, asked: “Why do we have a maximum of $10,000 when travelling, PTA of $4,000 and N50, 000/$138 maximum allowance on return?”
She said, “Innocent Nigerians are being exploited and put through immense torture as a result of this outdated N50, 000 law.
“These men of the Customs are apparently waiting eagerly for December to exploit and intimidate hundreds of Nigerians that will be coming home for Christmas and need to be deployed out immediately to save us from further embarrassment as a nation.
“I am immensely humbled by the love, encouragement and support that 99% of Nigerians who read my story have shown me. They know I am not lying as I have countless experiences of several hundreds of innocent Nigerians in the hand of these Abuja International Airport Customs people. We also know that this evil must stop if our country must grow. They proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Nigerians are GREAT people being held down by a few that are sabotaging the efforts of our leaders. Nigerians know the truth.”
Watch Hon Gbajabimila speak on Oak TV:
We need a radical change in this country. Weldone madam for your boldness and courage.