Beyond Looking Good: How Nigeria Customs Redefines PR Through Genuine Public Service

Beyond Looking Good: How Nigeria Customs Redefines PR Through Genuine Public Service
By John Adeoluwa Ogunrinde

When I received an invitation from the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, PhD, MFR—conveyed through the National Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD—to facilitate and speak at the 2025 Public Relations Workshop, I considered it an honour. The theme, “Beyond Masters of Ceremonies: The Strategic Role of Public Relations Officers for Institutional Growth and Stakeholder Trust,” resonates strongly with my ongoing doctoral research on social media algorithms.

My task was to discuss “Understanding Social Media Algorithms, Institutional Storytelling, and Strategic Messaging for Effective Communication.” It was a topic that sits comfortably within my academic and professional orbit, and I approached it with both scholarly enthusiasm and a practitioner’s mindset.

In my presentation, I traced the transformation of Public Relations from a largely media-driven practice into a technologically mediated profession. I introduced the concept of “tech-relating”—the inevitable merging of PR practice with digital literacy, algorithmic logic, and technological adaptability. Using first-hand evidence from my data collection, I highlighted how the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates an enormous amount of content capable of dominating digital spaces if curated with strategic intent—leveraging format, visuals, sound, timing, and even corporate humour.

Yet, beneath the intellectual excitement of the workshop, I was determined not to be blinded by colourful presentations or the dazzling PR stagecraft that typically surrounds public institutions. Across Nigeria, PR is too often deployed as a corporate deodorant—sprayed generously to mask dysfunction, inefficiency, or a poor service culture. Many organisations, especially in the private sector, invest more in image than in substance. They rely on sleek communication to compensate for structural rot.

So I arrived at the workshop with a default scepticism—the sort that comes naturally to researchers and observers who have seen too many government institutions pretend to work while achieving little. I wanted to see whether the Customs Service fit into the familiar pattern: big talk, big branding, but small results.

What I witnessed challenged my hypothesis profoundly.

A System Doing More Good Than It Talks About

Before the event, I was taken on a guided tour of the NCS headquarters in Abuja by the PR and media units. What I saw forced a rethink. Instead of the superficial, PR-obsessed structure I expected, I encountered what I call a “positive communication imbalance.” The Nigeria Customs Service appeared far more invested in actually doing good than in looking good.

The most powerful evidence was the ongoing Customs Modernisation Project. I walked into a vast operations hall—vast enough to host a major event—filled with officers intensely coordinating national operations across ports, airports, and land borders. Every screen was alive with real-time data. Officers toggled between multiple windows, clearing shipments, monitoring duty payments, verifying documentation, and resolving compliance issues under punishing deadlines.

It was an ecosystem of precision, pressure, and professionalism.

Repeatedly, I heard the word “B’Odogwu,” and curiosity pushed me to ask questions. It turned out to be a ground-breaking, Nigerian-built technological solution—a unified trade management portal that simplifies importation, speeds up clearance time, and reduces bottlenecks. A homegrown innovation named in a manner that reflects Nigerian spirit and creativity.

This was not PR gloss. It was tangible, operational progress that few Nigerians have ever heard about.

The Service No One Talks About

The deeper question nagged at me: Why is an institution doing so much still perceived so poorly?

Why do Nigerians know the image of the single officer at a checkpoint more vividly than the officers sitting behind computer screens processing complex transactions for hours?

Why is the Customs Service’s massive investment in technology still invisible to the average Nigerian?

Why are the Service’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility projects—schools, clinics, community infrastructure—rarely known outside affected communities?

Why are Nigerians largely unaware of the seizures of illicit drugs, endangered wildlife, prohibited arms, counterfeit goods, and contraband food items removed from circulation?

Why do they not hear about NCS’s leadership in international trade agreements and global customs reforms?

Why do they not see that Customs is actually one of the key institutions keeping the country’s economic engine running?

The silence in the PR room after I asked these questions was heavy—but honest. The officers knew the perception gap existed. They also knew why: for decades, NCS prioritised Public Service Relations over image management. Action over applause. Service over publicity.

And while this is admirable, it has created an imbalance—one where the Service is doing significantly more than the public is aware of.

The Reality: A Culture of Service, Not Showmanship

Unlike many government agencies where PR props up weak performance, NCS appears to have chosen a different path—delivering service first, communicating later. Some reasons are historical:

A regimented institutional culture that favours action over rhetoric

A legacy of information classification in government agencies

Leadership styles that emphasised substance over visibility

From Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.) to the current CG, Adewale Adeniyi, a culture of strategic stability and disciplined governance has taken root. Both leaders have brought maturity and continuity to the Service. Their leadership styles are markedly different, yet they share a commitment to institutional growth and a cautious, responsible approach to visibility.

The Customs Service today is not the same institution described in old anecdotes. It is implementing reforms in technology adoption, border security, trade facilitation, and corporate governance—slowly, but steadily.

The PR Lesson: The Problem Is Not Customs—It Is Public Relations Itself

This experience highlights a larger professional crisis. Across many organisations in Nigeria, PR has been mistaken for:

media stunts

impression management

brand cosmetics

photo-friendly events

superficial storytelling

The classical philosophy of PR—which emphasises organisational improvement, stakeholder value, and genuine public interest—has been overshadowed by the obsession with looking good instead of being good.

The Nigeria Customs Service offers a compelling counterexample: an institution that has been doing the work, even if it has not quite mastered the art of telling its story.

A New Era: Balancing Service Delivery With Strategic Communication

In response to my observations, Dr. Maiwada listed several reforms underway:

A reputation management guide for officer conduct

Public feedback mechanisms

Dedicated complaint hotlines

Improved performance evaluation

Continuous training

Annual PR workshops

Multi-platform communication strategies

These efforts signal a shift—an institution seeking balance. Not abandoning service for showmanship, but ensuring that service is complemented by communication.

Signs of progress are already emerging. Since 2023, the NCS PR team has won multiple local and international awards for public engagement. The CG, himself a seasoned PR professional, understands that “looking good must be premised on doing good.”

Conclusion: Nigeria Customs Service and the Future of Public Relations

The Nigeria Customs Service has demonstrated—perhaps unintentionally—that Public Service Relations is superior to cosmetic PR. It shows organisational growth from inside out, not public relations built from outside in.

My earlier hypothesis—that NCS would be like many private-sector organisations that polish their image more than their performance—was proven wrong.

The institution I saw was not perfect, but it was working, improving, investing, building, and modernising.

If PR in Nigeria wants to regain its dignity, relevance, and societal value, practitioners must embrace the Customs model:

Do good first.
Communicate afterwards.
Let substance precede style.
Let service shape the story.

For the Nigeria Customs Service, the challenge now is simple: continue doing good, and start telling the story—not as an exaggeration, but as an honest reflection of work done.

That is the future of responsible PR.
That is the future Nigeria deserves.

John Adeoluwa Ogunrinde writes from London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

Beyond Looking Good: How Nigeria Customs Redefines PR Through Genuine Public Service
By John Adeoluwa Ogunrinde

When I received an invitation from the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, PhD, MFR—conveyed through the National Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD—to facilitate and speak at the 2025 Public Relations Workshop, I considered it an honour. The theme, “Beyond Masters of Ceremonies: The Strategic Role of Public Relations Officers for Institutional Growth and Stakeholder Trust,” resonates strongly with my ongoing doctoral research on social media algorithms.

My task was to discuss “Understanding Social Media Algorithms, Institutional Storytelling, and Strategic Messaging for Effective Communication.” It was a topic that sits comfortably within my academic and professional orbit, and I approached it with both scholarly enthusiasm and a practitioner’s mindset.

In my presentation, I traced the transformation of Public Relations from a largely media-driven practice into a technologically mediated profession. I introduced the concept of “tech-relating”—the inevitable merging of PR practice with digital literacy, algorithmic logic, and technological adaptability. Using first-hand evidence from my data collection, I highlighted how the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates an enormous amount of content capable of dominating digital spaces if curated with strategic intent—leveraging format, visuals, sound, timing, and even corporate humour.

Yet, beneath the intellectual excitement of the workshop, I was determined not to be blinded by colourful presentations or the dazzling PR stagecraft that typically surrounds public institutions. Across Nigeria, PR is too often deployed as a corporate deodorant—sprayed generously to mask dysfunction, inefficiency, or a poor service culture. Many organisations, especially in the private sector, invest more in image than in substance. They rely on sleek communication to compensate for structural rot.

So I arrived at the workshop with a default scepticism—the sort that comes naturally to researchers and observers who have seen too many government institutions pretend to work while achieving little. I wanted to see whether the Customs Service fit into the familiar pattern: big talk, big branding, but small results.

What I witnessed challenged my hypothesis profoundly.

A System Doing More Good Than It Talks About

Before the event, I was taken on a guided tour of the NCS headquarters in Abuja by the PR and media units. What I saw forced a rethink. Instead of the superficial, PR-obsessed structure I expected, I encountered what I call a “positive communication imbalance.” The Nigeria Customs Service appeared far more invested in actually doing good than in looking good.

The most powerful evidence was the ongoing Customs Modernisation Project. I walked into a vast operations hall—vast enough to host a major event—filled with officers intensely coordinating national operations across ports, airports, and land borders. Every screen was alive with real-time data. Officers toggled between multiple windows, clearing shipments, monitoring duty payments, verifying documentation, and resolving compliance issues under punishing deadlines.

It was an ecosystem of precision, pressure, and professionalism.

Repeatedly, I heard the word “B’Odogwu,” and curiosity pushed me to ask questions. It turned out to be a ground-breaking, Nigerian-built technological solution—a unified trade management portal that simplifies importation, speeds up clearance time, and reduces bottlenecks. A homegrown innovation named in a manner that reflects Nigerian spirit and creativity.

This was not PR gloss. It was tangible, operational progress that few Nigerians have ever heard about.

The Service No One Talks About

The deeper question nagged at me: Why is an institution doing so much still perceived so poorly?

Why do Nigerians know the image of the single officer at a checkpoint more vividly than the officers sitting behind computer screens processing complex transactions for hours?

Why is the Customs Service’s massive investment in technology still invisible to the average Nigerian?

Why are the Service’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility projects—schools, clinics, community infrastructure—rarely known outside affected communities?

Why are Nigerians largely unaware of the seizures of illicit drugs, endangered wildlife, prohibited arms, counterfeit goods, and contraband food items removed from circulation?

Why do they not hear about NCS’s leadership in international trade agreements and global customs reforms?

Why do they not see that Customs is actually one of the key institutions keeping the country’s economic engine running?

The silence in the PR room after I asked these questions was heavy—but honest. The officers knew the perception gap existed. They also knew why: for decades, NCS prioritised Public Service Relations over image management. Action over applause. Service over publicity.

And while this is admirable, it has created an imbalance—one where the Service is doing significantly more than the public is aware of.

The Reality: A Culture of Service, Not Showmanship

Unlike many government agencies where PR props up weak performance, NCS appears to have chosen a different path—delivering service first, communicating later. Some reasons are historical:

A regimented institutional culture that favours action over rhetoric

A legacy of information classification in government agencies

Leadership styles that emphasised substance over visibility

From Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.) to the current CG, Adewale Adeniyi, a culture of strategic stability and disciplined governance has taken root. Both leaders have brought maturity and continuity to the Service. Their leadership styles are markedly different, yet they share a commitment to institutional growth and a cautious, responsible approach to visibility.

The Customs Service today is not the same institution described in old anecdotes. It is implementing reforms in technology adoption, border security, trade facilitation, and corporate governance—slowly, but steadily.

The PR Lesson: The Problem Is Not Customs—It Is Public Relations Itself

This experience highlights a larger professional crisis. Across many organisations in Nigeria, PR has been mistaken for:

media stunts

impression management

brand cosmetics

photo-friendly events

superficial storytelling

The classical philosophy of PR—which emphasises organisational improvement, stakeholder value, and genuine public interest—has been overshadowed by the obsession with looking good instead of being good.

The Nigeria Customs Service offers a compelling counterexample: an institution that has been doing the work, even if it has not quite mastered the art of telling its story.

A New Era: Balancing Service Delivery With Strategic Communication

In response to my observations, Dr. Maiwada listed several reforms underway:

A reputation management guide for officer conduct

Public feedback mechanisms

Dedicated complaint hotlines

Improved performance evaluation

Continuous training

Annual PR workshops

Multi-platform communication strategies

These efforts signal a shift—an institution seeking balance. Not abandoning service for showmanship, but ensuring that service is complemented by communication.

Signs of progress are already emerging. Since 2023, the NCS PR team has won multiple local and international awards for public engagement. The CG, himself a seasoned PR professional, understands that “looking good must be premised on doing good.”

Conclusion: Nigeria Customs Service and the Future of Public Relations

The Nigeria Customs Service has demonstrated—perhaps unintentionally—that Public Service Relations is superior to cosmetic PR. It shows organisational growth from inside out, not public relations built from outside in.

My earlier hypothesis—that NCS would be like many private-sector organisations that polish their image more than their performance—was proven wrong.

The institution I saw was not perfect, but it was working, improving, investing, building, and modernising.

If PR in Nigeria wants to regain its dignity, relevance, and societal value, practitioners must embrace the Customs model:

Do good first.
Communicate afterwards.
Let substance precede style.
Let service shape the story.

For the Nigeria Customs Service, the challenge now is simple: continue doing good, and start telling the story—not as an exaggeration, but as an honest reflection of work done.

That is the future of responsible PR.
That is the future Nigeria deserves.

John Adeoluwa Ogunrinde writes from London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.