CSC Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, National Public Relations Officer, NCS
Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, a Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC), is a man who believes in developing his personal capacity to dominate his environment. This is evident in his career progression in the last 13 years.
Maiwada who joined the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education/Geography and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management must have expected a posting to one of the Customs’ schools to teach. He was posted, instead, to a public relations unit where he had a lengthy stint. Instead of feeling like fish out of water, as some others would do, Maiwada adapted to his assigned new role and started developing himself afresh academically and professionally in Public Relations. Today, he is on top of the game as the National Public Relations Officer (NPRO) of NCS.
Youthful, eloquent, charismatic, focused, methodical and intelligent, Maiwada has carved a niche for himself as a spokesperson par excellence. He knows his job very well, and carries it out very efficiently. He is abreast of what his job entails and has not relented in discharging it with professionalism and utmost diligence. Since his appointment as NPRO about a year ago, Maiwada has reinvented the job of speaking for the revenue-generating cum law-enforcement agency.
He has, with a profound sense of responsibility, always availed the general public of the strides of the Nigeria Customs, particularly in fighting smugglers, and other economic saboteurs. As the mouthpiece of the Customs Service, the NPRO projected the leadership philosophy of Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), the immediate-past Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) – who appointed him as the Customs’ spokesman.
Working under BashirAdewaleAdeniyi, the incumbent CGC, Maiwada has shown remarkable fidelity to advancing the good causes of his principal, the man who himself is the immediate past NPRO.
Adopting a beautifully-planned, portent and clear-cut information dissemination strategy, the Customs PRO, regularly intimates the media on how the BashirAdeniyi-led NCS management is helping to safeguard the Nigerian economy from criminal elements.
Last December, Maiwada emerged as the “Spokesperson of the Year” at the 2023 National Spokespersons Award ceremony, organized by the Image Merchants Promotion Limited. At the 2024 edition of the Awards held in Abuja on March 27, the Customs spokesman won the award, against all odds, for the second year running. These recognitions for someone who is barely a year old on the saddle as the NCS’ mouthpiece, clearly indicate promises of greater future on the job.
Maiwada began his academic life early at the New Campus Staff School, Bayero University, Kano, where he received both his Primary and Junior Secondary education. He concluded his Senior Secondary School Education at the Government Science Secondary School, Dutsin-Ma, in Katsina state.
He proceeded to study Education/Geography, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Education (B.Sc. (Edu) Geography) from the Bayero University, Kano. He crowned his academic pursuit with a Master’s in Environmental Management from the same University.
The Customs’ NPRO also holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Masters in Mass Communication from Crescent University, Abeokuta. He is currently a PhD student in Media Arts at the University of Abuja.
He was enlisted into the Nigeria Customs as Cadet ASC in 2011. After he was commissioned in 2012, the young Customs man was deployed to the Public Relations Unit, where he began his Public Relations career as Zonal PRO Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘B’ Headquarters Kaduna from January 2013 to February 2017.
Considering his efficiency, he was found worthy and redeployed as the Public Relations Officer, NCS, Ogun Command from February 2017 to September 2020. That same year, he was redeployed as the pioneer Liaison Officer of Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network (NCBN TV/Radio) and later became Deputy National Public Relations Officer from 2022 to 2023. He was confirmed as a substantive NPRO in April 2023, a position he holds to date.
To fully embrace the service of Public Relations and the dynamics it offers, Maiwada is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). He also holds a full membership in the Association of Communication Scholars of Nigeria (ACSPN) and is also a member of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE). He is also a member of the Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).
He has attended numerous courses relating to Customs Operations, Public Relations, Strategic Communication, and Leadership.
A consummate and seasoned Officer, he is a recipient of the 2020 World Customs Organisation (WCO) Meritorious Award. Also, under his watch, the Public Relations Unit of NCS recently received the WCO Meritorious Award during the 2024 International Customs Day Celebration (ICD).
