Inter-Command Games: Zone ‘A’ Customs Revives Forgotten Sporting Tradition in Colourful Pageantry, As Adeniyi Targets National Competition

… From Kano, Port Harcourt, Makurdi to Ikeja, NCS seeks to rebuild institutional sports culture

Inter-Command Games: Zone ‘A’ Customs Revives Forgotten Sporting Tradition in Colourful Pageantry, As Adeniyi Targets National Competition

… From Kano, Port Harcourt, Makurdi to Ikeja, NCS seeks to rebuild institutional sports culture

By Felix Kumuyi

Comptroller General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, giving his address at the grandfinal of the FOU ‘A’ Customs Games

The 2026 Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘A’ Inter-Command Games may have ended with the Customs Police Unit lifting the football trophy, but the more consequential development could be the Comptroller General’s attempt to revive and institutionalize a sporting tradition that predates the latest competition.

Trophies

Closing the 20 Days all-round thrilling games at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, September 05, 2026, which was filled with pump and pageantry, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, made an important historical clarification: the Zone A competition should not be regarded as the first zonal sports competition organised by the Service.

According to Adeniyi, similar “Zonal Games” had previously been organised in places including Kano, Port Harcourt and Makurdi, with the Customs chief recalling that he personally participated in one of the competitions as a young officer in Kano.

Bikers on Dispay at the Games

That revelation gives the 2026 competition a different significance. Rather than representing the birth of Customs sports, the Ikeja games could be seen as an attempt to revive an institutional tradition that had lost momentum and rebuild it around a more structured national framework.

The possibility of that revival became clearer when Adeniyi endorsed calls for the expansion of the competition beyond Zone A.

The games, which ran from August 17 to September 5, featured 16 teams from Customs commands across Zone A competing in football, chess, badminton and table tennis under the theme: “Fit to Serve, United to Lead.”

Masters of Ceremoniy

The Customs Police Unit emerged football champions after defeating the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command 1-0 in the final. But the trophy was only one component of what organisers hope could become a much bigger sporting architecture within the Service.

The Chairman of the Games Planning Committee, Comptroller Chidi Nwokorie, had called for the competition to be expanded to other Customs zones, with a long-term objective of establishing a National NCS Inter-Zonal Sports Competition.

Procession of Team Police: Winners of Male Football Match

Okorie believe that under such an arrangement, competitions could begin at command level, progress to zonal contests and culminate in a national inter-zonal championship.

He explained that such a structure would give Customs sports a regular calendar, rather than leaving competitions dependent on individual initiatives or occasional approvals. It could also provide a systematic mechanism for identifying sporting talent among the Service’s workforce.

The renewed interest in sports comes against the background of the Customs Service’s established contribution to Nigerian sports. Adeniyi noted that Customs personnel and teams have excelled in disciplines including volleyball, basketball, football, beach volleyball and athletics.

He also disclosed that two Customs officers had recently secured qualification for the Olympics in beach volleyball. These achievements suggest that the Service already possesses a pool of sporting talent that could benefit from a more organised development structure.

But the infrastructure required to nurture such talent remains a major challenge. Adeniyi openly expressed concern about the state of facilities at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, observing that they had changed little since he trained there more than 30 years ago.

Colourful Procession of Team PTML who won the Female Football match plus several other trophies

The admission was striking because the facility is not merely a sports venue; it is part of the institution responsible for training the personnel expected to carry out the Service’s increasingly demanding responsibilities.

For the amiable CGC, the answer appears to lie partly in the development of the Service’s proposed new training college, following his disclosure that plans for the new Customs Training College at Iperu, Ogun State, include suitable sporting facilities.

In the interim, he suggested that temporary improvements could be made at the existing Ikeja College to support recruits and officers undergoing training.

Team TinCan

The push to revive Customs sports also reflects a broader understanding of what sporting activity can contribute to an organisation.

For Adeniyi, the benefits go beyond physical fitness. He linked sports to discipline, teamwork, camaraderie and strategic thinking – qualities that are equally important in patrol operations, enforcement, revenue collection and trade facilitation.

The participation of the Nigeria Immigration Service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in the closing activities further demonstrated the potential of sports to deepen inter-agency relationships.

Team Seme

This could prove particularly useful for Customs because many of its border enforcement and security responsibilities require collaboration with other government agencies.

The games therefore created an informal environment in which officers could interact beyond the traditional command structure and build relationships that could eventually translate into stronger operational cooperation.

The challenge now is whether the enthusiasm generated in Ikeja can be converted into an enduring institution. The organisers have acknowledged that the inaugural edition in its present format was not perfect. But they have also argued that the lessons learned should inform subsequent competitions.

Team Ogun 1 Area Command

That may ultimately be the most important outcome of the 2026 games. If the Service follows through with regular command-level, zonal and inter-zonal competitions, improves its sporting facilities and creates a mechanism for identifying and nurturing athletic talent, Saturday’s ceremony could mark the beginning of a new chapter in Customs sports.

And if the proposed national competition eventually becomes a reality, the journey from Kano, Port Harcourt and Makurdi of the past to Ikeja and eventually a National Inter-Zonal Games of the future would represent more than a sporting revival.

It would be the restoration of sports as an institutional tool for building a fitter, more disciplined, more united and more competitive Nigeria Customs Service.While the trophies have gone home with the winners, the real test for the Service is whether the tradition survives beyond the trophies