The wife of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) and National President of the Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA), Mrs. Kikelomo Adeniyi, has flagged off the Green Border Initiative at the Seme – Krake Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), reaffirming COWA’s commitment to environmental sustainability, youth empowerment, and global collaboration.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Mrs. Adeniyi described the initiative as part of COWA’s broader vision to restore ecosystems across Nigeria’s border communities while creating opportunities for women and young people through green skills and recycling enterprises.
“This Green Border is not only to restore our ecosystem; it’s also a way of giving back to our youths at the border area and our women,” Mrs. Adeniyi said. “We see trash and everything around. We can turn all of these into something meaningful. We are COWA; we are about empowerment and giving skills. We’re looking beyond the usual, we are going global, going international.”
She revealed that COWA would continue to expand its international partnerships, noting that the association would be in Brazil the following day to discuss collaborations and attract support for its sustainability programs.
“We are here in Seme today, and by tomorrow we’ll be in Brazil to talk more about this, to get partners to support our dreams,” she added. “In six months, you all will be seeing what we’re going to be doing and practicing.”
Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs (ACG) Babandede commended the level of inter-agency collaboration and emphasized the link between climate change and national security.
“The issue of insecurity we are facing in this country is as a result of climate change,” he said. “My appeal is that this should not stop at the borders. Take it to all the corners of this nation so that people will know the importance of planting trees to sustain our environment.”
He also praised the CGC’s leadership for remembering host communities, describing the Green Border Initiative as “just a starter,” promising more impactful projects ahead.
“The main course and dessert are coming,” he said.
The Area Controller of Seme Command, Comptroller Timi Adenuga, lauded Mrs. Adeniyi for her visionary leadership and praised the CGC, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for his commitment to staff welfare and community development.
“We feel in Seme we must support your program. You are doing very, very well,” he said. “With one of these empowerment tools, a family is secured. And we have also decided to give each beneficiary a start-up grant of ₦50,000 to support this initiative.”
Comptroller Adenuga further announced that the Seme Command had named its empowerment arena after Mrs. Adeniyi in recognition of her contributions, assuring that it would serve as a revenue-generating facility for COWA.
“Your name will be written in gold in the Nigerian Customs Service,” he stated.
Dr. Sadiya Baba, who represented the Customs Care Initiative, said the Green Border project aligns with the NCS’s Customs Care Pillars, which include healthcare delivery, education, food security, environmental sustainability, and the creative economy.
“Under healthcare delivery today, the community will benefit from medical outreach covering breast cancer awareness, screenings, consultations, and laboratory tests,” she explained. “We’re also training officers and community members on first aid, because that golden four hours determines between life and death.”
The event featured tree planting ceremony, an empowerment program for women and widows, a free medical outreach, and the distribution of startup support grants, all aimed at improving livelihoods while promoting environmental stewardship across Nigeria’s border regions.
