Something shifted last Friday and I caught myself nodding instead of sighing for once. The Nigeria Custom Service, Comptroller General ,Adewale Adeniyi, stood at the State House briefing and announced that Nigeria is preparing to suspend duties on eligible African goods under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). And the confidence in his tone didn’t sound like the usual Abuja optimism that evaporates by the next news cycle. He sounded like someone working with proper instructions and a clock ticking behind him.That alone is a breath of fresh air.
For years, Africa has been talking about a single market, and Nigeria — the supposed big brother — has behaved like the cousin who shows up late to the meeting and pretends he has been following the discussion from the beginning. We sign agreements, we clap, and we vanish. But this time, something feels different. The man in charge has an actual mandate tied to measurable tasks. That’s not common in this country.
And hearing him say Customs is now at the center of AfCFTA… I almost smiled. Because for once, somebody is placing the right institution in the right position.
Adeniyi mentioned that after President Bola Tinubu renewed his tenure, AfCFTA implementation was listed clearly among his KPIs. That clarity matters. Nigeria performs better when officials know exactly what they’re being judged on. And the fact that he didn’t hide behind vague promises tells me he understands the scale of the assignment.
He broke it down plainly: for Africa to trade with itself properly, duties must come down, documents must match goods, and rules of origin must mean something. That’s the kind of straight talk we’ve been missing.
Then he said something even more important — Customs isn’t doing this alone. Nigerian Export Promotion Council(NEPC), Nigerian Import-Export Bank, Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA)and commercial banks are already in the room, not as spectators but as partners. Any Nigerian who knows how agencies behave will understand why that’s a small miracle. Getting these institutions to coordinate is like asking three traffic wardens to direct cars without shouting at each other.
So when he said 30 African customs administrations have signed up for collaboration, with 22 represented at DG level, that tells me Nigeria is moving with seriousness, not ceremony.
He acknowledged openly that governments don’t trade. That one line gave me more relief than he probably intended. Trade is built by the people who load trucks, process invoices, handle port clearances, negotiate with suppliers, and risk their capital. For years, those people have been left out of Nigeria’s big trade conversations.
The fact that the upcoming conference is opening with the private sector isn’t a small decision. It signals a shift from the old habit of drafting policies in silence and expecting business owners to adjust later. If we keep this up, we might actually build a continental trade structure that aligns with real-life commerce instead of PowerPoint fantasy.
What excites me is how balanced Adeniyi sounded. He didn’t pretend AfCFTA was perfect. He didn’t pretend implementation would be smooth. But he also didn’t downplay Nigeria’s role. Africans from East, West, Central, North, and South are coming to Abuja to talk shop, and Nigeria is not hosting them out of duty — it’s hosting them because we finally appear ready to lead from competence, not chest-thumping.
And let me say this: for once, Nigeria isn’t talking about “protecting our markets” like a scared giant. We’re talking about competing. That’s progress.
Revenue didn’t jump by accident. For Customs to grow collections by over 70 percent last year and over 100 percent this year while focusing on trade facilitation… that’s a signal. It means systems are tightening. It means loopholes are shrinking. It means technology is biting where it should.
If that same focus is applied to AfCFTA operations, traders will feel the difference quickly. Better clearance times. Less confusion. More predictability. And when predictability enters Nigerian trade, magic happens.
For years, Africa has been treated as a market for others — not for Africans. We import everything from everywhere: chemicals from Europe, fabrics from Asia, everyday items from countries that don’t care if we industrialise or perish.
AfCFTA offers the opposite path — Africans producing for Africans, shipping across African borders, building African jobs. Duty-free access means a young designer in Aba can ship to Accra without bleeding money at the border. A manufacturer in Lagos can scale toward Nairobi. A farmer in Kaduna can see value in exporting to Niamey or Bamako.
This is the kind of economic story we should have embraced decades ago.
So when Customs says Nigeria is ready to suspend duties for African goods, I hear something more important underneath — Nigeria is finally preparing to play its part in a continental vision bigger than any election cycle.And that gives me hope.
Adeniyi asked the public for support. Fair request. But he’ll earn that support if the reforms keep moving without noise. If traders begin to feel relief instead of stress. If ports work cleaner. If documentation becomes clearer. If Customs focuses on efficiency instead of friction.
For now, I’m encouraged.
We’ve spent years sleepwalking through opportunities. This AfCFTA rollout — with a structured plan, proper agency collaboration, and a Customs boss who looks genuinely invested — feels like the first time in a long while that Nigeria is showing up prepared.
Let’s keep the energy. Because if we get this right, Africa won’t just be a market we visit — it will be a market we lead.And that’s a future worth betting on.
