By Cynthia Alo  

In a bid to promote wellness and unity among its officers, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has commissioned a state-of-the-art multipurpose sport complex at the Murtala Muhammed Airport command in Lagos.

The complex, named after the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, is designed to provide a conducive environment for officers to engage in various sporting activities, promoting physical fitness, mental well-being, and teamwork.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Adeniyi said that the complex will serve not only customs officers but also stakeholders and officers from other government agencies working around the airport. The facility comprises a lawn, table tennis, volleyball, and other sports infrastructure.

According to the Customs CG, sporting activities make officers fit into the rigorous physical and mental work they do regularly and balance their work life with healthy living.  

“As a service, we have the unfortunate scenario of burying some officers ahead of their time and we had incidents of people who collapsed in the office or who slept in their houses and suddenly got into emergency situations and this is traced to not taking care of themselves.

“Sugar level, heart rates and others. These are things that lifestyle can correct and that is why we preach to them that so much is expected of them in the performance of their duties like working late hours, driving in between trucks and others.

“We preach to them to balance all of that up with healthy living because, throuagh their health nutrition and how they indulge in some kind of exercise, they will remain fit all the time,” he stated.

The CGC reiterated that the physical and mental fitness is a very important aspect of their job that the sport complex will help achieve. “Physical fitness is a very important aspect of our job because all the time, we need to be physically fit and it’s only when we are physically fit that we can be mentally fit to cope with the demands of our jobs. I am happy that this type of facility is put in place by the CAC not just for bringing people together after job but to let us imbibe the spirit of keeping fit through healthy rivalry and keeping body and soul together.

The  CAC undertook this project in conjunction with stakeholders and they contributed towards the project in so many ways. It’s not for officers but other government agencies officers working around the airport.”  

On his part, the Customs Area Controller of the command, Compt Micheal Awe, said the sport complex represents a beacon of unity, wellness and progress for officers of the command whose responsibility demands physical endurance, mental alertness and teamwork.

According to Awe, the sports arena will serve as a vital tool for recreation, fitness, camaraderie and as a tool to enhance both individuals and organization effectiveness.

“The unveiling of this facility is part of our engagement with our stakeholders and I want to appreciate the CGC for the privilege and opportunity given to serve in this command. I appreciate the command’s stakeholders whose generous contribution brought this project to life”.