The Fake Customs Officer (The Customs Officer Without a Uniform)
Early in the morning, during the first hours of service, his superior at the airport customs office announced to Kidou that he was a "fake customs officer." Surprised by the friendly tone but even more by the comparison, the young man serving at the airport customs office felt overwhelmed by a rush of emotions. He didn't know what to think, much less what to feel, about such a declaration—a certainly innocent but very peculiar statement. He smiled at the customs inspector nonetheless, acting as if nothing was amiss. He comforted himself with the idea that his supervisor wanted to tease him and elicit a smile. He told himself that the announcement could not have any other interpretation than a simple statement of fact meant to make him smile about being a "fake customs officer." Indeed, it was customary for the head of service to crack a few jokes, rightly or wrongly, to lighten the atmosphere.
👉🏾Nigerian intelligence community(click to read)👈🏾
"I am a fake customs officer," Kidou repeated to himself all day, and he finally concluded that he should probably accept it, as the truth is often spoken in jokes. Years later, he kept this affirmation in his mind. From time to time, and quite often, despite his resignation to conform to this affirmation, he felt a certain sadness. A melancholy made legitimate by the degree of admiration and sympathy Kidou felt for this customs inspector who, despite his love for Customs, nonetheless told him that he was only a fake customs officer and that he might never be a real one.
Is Kidou, the fake customs officer, really one? He spent four years studying Customs at the École Nationale d’Administration et de la Magistrature (ENAM), which became the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA). In 2013, he obtained his senior executive diploma, granting him access to the rank of Central Customs Inspector (Commandant). Two years later, he was assigned to the airport customs office to serve the State. He proved his worth, hoping not only to implement his knowledge and skills but also to serve the customs administration. He knew perfectly well that three months of military training (after admission to an integration competition) was necessary for him to act as a customs officer. But this fact did not diminish his willingness to serve at the airport customs office in any way. This unwavering will led Kidou to serve in all the office's departments and even perform tasks reserved exclusively for established customs officers. He was not a customs officer, it's true. But he felt like a customs officer, and that made him happy. He was trained in a State school, in a State field, and he worked in a State service on behalf of the State. "Fake customs officer"—he couldn't understand the term, but he felt sadness whenever he thought about it.
Their meeting seemed to have been willed by fate. In front of the judicial police premises, Kidou met his head of service, or rather the person who would become his head of service, for the first time. But at that precise moment, neither knew they would be led to work together. Kidou noticed the customs officer's distinctive uniform and promised himself, from the bottom of his heart, to wear that uniform which suited the officer so well. He didn't suspect for a moment that a few years later, this same person would become his superior and announce an obvious reality to him: that he was only a fake customs officer. A reality where the diploma, the will, or even the results would be useless in serving the customs administration, in serving his country.
After two years of civil service, Kidou moved away from the customs administration. Perhaps God could help him find another job to get through this difficult ordeal with Customs, which he had been dreaming of since obtaining his high school diploma in 2009.
Alas, year after year, events supported the fact that he was and would remain only "a fake customs officer." First, a customs integration competition was launched where the number of candidates requested could have allowed him and all customs graduates to integrate without even taking the exam. Of course, he failed. Could he really have hoped, given that most of the candidates were admitted based on fraud and with total impunity?
👉 Customs and Human Resources (click to read)
Finally, the day of deliverance arrived, or rather the moment for Kidou to regain self-confidence struck. He realized that reality, however painful and unjust, did not deserve his daily tears. He decided to take a path that would undoubtedly make him an eternal unemployed person but would certainly teach future generations the importance of "faith," self-confidence, and confidence in one's skills. Thus, he began to write. To write to share his knowledge, to write to draw the attention of customs students and graduates to the reality of their status (certainly not "fake customs officers" but surely customs specialists), and that they should unite.
The undertaking is difficult, even perilous, for Kidou. He knows it. He knows that he will be followed not for the veracity or importance of his writings, but to label his articles as writings defying the administration he cherishes so much. He knows that he will be banned from integrating into Customs rather than being congratulated or criticized for his analyses and recommendations. He knows that indignation about his situation will be selective, but his condemnation will be unanimous. Like Socrates, did he really have a choice? He had to drink his hemlock. Kidou's articles had to be written because he loves Customs, because he dedicated seventeen (17) academic years of study, two (2) years in service to his country at Customs, and six (6) years of waiting for his integration.
👉 Customs Graduate: The Reality!
The sadness he felt had then transformed into a sense of duty accomplished. So, whenever he revisited the past, his sacrifices, and the term "Fake customs officer," he found comfort in reading his articles. **Failing to be able to live off his years of sacrifice, at the cost of friendships and lost connections, he would leave his marks, his imprints to guide and warn future customs graduates and for the modernization of the customs administration.
Also read:
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire