Customs boss urges students to embrace education as passport to better future
By Suleiman Aremu | Solaremnews | Tuesday, 15 September 2026
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has commissioned the fully renovated Ife Girls High School in Ile-Ife, Osun State, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, “Customs Cares.”
The project was commissioned on Monday, September 14, 2026, as the Service reaffirmed its commitment to supporting education and improving the learning environment for students across the country.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, urged the students of Ife Girls High School to remain focused on their education, stressing that education remained a critical pathway to a better future.
Adeniyi told the students that the benefits of education extended beyond the individual to their families, communities and the country at large.
“Education is the passport that you need for a better life, for a better future, not just for you, but for your parents, your community, and the country. It is education that’s going to make a difference in you, irrespective of how difficult it is for you,” the CGC said.
The Customs boss also announced university scholarships for the three best-performing students of the school.
According to him, the scholarship initiative was designed to encourage the students to take their studies seriously and reward academic excellence.
He challenged the students to reciprocate the investment being made in their education by taking full advantage of the opportunity provided by the NCS.
“What this means is that I have thrown the ball into your court. I now want you to reward me back. What we are doing today is part of our wider corporate social responsibility programme, which we are executing in different parts of the country,” Adeniyi said.
The renovation of the school forms part of the NCS’s broader efforts to contribute to the development of critical sectors of society through its CSR interventions.
The intervention at Ife Girls High School was not limited to the improvement of the physical structures, but covered several areas considered essential to creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Speaking at the event, the Osun State Commissioner for Education, Honourable Dipo Eluwole, described the commissioning as a significant milestone for education in the state.
Eluwole said the intervention demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the different factors required to provide students with an effective and supportive learning environment.
“This is indeed a comprehensive intervention. It addresses the school’s educational, administrative, sanitary, recreational, environmental, and worker needs. It demonstrates an understanding that for students to learn effectively, their physical environment must also support their well-being,” the commissioner said.
He noted that improving school infrastructure was important to ensuring that students had an environment capable of supporting their academic development and overall welfare.
In her welcome address, the Principal of Ife Girls High School, Martina Akinremi, expressed appreciation to the Nigeria Customs Service for investing in the school and, more importantly, in the future of its students.
Akinremi pledged that the school would ensure that the renovated facilities were properly maintained and utilised to their full potential.
She also expressed the school’s commitment to making effective use of the intervention to enhance teaching, learning and the general welfare of students and staff.
The commissioning and scholarship announcement underline the NCS’s expanding role in community-focused interventions through the Customs Cares initiative, with education serving as one of the key areas through which the Service is contributing to national development.
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