Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks at the Bahamas Customs & Excise’s Class of 2025 Commencement Exercise

Good Afternoon,

And a special greeting to the recruits here today.

It always brings me joy to see so many young people earnestly pursuing positive opportunities for themselves. And in doing so, also committing themselves to building our nation.

And make no mistake about it, being a customs officer is a nation-building role.

So, today, seventy-eight nation builders have agreed to stand at the threshold guarding the entry points to our nation.

Think for a moment about what it means to guard an archipelago.

We are not a mass of land with a single defined border. 

We are scattered islands spanning over 100,000 square miles.

Every dock on each island is a doorway into our nation. Every airstrip and airport is a door.

And you are now the guardians of those many doors.

No pressure.

But a lot is riding on you.

Six months ago, many of you were uncertain.

Some of you may have questioned whether you had what it took or whether things would work out in your favour.

And yet here you are.

That alone tells me something about your character. 

The people who finish difficult things, not just start them, but finish them, are the kind of people who we want in important and sensitive positions. 

And that is why the training process is as rigorous as it is, to ensure that we recruit the very best candidates.

As you embark on your careers, I need to tell you something no one ever puts in the recruitment brochure: as important as your work is, almost nobody will ever thank you for it.

The traveller who goes through your checkpoint probably won’t think about you after the interaction is done. And when they do, they won’t always like the fact that you enforced the law so strictly. 

And the shipment of firearms or illegal drugs you intercept: the community spared from that violence will never know how close they came to experiencing it. 

You will do vital, nation-building work with very little fanfare.

And you must learn to find your satisfaction, not in applause, but in something far more durable: the knowledge that you did the right thing.

People talk in glowing terms about integrity, and it is certainly a mandatory trait for anyone seeking to be a guardian of our nation’s borders.

But integrity is not a grand gesture. It is not a speech or a medal. 

Integrity is the decision you make when no supervisor is watching, and someone places something in front of you and says — nobody has to know.

Somebody always knows.

You know.

You will face the decisions you make each time you look in the mirror. And I can assure you that, in this instance, the reward is never worth the risk.

The officers who built this department’s reputation across generations did not just leave a legacy of policies. 

They left a legacy of choices: small, daily choices to do things the right way.

That legacy is now yours to continue. And I am confident that you will uphold the standard.

To the families in this room, I applaud you. You supported these officers before us in choosing to serve their nation. Continue to support them as they enter this next phase of their careers.

Recruits, today you are crossing your own threshold from recruit to officer.

Cross it with your head high. Enforce the law without fear, favour, or compromise. And know that in doing so, you are helping to build a safer, more secure and stable nation.

God bless you, and God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Thank you.