When it was created in 2007 via an Act of the National Assembly, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was conceived as the possible solution to the myriad of problems that were militating against freight forwarding and logistics in Nigeria.
Those who fought for its birth would never have envisaged that the council would shortly after its birth be faced with life-threatening issues, such as have forced it not to have a governing council for months running and also become so cash strapped as not to be able to meet its obligations.
When it was created in 2007 via an Act of the National Assembly, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was conceived as the possible solution to the myriad of problems that were militating against freight forwarding and logistics in Nigeria.
Those who fought for its birth would never have envisaged that the council would shortly after its birth be faced with life-threatening issues, such as have forced it not to have a governing council for months running and also become so cash strapped as not to be able to meet its obligations.
One of the first questions that its promoters may ask is; whether it was wrong (after all) to have fought for the creation of a body that would enhance the freight forwarding profession in Nigeria.
It is a fact that since its creation, the CRFFN has known little or no peace. Its pioneer governing council spent ample time brokering peace between it and some individuals and between it and some institutions.
At the earlier part of its existence, it was engaged by the factional national president, National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Lucky Amiwero.
Mr Amiwero had dragged the CRFFN, the minister of transport as well as the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to court over allegations of irregularities in the conduct of elections into the governing council in 2008.
While we can not categorically say that the case involving the Council of Managing Directors is dead, CRFFN had also at one time had issues with the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) over interpretation of the Act which established the Council.
There was also the face-off with an unregistered, body called the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (IFFFA). The IFFFA had in a letter to International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA) allegedly instilled fear in FIATA, saying that the safety of its officials who were being expected for a train-the-trainer’s programme could not be guaranteed in Nigeria.
When he held sway as the chairman of the governing council, Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju demonstrated uncommon ability to steer the ship of the council. This, he demonstrated in the way he was able to reach a compromise with the NAGAFF during the face-off, and also in the manner in which he was able to tame the ‘renegades’ called IFFFA and the dogged manner in which he was able to pursue the FIATA’s training the trainers programme for freight forwarders.
He, along with the Council’s registrar; Sir Mike Jukwe and other members of the governing council was able to contain the various antics and intrigues which freight forwarders and freight forwarding associations are known for.
In fact, the Council was enjoying an apparently blissful relationship with all its constituents, until the peace was disrupted by the directive from the minister of transport; Senator Idris Umar to the CRFFN that the council could start collecting transaction fees on all imports into the country.
Since the approval became public knowledge, peace has eluded the freight forwarding family; it is so bad that members of the same association no longer trust one another.
It is a surprise that all efforts to end the feud have failed, including the intervention by the minister.
It was this mistrust that dovetailed into the dissolution of the former governing council, having served for the mandatory two years.
Without any equivocation, the last governing council should be held responsible for the fate that befell the CRFFN. The other accomplices are the leaders of the freight forwarding associations.
It is shameful that the CRFFN could engage its registered associations in a dirty fight over money.
Since the face-off is all about money, the CRFFN and the duo of ANLCA and NAGAFF should have reached a compromise that would have made the action of the minister avoidable.
What the minister did was to dissolve a governing council whose tenure had expired; there may have been no need for this if there had been unity between the CRFFN and its immediate constituents, as represented by the registered associations.
A new governing council would have been elected without much ado, but the gladiators played into the hands of an overbearing ministry of transport.
It is obvious that the CRFFN is not in a position to conduct an election at the moment, given its financial position.
We had at one time on this page, advocated that constituting an interim governing council is probably the best available option at this time. But, failing to constitute one; months after smirks of an unpardonable attempt to kill the CRFFN.
Even though it has no governing council, and even though, it can hardly meet its financial commitments, the CRFFN is still struggling on. In between when the problem started and now, it has been able to flag-off its enforcement responsibilities. It is also heartwarming that in spite of its current state, the council only recently got the nod of FIATA to commence Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management. All these are evidences of the hard work and commitment of the Registrar. We commend him.
The killers of CRFFN are the very people it was created to regulate- the freight forwarders and by extension their associations and their leaders who have refused to rise above ‘self’. While promoting their empires and massaging their individual egos, they are supervising the death of the same baby that many of them claim to have worked assiduously to procreate.
Sadly, the so called leaders of freight forwarding and leaders of freight forwarding associations failed to seize the opportunity that the immediate past chairman of the governing council; Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju provided when he brokered a meeting with all interests. Since those meetings, nothing has been heard, except the usual suspicion and ego tripping by the gladiators.
We state categorically that the problem of CRFFN is not with its management, nor is it with the Registrar. It is domiciled with the critical stakeholders as have been identified above, hence the way forward also rests with them.
Discussion about this post