Mr. Alloy Igwe is the current chairman of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport chapter (MMIA) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA). In this interview with Anozie Egole, he spoke on the readiness of the chapter for the coming western zone election of the association, the current crisis rocking the BoT of ANLCA and other issues. He also spoke about his tenure.
Airport Road Construction: “We are accommodating the pains now because we know it’s going to be better tomorrow”
“As long as you are not a member of the BoT, I want to advice you stay clear from the BoT and allow the BoT themselves to address the issues”
What will you say have been your achievements so far as the chairman of MMIA chapter of ANLCA?
Well, I think you are trying to be pre-emptive because I will be giving a press conference at the tail end of my administration, so that I will be able to articulate what I have done and what maybe I should have done that I didn’t do. But since you are asking, I will say that one of the major things we have been able to achieve here is relative peace. If you know the airport terrain; it had actually been very violent in the past, but I think this period God has made me to be here we have achieved relative peace here. Our members’ relationships with other agencies and associations have tremendously improved and there have been re-orientation of the agents themselves through lots of seminars and workshops. Well, you can also consider this structure as a major achievement, putting up this structure. Before now we never had something like this, it was shanties that we used to stay. But when I came in, I said that shanties is not befitting for this profession, hence with the help of God and my colleagues we were able to put this structure in place.
In the course of recording all these achievements what were some of the challenges you encountered?
Yes, you know good things don’t come easy; more especially in Nigeria here when you are leading human beings, but when you are determined and focused you will know where you are going and what you will achieve. With determination and help of God we were able to achieve this, obviously there were lots of challenges but I thank God. I don’t dwell in the past, challenges were there but what matters is how you were able to overcome them. Though there were worst challenges, but I thank God we were able to overcome them to get to where we are today.
How prepared are you for the coming chapter election of the association?
We have an independent electoral commission in ANLCA, called ASECO that is saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election. The airport chapter is an integral part of the association and so the election comes, we don’t have much except doing everything within our command here to maintain peace among the contestants and advise them to see election as a call to service; not for them to go and kill themselves and that is what we have been able to do here.
Do you have any anointed candidate to succeed you?
I don’t believe in that, I have come a long way in this association, almost all of them contesting are my friends, so there is nothing like being anointed or not. I just advised them to go and do the right thing and get the support of the people and if God says you will win, definitely you are going to win.
What is your ambition after leaving the office?
Every man is ambitious; all you need to do is to articulate your ambitions and for me, I do that and leave God to direct it. If I start telling you now, it means I am not letting God to take control of tomorrow. If the call comes and God- willing and He gives me the direction to be anywhere I will be. I am an ambitious man and I allow my ambition to be controlled by God, I am still a member of this association. Even now that I am here I still play the circular politics outside there. If I leave here I may have a wider scope, let’s see where God will take me to.
There is an ongoing road construction along the airport road, how is it affecting your activities here?
What is going on here is good, I think everybody wants development; though it comes with its challenges and we are really feeling it, the free flow of traffic is no longer there, construction is going on everywhere, but there is this high hope that there is going to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We are accommodating the pains now because we know it’s going to be better tomorrow.
How successful is the NICIS 2 at the airport, how would you assess the platform?
The NICIS 2 is a welcomed development because change is something that is inevitable; it must come, the profession is a global one and we can’t be left behind. It is novel on the side of customs to ensure that revenues are maximally collected, so we have to adapt to it. In the beginning we had our challenges; it was not as easy as it should be but before you knew it, we have keyed into it and everybody here has really adapted to it.
Talking about the BoT crisis in ANLCA, there seems to be fractions in the association, what do you think is the cause?
I have to correct something; there is no fraction in ANLCA, disagreement can come in any home or family, but that does not mean there are fractions. There might be disagreement in the BoT and for us we have allowed the BoT to address their issues, because these are men of integrity. Before you become a BoT member of an association as big as ANLCA, you must be somebody of substance. People from outside or chapter as long as you are not a member of the BoT, I want to advice you stay clear from the BoT and allow the BoT themselves to address the issue. Because before we elected them we saw integrity and substances in them and I am very convinced that they can handle any issue that arises from their faults.
What would you suggest as the way forward in addressing the issue?
That is exactly what I told you, they know what the problem is and I have the absolute confidence that they can handle the problems themselves.
What is your relationship with other sister associations?
Very cordial, that is what I mean by other sister agencies; either associations or government.
How would you assess Ease of Doing Business at the airport?
You know this slogan ease of doing business was well-intended by the government, but in practicality, are we really having it the way the government planned it? Maybe because the Nigerian factor , it is not selling very well, it is not only in our sector, the clearing and forwarding sector, ease of doing business is all-encompassing as far as the government policy is concerned. I just want to advise that people should look at what the government had in mind before coming up with that policy, it will help us. Trying to create bridges here and there or repeating the same thing is distorting our businesses and it is not helping trade facilitation. People should try to relax the impediments they create in trade facilitation so that the idea of ease of doing business will become a reality in Nigeria.
How would you assess the airport in terms of business this year?
Although we have not gotten to the end of the year, because we always do our statistics at the end of the year, I will say that it business is not too bad considering lots of economic challenges that we had this year. You know the country just came from the recession and you don’t expect business to boom after an economic recession. So, relatively would not say it was too bad there are high hopes too that it will get better next year.
Do you think CRFFN should register more associations?
I don't have anything against registering more associations, the more the better; as long as you meet the criteria or requirement for registration. The council should have standard criteria for registration of associations. So, as long as any association meets the requirement, the association should be registered, the more the better.
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