A member of the Governing Council of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Academy, Professor Iyinola Oni, has fingered lack of knowledge as a major challenge among freight forwarders.
Prof Oni who said this recently in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos, also said that practitioners in the sector have not been able to rise up, due to lack of knowledge.
He also said that freight forwarding profession has the potential of raising the country out of dungeon if properly harnessed; adding that the way the profession is practiced in the country has not assisted her citizens.
Oni reiterated the need for proper training to enable the practitioners enjoy its full benefit by taking us out of the poverty level.
He however maintained that it is the responsibility of the NAGAFF Academy to bring those theories and trainings to the fore, even as he stressed that this is the time to enjoy the dividends of synergy.
“Nobody can clap with only one hand; the academia and the industry have to work together. So that the industry will tell us what their problems are and we will be able to address them, analyze them and proffer solutions. So by the time we are also part of what the industry is doing then it is easier for us to move ahead”
“We will reach out to people, advertise the programme and we will do a lot of advocacy; let them know that they will stand to gain a lot with the knowledge and let them also see the benefit that stands before them. And at the end of the day, we will be able to sustain what we are doing, you will find out that some of them will start having basic IT knowledge and some ideas on how to do knowledge amongst others which was never the case in the time past”
Explaining further Oni, identified lack of knowledge as the reason some freight forwarders fall prey to extortions.
“You need the knowledge that will make you sustain that is why a lot of times freight forwarders fall as prey in the hands of Customs, because they don’t understand the dos and don’ts. By the time they are trained they seek knowledge and get knowledge, so they will be able to work within the confines of the law”
“Their attitudes will be attuned to doing the right thing, so that at the end of the day everybody will have a win-win situation, a situation whereby they are doing their jobs without any molestation from people and at the same time they are getting results. And at the end of the day you will have higher productivity for the whole nation”, he concluded.
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