The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria

Those who fought for and ensured that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was born 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.
 One of the first questions that its promoter may ask is; whether it was wrong to have fought for the creation of a body that would enhance the freight forwarding profession in Nigeria.

Those who fought for and ensured that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was born 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.
 One of the first questions that its promoter may ask is; whether it was wrong to have fought for the creation of a body that would enhance the freight forwarding profession in Nigeria.
And since its creation in 2007, 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.
One of these ‘wars’ was the one it fought with the factional national president, National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Lucky Amiwero; the fight is still before the courts.
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, 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 from the pioneer chairman; Mr Tony Nwabunike, the immediate past chairman; 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 of transport.
Without any equivocation, the last governing council should be held responsible for the fate that has befallen the CRFFN. While, it does signify total misfortune for the council, it never-the-less represent the
Like we once wrote on this page, it was shameful that the CRFFN could engage its registered association in a dirty fight over the sharing formula of revenue that could be contested in court.
We had also advised that 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.
Considering the latest development, there is no overstressing the fact that the gladiators only played into the hands of the ministry of transport.
As far as we are concerned, the way forward for CRFFN is to hold elections to usher-in a new set of credible members of the governing council that will take over from where the Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju-led council stopped.
We also seize this opportunity to commend the efforts of the immediate past governing council. It did very well, when compared with what its predecessor achieved. Freight forwarders may not appreciate that council now, but we are sure that, in a few years to come, the legacy will manifest.