The recent conferment of National Honour of the ‘Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)’ by the Federal Government on the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council; Barrister Hassan Bello may well be described as the icing on the cake on account of a distinguished career in the public service.
The career which spanned about three decades has at last been recognized for the man described by many as a gentleman in all ramifications.
The Honuor came for the erstwhile Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council about two years after retiring from service on June 18, 2021.
He was first appointed Executive Secretary/CEO in June 2013. Until that appointment, Bello was the Council’s Director of Legal Services. The appointment was renewed in 2017, culminating in his retirement in 2021.
Hassan Bello’s worthy service to fatherland was evident in the calibre of personalities who attended the unique send forth party in his honour, upon retirement.
From the then-Minister of Transportation; Mr Rotimi Amaechi, to serving and retired CEOs of sister government agencies, to eminent stakeholders, it was a day of encomiums for Bello.
Apparently impressed by the personalities in attendance and the outpouring of praises, Amaechi had remarked that, “for him (Hassan Bello) to be having this standing ovation at his departure, it means that he is a good man”, Amaechi said.
Hassan Bello’s tenure was described by maritime industry stakeholders as” eight shortest years” at the helm of affairs at the Shippers’ Council. They were unanimous that, from near-obscurity, he transformed the agency to a force to reckon with in Nigeria.
Summarising the achievements recorded by Bello, the then-Chairman, Governing Board of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Bashir Sheriff Machina, said: “Everybody knew Nigerian Shippers’ Council existed before Bello, but nobody knew the potentials therein. He made NSC the Port Economic Regulator, he commissioned the Kaduna Inland dry port, he facilitated the establishment of policy framework for Vehicle Transit Areas (VTA), Dala dry port in Kano, and established zonal offices for the council, among many other things.”
He told the large gathering that, “Hassan is a man who wanted to serve because of service not because of riches”.
Yes, Hassan Bello championed a lot of things within his eight years as the CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
Bello spent time attending to issues bordering on un-receipted charges from truckers on the Lagos ports corridor. The charges were occasioned by the bad state of the two approaches to the ports in Lagos, leading to the infamous Apapa traffic gridlock.
Connected to the above is the fact that many cargo owners were finding it difficult to get their cargoes out of the ports. This led terminal operators to request for demurrage on the cargoes that had overstayed at their facilities. Hassan Bello spent ample time negotiating amicable settlement of these crises.
He also spent time on other issues, such as the recurring face-off between cargo owners and shipping agents, often over arbitrary increase in charges. He resolved all!
Apart from the Inland Dry Ports, some of which are already functioning and the zonal head offices, one significant milestone recorded by the retired Chief Executive Officer is the bold move to enact the National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill.
He gave his all for the Bill; pushed its return to the National Assembly twice and were it not for the withdrawal of assent by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the NTC would have been upstanding by now.
Bello championed the creation of the Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM) to address efficiency at the port. He championed the elimination of corruption in the ports, while being instrumental to the synergy among agencies at the ports. The NPPM has turned out to be the game-changer in port operations,
Hassan Bello also pushed for the introduction of Cargo Tracking Note also known as Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS). Undoubtedly, due to his further engagement with stakeholders, the policy which was initially opposed by industry operators, including shipping lines and shippers and others when it was first mooted in 2015, has now been approved by the Federal Government.
The award of Officer of the Order of the Niger conferred on Barrister Hassan Bello by former President Muhammadu Buhari (as part of his last official assignments), was in recognition of Bello’s sterling performance at the CEO of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
Characteristic of his quiet mien, Bello said: “This honour at this point in the history of our nation, fills my heart with sincere gratitude to the President, the Nation, Transportation Ministry as well as the maritime sector, where I was given the opportunity to serve as the Executive Secretary/CEO of the NSC for eight years.”
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