The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has come a long way, from the two-room office of its founder; Dr Boniface Aniebonam to what is now known as NAGAFF village strategically located in Apapa. Dr Aniebonam was later to graduate from being its President to chairman of its board of trustees; he later assumed the title of ‘Founder’, obviously for envisioning NAGAFF.
The story of NAGAFF cannot be separated from the sojourn of its founder in the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), where he served, first as chairman of customs agents’ relations committee of the Apapa chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
He was later to be elevated; albeit in the same position at the national level of ANLCA by the then- national president; Alhaji Sani Kamba.
History will forever remember him for fighting all odds (including frequent visitation to the Police stations and subsequent humiliation and harassment) to ensure that the NAGAFF dream did not die.
Perhaps, because of the circumstances of its birth, which necessitated its being ran like a private estate, NAGAFF was synonymous with the persona of its founder; Dr Aniebonam.
It’s on record that Dr Aniebonam acquired the now-famous NAGAFF village and made it a rallying point for different stakeholders in the maritime industry. The NAGAFF village is always a beehive of activities; always home to dozens of young freight forwarders in search of livelihood.
Without equivocation, NAGAFF has since metamorphosed from being a ‘Lagos-only’ association into a bigger body, with representation in different parts of the country.
It has also matured into an emerging democracy, organizing elections into its chapters in Lagos and eastern ports as well as border stations.
The NAGAFF has never held a general election for its national leaders; they have always emerged through processes that may not pass the test of democracy.
Even though, the association has dropped the toga of selectocracy, by virtue of organizing elections into its chapters, its officers at the national level are still chosen through its own unique method of selection.
The recent emergence of a new set of national executives of the association is another confirmation that it is not ready to democratize. The announcement of a deputy president to understudy the outgoing president for one year, is not only laughable, but also a mockery of due process.
By this recent but novel emergence of the so-called national executives, NAGAFF is obviously playing the ostrich. It either the association is fully democratized or not.
As a maritime media outfit, we believe very strongly that, for the association to continue to be seen as truly democratized, it must ensure that elections are conducted for all its positions, at both the chapter levels and the national executive council level.
Importantly, those so elected should be allowed to serve their terms fully, unless there is a clear case of violation of the constitution of the association or abuse of office.
We think that, while the influence of its Founder; Dr Aniebonam can not be wished away, he has also wisely strategically distanced himself from the day-to-day running of the association, preferring that the national president and the association’s board of trustees chairman should handle issues.
More of this statesmanship is expected of him as NAGAFF matches to limelight as an association that is battling to meet the demands of democracy.
How commendable would it have been if there were elections to choose those who recently emerged as national officers? Perhaps, many of those who now parade themselves as national officers wouldn’t have survived if the process had been subjected to democratic processes.
The question to ask is: How does NAGAFF arrive at who holds which position at its national level? It has to be through some subjective variables that are known only to a very few.
Democracy, by its simplest definition is: ‘Government of the people by the people, for the people’. Hence, majority of NAGAFF members (and not one or few individuals) should be allowed to run the association, by having a say in who governs them. This is the only way NAGAFF can continue to give hope to its teaming population of young and practitioners, as well as its crop of educated members.
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