Frontline freight forwarder; Mr. Olayinka Bakare has urged business men and youths trying to venture into the business of freight forwarder to obtain an academic background before venturing into the profession.
Bakare in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week shortly after he was conferred with a ‘Corporate Achievers Merit Gold’ award observed that the profession has gone beyond what it used to be few years ago where individuals come in and learn on the job.
Frontline freight forwarder; Mr. Olayinka Bakare has urged business men and youths trying to venture into the business of freight forwarder to obtain an academic background before venturing into the profession.
Bakare in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week shortly after he was conferred with a ‘Corporate Achievers Merit Gold’ award observed that the profession has gone beyond what it used to be few years ago where individuals come in and learn on the job.
According to the freight forwarder who is also a graduate of Marketing and who has been in the profession for two decades, intellectuals and other professionals are now trooping into the business and that in the nearest future; it will be difficult for quarks to thrive any longer.
He however lamented that the only snag which the profession is confronted with, is the proliferation of freight forwarding associations.
He lamented the inability of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to carry out its mandate of regulating the profession just like it is done in other professions.
“The industry is now being repositioned, the field is not for touts as people are being made to believe, some people believe that once you are a freight forwarder, you are a school dropout, we want them to realize that the profession is one of the best in the world and one of the most challenging profession in the world”.
“It is no longer known as clearing and forwarding, that is a layman’s language. In the business, clearing is different while forwarding is also different, it is not compulsory for you to be licensed to be a freight forwarder. The profession is for intellectuals, and for you to get to where you are going you, have to keep moving, so for you to operate here you have to acquire wisdom and be extra intelligent”, he advised.
“One of the problems the profession is having is that they don’t have a body to regulate, there is proliferation of associations and everybody is feeling important and we are having clash of interests, the government should come together and give us a strong voice that will speak for us”, he appealed.
The freight forwarder also advised the proponents of the Maritime Advocacy and Action Group (MAAG) to take a step further by getting the backing of the National Assembly in order to be able to function.
It would be recalled that the MAAG was recently set up by some front-line players in the maritime sector in other to speak in one voice and fight a common goal.
But, speaking on the group, Bakare said: “I am not sure there is any statutory law establishing the MAAG, there must be a law backing you up, you cannot just pick people from NAGAFF, ANLCA and say you want to speak, you can be challenged at any time, get the support of the ‘house’ as it’s done in other parts of the world” he advised.
Discussion about this post