At the peak of the regime of Nigeria’s maximum ruler; late General Sanni Abacha, he decreed that all government agencies must relocate to the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. This affected maritime agencies.
Even though the directive was largely unpopular, no one could voice any contrary opinion for the obvious reason of the ruthlessness of that particular military regime.
We however recall that one of the first things that former President Olusegun Obasanjo did upon assumption of power, was to reverse the decision. His reason was that the Lagos community accounts for about 75 per cent of maritime activities in Nigeria. With that, NMA (as it was then known), NPA and Shippers’ Council relocated to Lagos.
It is also instructive to state here that, out of all maritime agencies (apart from the training institutions), it is only NIWA that is located out of Lagos. Its head office is in Lokoja. This is perhaps for the historic and geographic reasons of Lokoja being the meeting point of the two leading inland waters of Rivers Niger and Benue.
Even at that, sometime in 2015, when the current Minister of Transportation; Alhaji Mu’azu Sambo was then the General Manager in charge of the Lagos office of NIWA, there was a push to move NIWA to Abuja, he instead, advocated the relocation of NIWA to Lagos.
He gave his reason in an interview with Shipping Position Daily in May 2015. He argued that, “Lagos is the hub of maritime activities in Nigeria, so where do you think would be better to locate NIWA headquarters if not Lagos State”
According to him, Lagos remains the maritime capital of Nigeria, thus there is need for all maritime agencies to have their corporate head offices in Lagos State.
He then said that the decision to relocate nay agency is solely that of the President to make.
Back to the present battle to relocate CRFFN head office:
Of recent, there have been a lot of mudslinging at the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN). On the surface, it does appear as if the main issue which has pitched the Registrar against the Governing Council, is essentially about relocating the head office of the Council to Abuja. But there appears to be more to this.
For the simple reason to relocate CRFFN, a lot of allegations have been making the rounds. The allegations are connected to the move by the management of the CRFFN to acquire a permanent building in the Lekki area of Lagos, to serve as its head office.
Some have maliciously alleged that the Registrar is corrupt, and that he and the Permanent Secretary are cohorts for the same reason. Yet another faction has alleged gratification on the part of some un-named members of the CRFFN Governing Council.
Stories have been spread about the actual cost of the building and whether or not it is actually worth the cost being touted. Can a property be bought for the government without transparency and without following due process? Because, Nigeria has lost values and everyone is deemed corrupt, it is being alleged that the property was outrageously over-valued.
Even though we are aware that due process was followed in the process that would have led to the purchase of the Lagos building, we won’t dabble into the controversies.
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We are simply worried about the current politicking in the CRFFN and the role of the Chairman of its Governing Council; Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni in the whole mess. There is perhaps more to the current crises than meets the ordinary eye. We are worried that, again the CRFFN is going down.
A few things need to be straightened out. One: The CRFFN does not have an Executive Chairman; the Chief Executive Officer of the Council, who is responsible for its day-to-day administration is the Registrar. So the ego flexing should cease.
Two: Those calling for the relocation of the head office of the CRFFN have either chosen to ignore the political and economic implications of their scheming; that is, if it succeeds.
All CRFFN’s sister agencies have their permanent head offices in Lagos. The CRFFN presently occupies a make-shift and grossly inappropriate space at the old Federal Ministry of Transport building on Joseph Street, off Marina, Lagos. Why shouldn’t the CRFFN have its own permanent head office? Also, why should the CRFFN not have its head office in Lagos where more than 75 per cent of the practitioners it regulates are based in Lagos? Why should the CRFFN be moved to Abuja when its sister agencies are all in Lagos?
Three: Why is the CRFFN synonymous with quarrels and crises. Perhaps, it is because, it is the only agency in the maritime sector with an unbelievably high number of governing council members. The CRFFN does not need 32 members. Worse still is the fact that, majority of those who control the governing council are appointees of government. It’s high time its Act is amended. The CRFFN does not need more than six governing council members.
If the current disagreement is in the interest of freight forwarders whom the CRFFN superintends, then the governing council and the management should find a common ground.
Above all, the Minister should rise above partisanship. We purposely recall his position in 2015 about the same issue when it concerned NIWA, to which he belonged. If his position was that NIWA should relocate its head office to Lagos. His reason in 2015 to the effect that Lagos accounts for the greatest percentage of maritime-related activities, should suffice in 2022.
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