Prince Olayiwola Shittu; the charismatic national president of ANLCA opened up to Shipping Position Daily recently on issues about the controversial chapter elections in the association’s Western zone. He also spoke on the embarrassing raid at Tin Can Port which have seen many ‘clearing agents’ at the Kirikiri prisons.
What is the official position of ANLCA on the raid on agents at Tin Can port?
Prince Olayiwola Shittu; the charismatic national president of ANLCA opened up to Shipping Position Daily recently on issues about the controversial chapter elections in the association’s Western zone. He also spoke on the embarrassing raid at Tin Can Port which have seen many ‘clearing agents’ at the Kirikiri prisons.
What is the official position of ANLCA on the raid on agents at Tin Can port?
If the raid will get rid of touts that are spoiling our image, so be it but like I said if you don't have business in the port you don't have to go there because the port is not a recreational area. Sometimes when you go into the ports, the so-called senior agents are seen cracking groundnuts and drinking as if they don't have other things to do. Even if you are an agent can't you diversify, if you make money in the ports diversify your business because when there is no Bill of Laden today, you can go to the other business than to create the impression that agents are riff-raffs which is worrisome to us and we have been preaching this for three years. Why should someone come to me and just drop documents and the person takes it away without any prove that you are the owner.
You have advocated that Tin Can Command of Customs be spilt because of the apparent rowdiness and frequent arrests, is splitting the solution to human traffic at this port?
That is the solution because If KLT as it is, is a command, Lilypond is a command why can't you split Tin Can Island Port into two and let each CAC supervise them thus there will be effective supervision because the administration will permeate down and the man at the top can get up from his sit and go around his terrain to see what is happening. Just imagine from Ports and Cargo to the other end of the port, the CAC has to be superhuman and the changes that are going on in the ports today by the Customs management is always happening at Tin Can because there have been more frequent changes in Tin Can than any other command. Once there is any change, Tin Can must be involved, because all the efforts that have always been put in place by the CACs are always thwarted by the people there, which includes both the officers and agents and the touts.
Some people have said that Tin Can is rowdy because it handles vehicles…?
No, how many terminals do we have at Tin Can. One of those terminals is entitled to a controller, for example the activities in Port and Cargo alone overwhelmed the other terminals. You have Ports and Cargo Handling Services, Tin Can Island Containers Terminal, Five Star Logistics Terminal, Josep Dam. But, what I am saying in essence is that; look at PTML , the operations there is simple and how come the amount you use to pay duty in PTML just along the road( off Tin Can) is different from what you pay in Tin Can. And all the terminals put together have only one Valuation Seat, one CIU. Tin Can is larger than Apapa, the volume of cargoes at Tin Can has risen while that of Apapa is dropping and we are looking for solution. How many cars do they clear from Tin Can? And if I may ask, is it cars that is the problem at Tin Can, at least they are clearing vehicles at PTML too. Tin Can is a boiling point and it is only surgical operation that would be the solution. If any of my staff who have a job to do in Tin Can and have the required documents to show, is arrested through raiding I will personally follow him to that court to prove that he has the right to be there, but I will not get up for somebody wearing ANLCA Biometric Identity Card and goes to the port to loiter or if they find document that is quite different from the company that is in the biometric, we will not stand up for anybody.
You have done three years as the president of ANLCA, what are the challenges?
The challenges I met on ground are the ones that I am still tackling, such as; professionalism , lack of funds , training ,lack of interest by members on the effort to professionalise, because people just believe that it is just to make money and walk away. The other challenge is about those who don't want to align with the transformation agenda. These are the challenges that we have, but I still believe that God will continue to help us in this profession by bringing leaders who are selflessly ready to serve.
What would you say is your most striking achievement in the last three years?
I most times don't want to say that I have achieved, it is left for the people to say if we have added value in the last three years and if they say we are doing well, then that is an achievement. If we do something that they expect that we cannot do, then we have achieved. When you do something unexpected, it’s an achievement, but when you do what is expected of you, then it’s not achievement. But I can tell you that some of programmes that we have put in place – like insurance, training and regular meetings are working and I can tell you that at the chapters level they are having their monthly meetings now and some of them even announced that people should come to listen to what is happening and that is what it should be. So far so good, I have my calendar here and I will be counting the days, I will do my own and leave the rest for others, but one thing I will wish to happen is for younger people to be encouraged to go into our association because most of the confusion we have had is from the elders and leaders of different groups who don't want to let go, they want to be the same recurring decimal, they want to be the factor for decision but when you groom the younger ones to take over from us then the analysis will come to play. I will rather wait until I finish my term and then I will be interested in what people say about me.
What is the outcome of the report of the panel on the chapter elections?
The panel report is being studied because certain issues need to be clarified from their recommendations and I will say the panel was set up to look into some acclaimed victories. The authorities of this association has to look into the recommendations and take decisions that will not hurt the people and you know that decisions when taken may not be palatable to everyone because some will find it favourable, while others may not, but we are making sure that the decision will stand the test of time, after all, the panel was given one week to do their work and they took two months, so if they just submitted their reports two weeks ago, the association must do a thorough job before coming out to announce .
So how much time do we have?
I am not the one to decide on time, it is NECOM and the BoT judgment. Yes I am the chief executive, but I don't work alone and I will never work alone.
How about the final report?
The report of the panel has been read to the whole world and it is no longer a report, but a decision. Decisions cannot be doctored because it is the decision of the association and also the decision of the authority also known as white paper in government and how can you say it is doctored. If you have recommendations that this man won the election and the recommendation says he didn't win and we find out from other areas that there are reasons to uphold the election, then you can overturn without recommendations and there must be reason for overturning.
Which means it is possible to throw out some recommendations?
Recommendation is recommendation you should expect that, I mean you know about government committees; why is it that the Minister of Transport has the largest number of committee; it doesn't really run by committee because when you bring your report they send another committee to study your report and then another one to issue white paper; that is what government does. But we have set up a panel, everybody has gone there, even those who are concerned and those who are their sympathizers, some of them even cried more than the bereaved and the committee has turned in their report. Again, don't forget that the committee is made up of eight members, but in the board we have nine and in NECOM we have 14; so 23 members who are the leadership of the association cannot get it wrong. So what we are doing now is talking to ourselves; brainstorming, sharing opinions in a holistic approach and then the president will announce it.
Don’t you think that the President is too powerful?
(Laughs) If you feel the power of the president is too powerful then there are systems of amending the constitution but we are doing what the constitution says, the constitution gives us the power and don’t forget that Alhaji Sani Kamba was once here as president and don’t forget it was during the military era and he took on the garb of the military. I remember we were all working with him ,he would always say: I gave you power and I will take power from you, but at least we have gone beyond that, many presidents of the association have gone through democratic process which also brought people like us to power and as much as possible we do things democratically, the National Executive Council is the highest decision making body and if at every NEC meeting for two years, for example executives who are owing have been warned to pay up and they dared the system ,so whatever is the repercussion should be borne by them. Let me say that leadership style affects the image of an organisation, that is the way you go about it and a leader must have a vision and all you need to do is that the vision is not diverted ,so he must have people who want to drag him in numerous ways, therefore along the line some people are not happy because they couldn’t come in and those are the people that will say that the man is this, the man is that, but those people at the mainstream know it all. It was like when we got here ,we saw that our association is not doing well and we said no , things much change, but then people said ,president you have to slow down ,we know you are doing a good job and as far as I am concerned, the emergency power of the president has only been used ones in the three years that we have been here.
Somebody else will be president here tomorrow, so if the president has enormous powers, then it is the constitution that made it so and the emergency power of the president has only been used once in three years.
But people still believe you have sympathy for some contestants?
There is nowhere in the constitution that says that once you are the president you are not a human being ,the only thing is , I cannot allow my interest to becloud correct judgment, that’s all. It’s my duty to even assist those that will add value to this association to get there and add it and it is also my duty as president having identified that some people are living on the association to ask them to step aside so that people who are living for the association can go in.
But it will amount to the interference in the system of democratic process?
It is not for me to turn anyone who come to me away, I mean let everyone go and contest, but I will be watching, those who come to me I will encourage them ,those who cannot do well, I will tell them that you can’t do well when you get there. But don’t also forget that presidency especially of this association is like a dust bin, but in a democratic setting, the power of the president has to be respected, so there must be certain interest you have to look out for and even though those who are fighting now without negotiating, time is coming when they will say allow this man to have his way let him move on. And one good thing about our association is that every office has time limit; including that of the president and what I have always told people is to have patience ,it started three years ago and we have only one year to go ,so we need the challenges to throw more people in the race, let us have an election of six or five people trying to be president and let the people have a choice among them, because I am not even happy when you see two persons contesting for chairmanship at chapter elections, because it means that we have not got something right somewhere. More people should come out to give the people choice of who to take as their leader. We had some elections that are unopposed and I must say that it is not good for democracy.
I have a feeling that the chairman of the panel was indirectly accusing some leaders of the association for being too overtly supportive of some candidates?
I would want you to wait until the final decision is out and when we are going to read the report, whatever led us to that decision will be told and it is going to be an open thing because I am determined to leave something that people can refer to as history. If they are justified with their recommendations, we will uphold it and give reasons for that and if we disagree with them, we will put reasons why we disagree. But if people continue to say that some leaders and national officers are behind some contestants, I must say that it is natural. Because those in the chapters today are aspiring to come to the national tomorrow and that does not mean that once you go to the national level, you are no longer part of the chapter, so it is a natural thing.
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