About two weeks ago in Abuja, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), rolled out the drums for its seminar/retreat and National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
The meeting was the first major event since the present national leadership under Prince Olayiwola Shittu came in; a couple of months ago, so naturally, expectations were high. It turned out to be a very successful event which not only drew attendance from all chapters of the association, but also attracted friends of the association from the nooks and crannies.
It is also noteworthy that the minister of interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, as well as the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi Inde attended the programme, while the minister of transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman sent a top official to represent him.
By and large, it was a successful event which if well built-upon is capable of finally drawing ANLCA out of a near-abyss (no thanks to years of shaky leadership and inactivity) to its pre-2000 status as the only rallying- point for licensed customs agents in Nigeria.
Some people have argued that as bad as it was later portrayed to be, the tenure of Alhaji Sani Kamba remains the most glorious days of ANLCA. Those people have also argued that the association has not been fortunate to have a purposeful, goal driven and altruistic leadership since then.
To these schools of thought , successive leadership of the association have allegedly always looked at the office as a means to their self-serving end and not as a means to a new lease of live for ANLCA.
Others have also pointed out that the problems of the association stemmed from the loss of its unrivalled status as the only voice of the teeming number of licensed customs agents. To these people, the emergence of NAGAFF and the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, coupled with type of leadership that have been foisted upon ANLCA over the years, are the contributory factors to its pre-2010 state of near-irrelevance.
While flagging-off his campaign in Lagos early this year, Shittu had admitted that ANLCA was going down the cliff and that all that the immediate past president, Chief Ernest Elochukwu did was to ensure that it didn’t get worse.
We have seen sufficient reasons to affirm that things have been taking a pretty betters shape since Prince Olayiwola Shittu and his team came on board the ANLCA ship early this year and we think a few of such redirections should be highlighted and commended.
To the delight of many, ANLCA has been transformed, once again into a corporate member of the shipping community; with a dignifying corporate office. It has also been rebranded into an organization that has embraced responsible partnership, from its previous position of a solo-runner with few friends and many adversaries.
One of such examples of a new dawn of responsible partnership is the now-blossoming relationship between it and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF); an association that has never enjoyed any recognition from ANLCA since its creation more than 10 years ago. Another evidence of responsible partnership is the redefined relationship with the Nigeria Customs Service. Previously, ANLCA and its leadership did not enjoy a mutually respectable relationship with the Customs. But, the story has changed, so much so that, now, the Comptroller General of Customs sees the National President of ANLCA as a partner in progress in the strive to ensure that cargo clearance is carried out with ease and integrity and of course, to ensure that incidences of stoppage of already cleared containers by customs personnel on the highways are reduced.
One of the main headaches of past leaders; especially, national presidents of ANLCA is the often hidden suspicion and rivalry between them and the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the association. But from all that we can see, not only is the incumbent BoT, Chief Henry Njoku solidly behind Prince Olayiwola Shittu, he and other BoT members have demonstrated absolute loyalty in and believe in the ability of the national executive council to deliver.
We are glad that ANLCA has been able to rediscover itself and has been able to scale the hurdle of uncertainties which previously lined its path; especially prior to the elections which brought the chapter chairmen and subsequently, the national executives.
We are equally glad that ANLCA has managed to overcome the series of ethnic threat that almost divided it in the months before the chapter and national elections.
It is our hope that the Prince Shittu- led executive council will continue to work towards fulfilling its promises to members of the association.
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