Barely one month after the global freight forwarding body; the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA) granted approval to Nigeria to start running diploma programmes in freight forwarding, operators in the maritime industry have condemned the modus operandi adopted by the body in charge of the training, saying that the fees attached to the course is too high.
Barely one month after the global freight forwarding body; the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA) granted approval to Nigeria to start running diploma programmes in freight forwarding, operators in the maritime industry have condemned the modus operandi adopted by the body in charge of the training, saying that the fees attached to the course is too high.
Regulatory body in charge of freight forwarding in Nigeria; the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) had pegged the price of the diploma course at N250,000 for a duration of one week and had appointed some institutions to carry out the training in Nigeria.
But, some freight forwarders have complained that the CRFFN had displayed an extortionist tendency by making the course fee to be too exorbitant, according to them, it has automatically discouraged the poor freight forwarders from participating in the programme.
A chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Custom Agents (ANLCA) Alhaji Akanni Balogun who spoke with Shipping Position Daily on the issue advocated that there should have been a sort of concession for industry operators who wish to participate in the programme because they do not intend to use it to seek for job at the end of the day.
He described the certificate as an ‘ordinary paper qualification’ saying that the real knowledge needed to carry out the job has already been obtained on the field by clearing agents.
“Personally, what do they want to teach me? Are they going to teach me how to prepare entry, how to capture my entry, how to interact with my customers? Or what exactly do they want to teach, I have been in this business for the past 35years, I started from the shipping companies and there is no aspect of shipping that I do not know, so I cannot go for such a course, if they want to formalize it, I don’t need any certificate to become a clearing agent, the experience I had on the job is enough for me to guide myself”, he stressed.
He argued that the certificate obtained does not qualify a freight forwarder as a professional, according to him, “it is just a paper qualification; there are some people who are more experienced than even the tutors they are bringing to teach you, some of us can as well be brought in as a lecturer in this programme”.
“So with my age, I will now go to the class room, what sort of tutors are they having there and where did they train? Personally I cannot go for such training; I cannot even afford to throw away my 250,000”.
“What they are doing is not clear to many people, why will they charge N250,000 for how many days course, am I going to use the certificate to look for job or what, is it going to bring me customers or what?” Balogun wondered.
Also speaking with our correspondent on the issue, a freight forwarder who operates at the Tin can Island Port in Lagos, Mr. Charles Chiduba in his summation said that refresher courses are welcomed developments for the freight forwarding industry, but, pointed out that what agents are complaining about is the cost of the CRFFN programme.
Chiduba explained that from the way it is, people are not showing interest in the programme because of the exorbitant fee, even as he expressed confidence that the content of the course will help the industry.
“If you can empty your purse on yourself, nobody will take it away from you and education is the only business that guarantees much interest, so no matter how much you pay for it, it is worthwhile”.
“If the fee is okay for you and you have the money, then you can go for it” he said.
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