shippingposition
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
    • Vox Pop
  • Maritime safety
  • Oil and Gas
  • Personality
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
shippingposition

Home » The unending crises in the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents 

The unending crises in the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents 

by Joshua
February 17, 2020
in Uncategorized

May we start this opinion with this question: Has someone cast a spell on the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA)? It appears so, but, it is obviously not so. It is not a spell that has held the association down for close to two years. It is greed, ego and ethnicity.

The current seemingly unending crises which have engulfed ANLCA did not start today, in fact, it didn’t start during the eight years tenure of the immediate past National President of the association; Prince Olayiwola Shittu. It is rather, a fall out of the election that brought the incumbent president; Mr Tony Nwabunike to power in 2018.

The current face-off which has seen various factions go in and out of courts and in and out of police stations is sadly embedded in an unwritten part of the association’s constitution.

It is unwritten that positions must rotate between tribes, and that positions must be shared between the two ethnic nationalities that dominate the association, that is the Yorubas and the Igbos.

Even though there is no accurate record as to when it was founded, its current leaders and members quote 1954 as its birth date.

There is also no doubt about the fact that ANLCA is the oldest umbrella body for all licensed customs agents in Nigeria.

The ANLCA has at different times had Dr Rafiu Oladipo who is credited as being the first president of the association. Older  members of the association also say that there was an interregnum of some years before Alhaji Sani Kamba later stepped-in to become the national president of a new-look association.

Alhaji Kamba’s tenure was followed by that of Mr Peter Okocha, Aare Sanni Shittu, Alhaji Inua Mohammed and Chief Ernest Elochukwu as national presidents.

Prince Olayiwola Shittu is officially, the seventh national president of ANLCA. He has now been succeeded by Mr Tony Iju Nwabunike.

 And since Tony Nwabunike took over, there has been no love lost among the leaders of the association, from chapters to zones and to the national executive committee.

Initially, it started as a mere issue within the association’s Board of Trustees (BoT), simply between two combatants for the board’s headship; that, is between Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha and Chief Henry Njoku.

All that is currently drawing ANLCA back started as soon as Prince Olayiwola finished his statutory two terms of eight years as the National President of the association. The election was bitterly fought and won. The wound has refused to heal.

No doubt, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents was transformed into a good example of how a freight forwarding body should be. It changed from being just an assemblage of clearing and forwarding agents (as of old), into an internationally-recognised body of professionals, all these under the watch of its immediate National President; Prince Olayiwola Shittu.

The transformation that ANLCA went through didn’t come easy. It took trust in the leadership of Prince Olayiwola Shittu, his competence and transparency to rebrand ANLCA.

And recently, the association’s national president extended the proverbial olive branch to the warring parties.  A committee was also set up to look at the various issues that have brought the association to where it is presently.

As stated earlier, ANLCA’s present travail is a fall out of its penchant for zoning and pandering to ethnic considerations in the choice of who occupies which position in the association, from the chapters to the national body.

What should be paramount in the mind of ANLCA members is moving the association up from where the immediate past President and his co-executives left it. Unknown to it, rival association(s) are already praying for ANLCA’s further fall, so that they can gain more prominence.

How can ANLCA members forget so soon, events prior to the 2010 emergence of the immediate past leadership of the association?

 As a maritime media firm, we can boldly say that the calibre of persons who currently occupy the office of the association’s Board of Trustees, is   perhaps the loudest   confirmation of the fact that ANLCA has really moved far above its projections; pre-2010.

Without necessarily sounding patronizing, we are encouraged by how good a brand ANLCA had become, and that explains why everyone wants to be relevant.

Yes, the secretariat is a befitting legacy, an indelible achievement, but Prince Shittu brought discipline, candour, honour, robust engagement and accountability into ANLCA. He dwelt less on tribes, tongues and religion.

These are the legacies that Mr Tony Iju Nwabunike needs to sustain for the association to regain its status.

The question to ask is: Why allow an inconsequential matter as the headship of the board to tear ANLCA apart, the leadership of ANLCA?

It’s National President; Tony Nwabunike should rise above all partisanship and considerations in the larger interest of the association.

In like manner, it is incumbent on the feuding factions in the association’s board of trustees to think less of themselves. Unless there is more to it, what value is the membership or even headship of the board of ANLCA adding to their lives? The board has no direct relevance in the day-to-day running of the association. It is purely a ceremonial body!

Without necessarily calling them out, we are strongly of the opinion that all those who are currently serving in the polarized board should step down, even if there is an election tomorrow, they should honourably recluse themselves.

Finally, in like manner and for the love of the association, both the national president and the entire executive council of ANLCA should live above board, above ethnicity and above partisanship in the battle for the soul of the association’s board.

Fact is,  there is no association that can progress when there is crisis.

 


Related Posts

Despite ₦5.17trn Surplus, Dollar Dominates Nigeria-China Trade As Naira-Yuan Swap Struggles

Despite ₦5.17trn Surplus, Dollar Dominates Nigeria-China Trade As Naira-Yuan Swap Struggles

June 30, 2025
Meningitis: Death Toll In Kebbi Hits 56 – Govt 

Meningitis: Death Toll In Kebbi Hits 56 – Govt 

March 24, 2025
Navy Rescues 8 Police Officers,1 Civilian From Boat Accident In Bayelsa

Navy Rescues 8 Police Officers,1 Civilian From Boat Accident In Bayelsa

January 8, 2025
PHOTO NEWS: SIFAX Thanksgiving and Night of Praise 2.0

PHOTO NEWS: SIFAX Group Thanksgiving and Night of Praise 2.0

December 18, 2024

Discussion about this post

Latest News

NPA Bags NASS PAC Transparency Award

NPA Bags NASS PAC Transparency Award

July 12, 2025

Nigeria Customs Says Claim Of Form ‘M’ Migration Charges False

CRFFN Showcases Reform Milestones, Dismisses Court Ruling Misinterpretation

NCMDLCA Faction Distances Self from Amiwero’s Court Action, Backs CRFFN on POF Collection

Customs Intercepts ₦9.2bn Worth of Fake Bedroom Booster, Others

Customs, NAFDAC Inaugurate Implementation Committee for 2024 MoU

Nigeria Customs Intercepts Container with Over 10,000 Donkey Genitals

Senate Hails Adeniyi’s Election as WCO Council Chair, Says It’s  a Major Win for Nigeria’s Global Trade Leadership

Oyetola Launches Door-to-Door’ Diplomacy for Nigeria’s IMO Council Bid

FG Urged To Link Warri-Itakpe Rail To Inland Ports, Road Networks

Red Sea Operation Rescues 4 More From Cargo Ship Sunk By Houthis

Shippers’ Council Set to Establish Border Information Centre at Idiroko, Bolster Trade Efficiency

kindly like our Facebook page

Health

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert
Health

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

June 30, 2025

Mrs Roseline Akinlabi, Adolescent and Youth Sexual Reproductive Health Desk Officer, Osun Primary Healthcare Board, says contraceptive pills cannot cause...

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: The Liver

June 16, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

June 16, 2025
Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

June 1, 2025
20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

June 1, 2025
Health Facts You Didn’t Know

How Your Habit Affects Fertility

May 19, 2025
Fruits For Raining Season

Fruits For Raining Season

May 19, 2025
See Mental Illness Like Other Treatable Diseases – Says Suicide Survivor

Health Facts You Didn’t Know

May 19, 2025
Alligator Pepper: Benefits, FAQ, Side Effects, & Warning

Alligator Pepper: Benefits, FAQ, Side Effects, & Warning

April 28, 2025
Water And Health: The Relationship That Helps Life

Water And Health: The Relationship That Helps Life

April 28, 2025

© 2021 Shippingposition

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Coast To Coast
  • Oil and Gas
  • Maritime Education
  • The Terminals
  • Maritime safety

© 2021 Shippingposition