Eniola Igbaroola (Sec. Western zone, ANLCA)
Akeem Olanrewaju started from the grassroots and he is a core professional, we expect better dealings from his own tenure and as he has promised to look into professionalism in the freight forwarding industry, the CRFFN really needs to come out and regulate the service of freight forwarding because for a long time, there has never been a regulator and everybody seems to be doing as they wish, people use to see this practice as something that is meant for illiterates but today we have professionals in the trade, we have lawyers, engineers and so on, and they have injected their experience into the profession. CRFFN should be able to present the true position of things to the government, customs should tell government the reaction of the masses and it should be a to and from flow form of information.
Chief Achike Melokwu (Clearing agent)
I want to first of all congratulate the chairman which is Akeem Olanrewaju, he is a gentleman that has focus, and even when he was the vice chairman of the council, he has been working and he has been very loyal to his chairman, I also know that he has learnt a lot from that process, so I am not surprised that they are giving him that mantle of leadership, I have no doubt that he is going to perform, he also has a very articulate vice chairman. The council has their own rules and regulations; of recent they concluded the verification exercise for freight forwarders, I think he should first of all look into that and publish the membership list, because we as stakeholders don’t know their modus operandi now, we have paid a lot of money and we have gone for the exercise, but right now we have not seen any impact, we are waiting patiently now for the next step, so the new leadership should come out and tell us the next step, they should act immediately as they have been given the power of the federal government to regulate the profession. Secondly they must ensure that they have an input, right now the government has appointed a committee to reform customs and the committee has started working, we are also looking at the council to have a serious input because these things fall back on the freight forwarders, so they should have an input in how to reorganize the customs, they should not be kept aside, they make their input for the benefit of the industry.
Akanji Abdulakeem (Mikol Maritime services ltd.)
You will agree with me that the freight forwarding industry is second to the oil sector, revenue is now being generated from the maritime sector, customs are now getting impressive revenue for the government. We are calling on them now to see how they can benefit the stakeholders, we are the ones bringing out this money for the government, so they should look at how they can better our lives, in other advanced countries, stakeholders are held in a very high esteem and are given commission for everything they do, but here we get the money and pay the duty from January to December and there is nothing for us, no welfare packages for the clearing agents, even now that they have increased the salary of customs and they are promoting them regularly now, they should focus on how they can better the lives of agents who are working year in year out to make sure that the money is gotten from the importer and paid to the coffers of the government. I am challenging the chairman to look into all this so that we can also smile as other sectors are smiling.
Usman Sanusi (Chairman BOT, NAGAFF)
What I expect the new chairman to do is to give the CRFFN proper direction, he should remember that the council is just a regulatory agency and not an association, so he should initiate far- reaching programmes that will impact on the freight forwarders in Nigeria, I want him to address issues like Nigeria’s membership of FIATA and other international freight forwarding bodies in view of the fact that CRFFN is not an association and its membership on FIATA seems questionable. There is need for the new chairman to do a lot of work there and convince freight forwarders in Nigeria and the international community that a regulatory agency is a member of FIATA when FIATA is suppose to be an international body for national freight forwarding associations. Secondly we have the issue of capacity building and training, I expect Hakeem Olanrewaju to lay emphasis on training and retraining for freight forwarders, and every freight forwarder irrespective of association should do away with the politics of exclusion, everybody needs to be involved to ensure that the profession moves forward. Another issue is defining the role of freight forwarders in the economic growth of Nigeria, this will involve dialogue with different sectors of the industry, he has the task of projecting the freight forwarding industry as it should be, in addition to this, issues that border on professionalism and code of ethics should be clearly looked into, policies in the CRFFN should be made in consultation with stakeholders, a situation where policies are made without dialogue with freight forwarders is very unfair and unacceptable.
Mazi Joseph Anabaraonye (Registrar, FFAN)
We expected much from the first executives of the council, but they could not achieve much, maybe it is because they use most of their time in politics rather than do what is expected of them; rather than harmonize all the interest groups and move together they decided to show supremacy and at the end of the day, it led to confusion and in-fighting. But, we believe that the new council will be better even though it might not be perfect because there are some things that need to be put right but are still hanging. The new chairman is right when he talked about training and retraining but he must not forget that the council has an Act and if anything must be done, it must be done according to the law, we have had a lot of times when the council thinks whatever they decide is final not minding if it is according to the law, they must ensure that all their decisions are backed by the Act. If this is done, I think there will be less tension and confusion.
Mr Segun Agegbejo [Five Stars Logistic]
With the new governing council, I believe there will be changes as far the mantle of leadership has fallen on a person who knows about freight forwarding business. I believe that with the new governing council, things will change for the better possibly by the first quarter of next year because the new chairman knows how to tackle the problems that the Council and other stakeholders are facing .On that note I advice the new governing council should try to leave a good legacy for the next set of executives. Once again congratulation on your new assignment, Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju
Mr Caleb Nwansi [Terminal Operator]
It is a good thing that CRFFN has conducted its election and has brought forward a new set of executives. We are very happy about this is done without rancor. But Chief Olanrewaju Hakeem has a lot to do and we believe he is somebody who can handle that responsibility; he knows the job and his election by all the council members is a clear testimony of his qualification. We all know how he contributed immensely when he was the vice chairman. So he should embark on training and retraining of members as he has pledged in order to bring a new lease of life and set a standard within the council and maritime sector so that there will be no place for charlatans because Nigeria has gained a high recognition in the freight forwarding business and if allowed to be controlled by charlatans they will run it down .His coming up with training and retraining of members will enhance and boost the council in order words making it viable ,more lucrative and discipline will also come into play .I am charging the new governing council to do away with charlatans , they should be focused ,they should do what they are supposed to do and they will become acceptable to the council as well as the public because I know the man can deliver and there is no doubt he had been delivering . On that note, I wish the chief good luck and the best of his tenure and the same for other executive members who are going to work with him.
Mr Dennis Wadiri [Sapid International]
Good a thing it is spear headed by a pundit who knows the in and out of the clearing and forwarding business, maritime sector and the council .The major thing there is for the governing council members to work as a formidable team , for the benefit of all and Chief Olanrewaju should expose members of the council to seminars, workshop, exhibitions and other professional training programmes. As an expert and a former vice chairman, it shows that he is not new to the system, so he should do what is right and shun corruption. I expect that the new governing council members will take off from where his predecessor stopped.
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