Babatunde Samuel (Registrar, POTMAN)
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam is a professional who has distinguished himself over the years; most especially in the area of human capacity building by setting up NAGAFF. He has been a man of his words because I have worked with him in so many ways. On several occasions when crisis arise as far as freight forwarding business in Nigeria is concerned, he has mediated between the professionals and the government, he has built a pioneer association that has redefined the standards of freight forwarding in Nigeria, in a nutshell I think the industry will feel his impact even as he is leaving now.
His leaving at this time is absolutely right in view of the fact that he has achieved a purpose and that is, to build a reputable association to regulate the freight forwarding profession whereby the profession is now being given government recognition through the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding. To me this is a landmark achievement. I believe once you have attained a goal, you need not continue to stay with the goal; you need to set new ones and achieve them.
Frank Aliakor (ANLCA, Apapa)
Dr Aniebonam is an articulate man who has got the brain and what it takes; for him to have established NAGAFF means he has something up stairs, when people in those days were groping in the dark not knowing what to do, but he was able to establish the association to fight along ANLCA, I know him and how he started NAGAFF way back when we used to pull strings together in the association. I see him as somebody with focus because he came out from nothing to become something now, he has come a long way and today he can count his blessings.
I however think it is still too early for him to make such a statement, even if he wanted to create a chance for the upcoming ones that should not stop him from making inputs in the maritime industry, if he still believes in the industry in which he has been practicing all this while. I know that in one way or the other, he will still talk because it comes from within his heart, he may find it difficult to leave totally from the maritime industry because all these boys he is thinking will come on board may not carry it out the way he as the founding father want it to be.
Walter Ukaegbu (Maritime reporter)
Whether we like it or not he is a force to be reckoned with in the maritime industry. Like him or hate him, he is still a force any day, any time in the sector and he has contributed quite a lot. In the beginning, many people did not think that NAGAFF will survive but through his doggedness, the association is not only surviving but it has become an association to reckon with in the industry.
Since he is leaving now I think it’s a good thing, its like establishing a structure and after doing that you don’t restrict your self, you want to allow other people to nature the structure that you have build, so its good for him to leave and allow others to come in. Of course, it will not be right for him to say he is leaving but on the sides he will still continue to give instructions., it will be an invisible Aniebonam still in NAGAFF, so if he is leaving let him do so and hands off for others to take charge.
That does not mean he will leave the maritime industry entirely, he will always still comment on maritime issues, its just like the Acting President Goodluck Jonathan who is now bringing in the old generals like Danjuma because they are experienced people and their expertise is needed, so also is Aniebonam. There is no way people will leave him entirely from the sector because he has a way of seeing how things will happen and saying it.
Captain Niyi Adeyemo (Master mariner)
We have so many factions in the clearing and forwarding business and one of them is Aniebonam’s NAGAFF, if the man says he is leaving to face full politics to me I think it is right because we are now having the younger ones coming up who also need to be allowed to do things. I think it’s the right decision. As to what he now wants to pursue, well let it be in the right move because you don’t go into politics if you don’t have money, it’s the money that lure the politicians and that’s why they want a second term and a third term, he should not be lured.
When he was founding the association, he took it as a matter of a movement and when people now saw the way he was going about the issues he started attracting stakeholders’ attractions, I think it’s okay if he has decided to go into other areas to make impacts.
Prince Akinade Adeyemi (Clearing agent)
First of all, he is a reliable man who has contributed a lot in this freight forwarding profession. People can say what they like about him, some may not like him because he has always been controversial on some issues, but overall, my knowledge of him is that he is a good man.
However, I don’t think this is the right time for him to relinquish all association matters as he has proposed to do, his people still need him to stabilize the association because we all know that their election is on the way, and according to his nature he hires and fires at will but now that he does not want to do that anymore, he should at least stay for sometime more even after the elections in other to watch how things are being carried out before pulling out.
Mr. Hillary Opara (Police commissioner, Apapa)
I recall some years back when I was the assistant commissioner in charge of the ports which was in 2001; I used to know NAGAFF in the struggling days and how the founder Dr Aniebonam used to run from Abuja to Lagos in other to ensure that NAGAFF was placed on a very sound footing. He has been a dogged fighter and I am happy today that NAGAFF is now a formidable force to reckon with in the maritime industry.
He has been able to contribute his own quota to professionalise the freight forwarding industry; it is not so in some other places, he has been able to cut off the charlatans and I am happy with what I am seeing in NAGAFF today.
Oluwole Adeyemi (NAGAFF, Airport chapter)
Dr Aniebonam is somebody I met some six years ago through the then – MMA chapter chairman of NAGAFF. My first impression of him is that he is a man who is well organized, fatherly and full of ideas. I can tell you that because he is older than me, I see him as somebody that can be seen as a mentor and he has not disappointed me, he has his style, he is well read, articulate, knows the industry and has made friends across borders, he is somebody with a lot of guts and foresight, a master planner, he is a visionary person that is beyond the ordinary person.
He is a man of his words and for somebody to programme that in 10 years he wants to do this and he stands by his word is very commendable. We will still go to him for advices but I can assure you that NAGAFF will not go down because there are men on ground that can hold forte to ensure that the association goes from strength to strength.
Discussion about this post