The suggestion by the management of the Grimaldi Agency Nigeria that freight forwarders operating at the nation’s seaports should be encouraged to consolidate has drawn the ire of freight forwarders who viewed the suggestion as ill conceived.
Recall that the Managing Director of the agency, Mr. Ascanio Russo had recently while playing host to the entourage from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) led by its Executive Secretary, Barr. Hassan Bello frowned at the number of people crowding around the ports almost doing nothing and advised that the freight forwarders be encouraged to consolidate to form 30 to 50 freight forwarding companies as obtained in other climes.
Reacting, the Chairman, International Freight Forwarders Association (IFFA), Mr. Akintoye Ojo Peter questioned the ground upon which the shipping company which is owned by foreigners suggested that freight forwarders who are Nigerians practicing in their land should consolidate.
Akintoye added that the onus was on the federal government to determine whether or not the freight forwarding companies should consolidate not on the foreigners even as he maintained that even if Nigerians were going to consolidate, the time was not ripe.
According to him,” We have given a kind of unwarranted choices to those that come to Nigeria to do business. Let me ask, what is the mindset of the shipping companies asking us to consolidate? If Nigerians need to consolidate, we do it within ourselves and if we are going to get to that extent, I don’t think that is the first thing to do.
“By God’s grace, the CRFFN is trying to have its election very soon, part of the ideas we want to sell to them is that by the time the governing council is properly constituted, we should be thinking of how we are going to institutionalize this industry especially the freight forwarders. By the time we are chartered, then, within ourselves, we can look at the objective aspect of consolidating.
“Where is work in Nigeria? Is it the people that are trying to survive that you want them to consolidate? It is not as if it is not a good idea but we don’t need that now because if we are going to that extent, it means we are going to lose a lot of people that are working in this maritime industry and where is the work outside here? Even, it is not everybody that you see in this corridor that would love to be here. We have Masters holders, we have Degree holders but because there is no work, they felt like managing themselves with the little they get from this industry.
“If you are talking about consolidation which like I said is not a bad idea but we have not grown to that extent for now, if as we are proposing to push it to the National Assembly and we are chartered and it becomes an institution, from there you know that before you can come to do business, you must know that you must have some qualifications. If that happens, then with the orientation of some of the freight forwarders started changing and if that starts changing, then you can go to the extent that you believe that there is the need for us to consolidate, that is if we need it.
“But from that platform that we were addressed, not for shipping companies to be telling us what to do because most of these shipping companies you are talking about, they are foreigners and I don’t know the reason why they are telling us that”.
When told that the shipping companies were concerned because of the number of the people clustering around the ports on daily basis, he said,” They are the problems we are having; they are the ones causing that problem. Most of these shipping companies, up till now, they have not automated their processes. You don’t want me to crowd around your offices, why can’t you do something that will discourage me crowding around your offices. Internet is everywhere around the world, we can interface through the internet, do I need to come to your office before we can interface? Nigeria Customs is rolling out NICIS 2 now and through NICIS 2 you can make your payments online, you can do everything you want to do online, after paying duty, you can submit for your consignment.
“What is stopping them from running automated system so that in the comfort of my office, I can generate my invoice from my system, make my payment in the comfort of my office and you transmit the DO (Delivery Order) to me immediately and I will print it out and go to the terminal where my consignment is, the same for terminal operators. Why do you want me to come to your office?”
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