The founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has urged the leadership as well as the elders of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) to come together to nip in the bud what he called avoidable crisis that is capable of derailing the intention of the founding fathers of the association.
Aniebonam who made this appeal while speaking at a function in Lagos recently posited that ANLCA was very strategic adding that “any how you want to look at it, when a vehicle is moving and one of the tyres go down, it won’t be a smooth journey anymore”.
He contended that NAGAFF and ANLCA were the two biggest organizations in the port saying that if one was doing well and the other one was in turmoil, it would be a distraction to the one that was doing well because those two must go together.
He said,” What I am saying now is that I will want to appeal to the leaders of ANLCA to come together and resolve what I consider as a family problem that is now snowballing into the public glare. It is not the best. Secondly, from my strategic point, if something is not done urgently, the way things are going now, I hope there will be no breach of peace at the port level because right now, from what I can see, there are two factions in terms of executives on one side and the executive on the other side. I hope that it does not lead to clash of interest or relevance.
“So, I want to appeal that the President of ANLCA, the members of the Board of Trustees on the opposing sides, for the interest of the young freight forwarders, for the interest of our profession, ANLCA is very strategic, they can adopt the principles of the doctrine of necessity. In conflict resolution, you must learn how to concede certain things for peace to reign. This is very important.
“The other aspect of that which I think is very important; part of the problem in our country today is the sit tight in the responsible positions. It cannot continue to add value, it will never add value. I will want to believe that the leadership of ANLCA, the elders of ANLCA who ought to be in advisory capacity and they are still in power in that organization, I don’t think it is important now, it is not necessary. Therefore, there is need for them to give way for the young ones to take responsibility and I have done that. I think I have shown that quality, that leadership, nobody asked me to leave NAGAFF but I think that I have gone the length in giving direction to the leadership of NAGAFF and all that.
“So, I want to advocate that while ANLCA people want to nip in the bud this problem that is avoidable, the old ones among them should take a cue from what the founder of NAGAFF has done and I want to believe that you people (journalists) should work on that and let them know. Some of those people in ANLCA have been in ANLCA for thirty to forty years, what are they doing there? So, in leadership, you must learn how to make sacrifices.
There are also good minds in ANLCA and those good minds in ANLCA, people like Farinto, Ada Ebubedike, Ozo Chukwura, there are members of ANLCA that have good minds to move the industry forward and they should come out strong. People like Joe Sanni, Obicee, there are young people there that can steer ANLCA and get it right”.
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