… Says NAGAFF is a movement fashioned to change the way things were done wrongly*
- Considers creation of loan platform for freight forwarders
BY GODWIN OBI
The birth of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) was a direct fulfillment of a divine mandate upon the shoulders of the NAGAFF founder Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, to liberate freight forwarders and change how things were wrongly done in the port industry.
This was a valid expression of the first president and founder of NAGAFF while speaking on Thursday at the occasion of NAGAFF at 23 .
Aniebonam fondly called the doyen of freight forwarding business in Nigeria described the NAGAFF as the country’s biggest freight forwarding group, saying its main mission is the liberation of the relevant industry operators.
The Umuawulu Awka High Chief also described the major challenges he met particularly at inception, as divinely fashioned to challenge him and inspire him to ensure the survival of the association.
“NAGAFF is a pacesetter, and we are children of God. We are not against anybody and we can never be against anybody. For those who are after NAGAFF, good luck to them”, he stated, stressing that the body was blessed with the iconoclastic vision to change the way things were done, in order to improve efficiency and productivity.
Highlighting his determination to change the narratives and entrench a more efficient order at the ports, Aniebonam said, it was for this reason that NAGAFF pursue the goal of influencing the aspect of grooming a political will.
“In the course of our journey, we discovered that a lot of what we are doing is to change the way business is done at entry points. But, we were not getting the satisfaction we needed, in terms of increasing productivity at the points of operation and management, particularly operations.
“When we took off in 1999, the ports were moving into the second degree of development, the Dangotes, the Flour Mill, and others were coming up, and we thought that something urgently needed to be done. Consequently, we began the advocacy of the Deep Sea Ports. That took us to Badagry, met with Oba Akran, came back, articulated a very good document; on the need for Nigeria to become a hub (within, at least, the West African Countries).
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam further expressed his intention to create a platform through which freight forwarders will be able to access loan that will enable them to run their business without hitch, thereby enhancing the growth of the nation’s economy.
The NAGAFF founder stated that he was able to know early what God wanted him to be doing which is to be creating platform for people to showcase their talents and make change, saying this was what gave birth to the formation of NAGAFF 23 years ago.
He said over the years, he has done a lot for the freight forwarding and logistics profession by creating NAGAFF as a platform and an umbrella body for all freight forwarders, noting that the association has been leading in pursing the interest of all freight forwarders and more importantly changing the narrative at the port.
He said he had not just created platform for freight forwarders but has also gone extra mile to ensure that freight forwarders get a law that back the profession, through the birth of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), stressing that the next thing now is to see how he can create a loan platform.
“I have provided NAGAFF as a platform that cover all freight forwarders, I have also gone extra mile to ensure there is law that back the freight forwarding profession, which is CRFFN. My next plan for the profession is to provide platform for loan through which the professionals can have fund to execute their transactions”, Aniebonam said.
Also in his remark, the NAGAFF President, Dr. Tochukwu Ezisi said the story of NAGAFF could be likened to the biblical mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds that grew into a gigantic tree in the forest, in which all manners of animals take shelter under its very dense and expanse branches. Though started small in 1999, he said “NAGAFF can now be proud of 6,000 members as the largest freight forwarding association in Nigeria today with professionals spread across the six geo political regions of the country”.
Ezeisi noted that the association has been doing a lot to better the practice of freight forwarding in the country. He gave assurance that the association would continue to lead the way by bringing new ideas and innovations into the maritime system.
“We shall continue to embrace the new and evolving digital technology, maintain and improve new value, standards, ethics and professional ethos of the industry. I will like to convey our unshakable assurance to the Nigeria Customs Service that NAGAFF, in accordance with the tradition of our founding fathers”, Ezeisi concluded
Earlier in his submission, the registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Mr. Sam Nwakohu sounded a note of warning to freight forwarders that any of them without a Diploma Certificate in Freight Forwarding will not be allowed to practise by the end of 2023.
He said this was part of enthroning professionalism as far as the practice of freight forwarding is concerned in Nigeria, adding that the Council has perfected arrangement for all intending practitioners to acquire the necessary certificates by liaising with relevant institutions of higher learning.
For instance, he disclosed that apart from other institutions, Freight Forwarding will soon be offered as a full course in Polytechnics and Universities.
Calling on freight forwarders to embrace the policy, he said that already the Governing Board of CRFFN has introduced a law to back the regulation.
He said that the CRFFN was determined to pursue professionalism to the highest level for the interest of the industry.
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