EDITORIAL:
NAGAFF’s Monumental Mistake Was to Whittle Away the Relevance of its 100% Compliance Team
By Mcanthony Onuoha
The decision by the leadership of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders -NAGAFF to inaugurate a parallel unit called “Trade Facilitation Team” has by all standards, whittled away the relevance of its 100% Compliance Team.
Before the inauguration of the Compliance Team about five years ago, the Association had a Help Desk which was later disbanded because it was increasingly constituting industrial nuisance due to a sheer lack of efficient coordination.
After the thoughtful disbandment of NAGAFF Help Desk, the 100% Compliance Team was inaugurated and one of the Association’s highly committed members and seasoned freight forwarder, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, took the lead as Head of NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team.
The inauguration of Ibrahim Tanko led 100% Compliance Team added fresh impetus to the Association, brand new leadership ideas and reinvigorated campaign against circumvention of trade rules, high handedness cum operational excesses, and sent serious signal to industry’s stakeholders; as the fear of NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team became the beginning of wisdom.
Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, no doubt channeled great efforts to consolidate the team as the Founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam considered him very capable and gave him free hands to operate. Tanko displayed much leadership abilities and did not waste time in whipping into line those able bodied men in the toga of Help Desk that were ignorantly battering the image of the Association. The inauguration of NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team was an added strength to the Association’s elbows, the level of coordination was top notch as members conducted themselves in a more professional manner to the admiration of most Maritime Practitioners and to the envy of those whose stock in trade is to whip up unnecessary sentiments in almost everything.
Those who didn’t like to hear the name of Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko took it upon themselves to sponsor media propaganda against the team, that at a time, became the pride of NAGAFF. Tanko and his team were able to keep Shipping Companies and Terminal Operators on their toes by tacitly assuming the role of Nigerian Shipper’s Council (NSC) as a watchdog.
Unfortunately, some months back, the leadership of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders- NAGAFF led by High Chief Fwdr. Tochukwu Ezisi, made a monumental decisional mistake by inaugurating “NAGAFF Trade Facilitation Team” with Fwdr. Dr. Fred Achuzie as its Head. Ever since that huge error was made, the relevance and very strong influence of Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko led NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team have been whittled away, aside that, the dwindling impact of the Association has become as evident and very noticeable as an eight months pregnancy. The spacious 100% Compliance Team Secretariat at Eleganza Plaza, Apapa, which at a time became a beehive of activities is now like an abode of a hermit. No more activities, no more brainstorming sessions, no more convergence of Unit Heads and no Chapter meetings. At one of my quiet times, l had reclined to recall the eventful period and impactful captaincy of Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, comparing it to what is going on presently, and l can unequivocally state that activities at NAGAFF are presently at very low ebb. Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko and his team, indeed, covered the inefficiency of NAGAFF’s leadership to the extent that industry players were feeling its impact through the activities of that strong arm of the Association.
The inauguration of NAGAFF Trade Facilitation Team was one of the Association’s greatest undoing, a monumental adminstrative error that will hunt the association for a long while. And the only remedy is to honourably own up the mistake and ceremoniously disband the Fred Ajuzie led parallel team, it needs to be urgently collapsed into the 100% Compliance Team to revive the “now” sleeping Association.
The adminstrative inadequacies of the present leadership of NAGAFF is increasingly becoming crystal clear that since the Founder of NAGAFF as well as the New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP, Dr. Bonfiace Okechukwu Aniebonam, got deeply engrossed in the power tussle that has consistently put the NNPP on the headlines of daily Newspapers, and a steady read on social media platforms since after the 2023 Presidential Election, and following the technical stripping of 100% Compliance Team of its operational power by setting up a parallel Team, NAGAFF has grossly lost its steam. The diversion of the Founder’s attention by renegades who are bent on mindlessly reaping where they did not sow has to a large extent, weakened the Association’s leadership.
Therefore, the leadership of NAGAFF must as a matter of urgency, resuscitate its 100% Compliance Team to bridge the leadership gap. There is no room for series of meeting before taking a bold step in the right direction, and that bold step is to collapse the parallel Team and subsume it into a more active 100% Compliance Team with or without Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko as its Head.
