CRFFN and burden of leadership 

The creation of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) was a deliberate attempt of government to reform the freight forwarding profession  in the country and elevate its practice to the acceptable world  standard.

So, the Council,  created by an Act of Parliament in 2007, was meant to sanitise the freight forwarding industry that was characterised by disorderliness and quackery.

The council was also expected to set and raise the standard of practice and the practitioners in an industry populated by  a large army of illiterates and semi-illiterates.

The Council  was also mandated to weed out quackery and thuggery which perpetrators have unhindered access to an industry that was largely unregulated.

The Council, by virtue of its roles and functions, is expected   to regulate and control the practice of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria and promote the highest standards of competence, practice and conduct among members of the profession.

However, we are saddened that 11 years after the first governing council was inaugurated in 2008 till the present tenure of the incumbent third governing council, there has not been any remarkable improvement in the practice of Freight Forwarding and its practitioners.

From inception, the Council has been bogged down by internal wranglings among the federating associations driven largely by self-preservation, a development that has hobbled the performance and efficiency of the Council over the years.

The first governing council led by Tony Iju Nwabunike between 2008 to 2010 used its two-year tenure to grapple with the teething problems associated with such a pioneering efforts.

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The council was still in the process of “settling” down till its tenure expired.

The second governing council led by Hakeem Olanrewaju from 2010-2012 couldn’t make much impact as it inherited part of the problems which its predecessor grappled with.

The crisis which broke out among the federating associations over the issue of the controversial Practitioners Operations Fee  (POF) rendered  the council almost redundant till the end of its tenure.

This crisis continued far beyond the tenure of the second governing council, resulting to bickerings among the federating associations which resorted to petition writings, litigations,  accusations and counter-accusations over the issue of sharing formula of the controversial POF.

This acrimony therefore stifled much of the  activities of the Council which remained in comatose as there was no governing council in place to run its affairs.

Only unelected Registrar with other staff ran the affairs of the Council  from 2012 till 2018 when, at the prompting  of the Minister of Transportation,  Rotimi Amaechi,  the elections and the inauguration of the incumbent third governing council took place.

In retrospect, the Council has for the most part of its 11 years in existence, become largely ineffective, failing to improve the standard of practice in the freight forwarding industry.

That is why we feel the  present governing council headed by Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni has a unique opportunity to make a marked difference in the industry.

We believe this is a golden chance for the third governing council of the CRFFN to write its name in the golden book of history through effective and efficient discharge of its mandate  to standardize the practice of Freight Forwarding practice.

The mandate to set and raise the standard of the profession and better the lots of the professionals.

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The mandate to rid the industry of the last vestige of quackery and thuggery.

This to us is an herculean task that needs dedication and singleness of purpose to achieve.

It is a task that needs total commitment and sacrifice of the Council members to deliver.

However, we are worried by the slow pace of action from the council.

 Six months after its inauguration, the Council is yet to come up with any blue print of action to suggest that it is not going to end up like the two previous governing councils.

Our worries rose from the fact that time is not on the side of the Council.

The council has less than two years of its tenure to make any appreciable impact on the freight forwarding industry.

The council should embark on training and retraining of members to raise their standard and imbibe them with the necessary skills that will enable them to discharge their duties according to the best practices in the industry.

It is also imperative to educate and sensitize its members to embrace best practices in cargo clearance procedure.

The high level of non-compliance with cargo clearance guidelines among freight forwarders has been a source of friction between them and the customs who has to resort to stringent and often times punitive measures to check the frequent infractions committed  by freight forwarders in the cargo clearance process.

We therefore urge the council to set up a template that would lead to massive reorientation and sensitization  of freight forwarders and cleanse the rot in the system.

It is our desire that the council should show strong presence in crisis control  and dispute resolution mechanism that may be employed by other relevant agencies to douse any tension that may arise between freight forwarders and other services provided aimed at addressing their operational challenges.

The council should protect its own in an industry where only the fittest survives

It is a sad commentary on the capability of the Council that freight forwarders are being buffeted from all fronts with operational challenges posed by the official handedness of some government agencies and the extortion they are being subjected to through multiple billings and hike in charges.

The council may do well to dispel the widely held belief among freight forwarders that members of the Council are more concerned with the preservation of their self-interests rather than protecting the interests of the generality of members.

The recent procurement of Toyota Hilux purchased with a little below  N500million and distributed to committee chairmen which some angry  freight forwarders regarded as a misplaced priority in the face of daunting challenges in the industry has helped to fuel  their suspicion.

The  present governing council owe it a duty to the teeming freight forwarders to create a rejuvenated, robust , disciplined and orderly industry that will be a pride of all the practitioners.

This to us, is the big leadership burden the council must discharge if it hope to earn the respect, cooperation and support of the freight forwarders confraternity

Posterity will however not be kind to the present council if it fails to  make a positive impact on the lives of  freight forwarders and lift the profession from its present abyss of moral degeneration and decadence.