By Olubunmi ISOKPEHI, Lagos
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has matriculated 34 new intakes to her academy with the aim of building new young talented, educated and skilled freight forwaders in West Coast Africa.
The 2nd matriculation ceremony was held at the NAGAFF headquaters Apapa.
In his remarks, the founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, harps on the need for education and encouraged the students to develop a great quest for knowledge and take the training seriously in order to attain national and global relevance in freight forwarding.
His words: “NAGAFF is a revolutionary organization set up to shed the ills of freight forwarding in Nigeria. Education is the key to achieving this objective. I am glad some of you are here knowing the essence of education. I have been able to do those things that I did with great minds because of the level of my education and knowledge, especially in what I do.”
He added that, “As the founder and first president of NAGAFF, I was armed with knowledge. I worked with the Customs and thereafter I went to do these courses you are doing now even as a president of NAGAFF. These courses prepared me for the greater challenges that is why I don’t read up anything to confront any situation. When you lack the knowledge you’ll be discussing morals rather than the point of law. What you are doing today is to prepare you for greater challenges.”
Aniebonam charged the current intakes of the academy to digest every lecture and knowledge imparted in order to take up the challenges ahead of them, while earning their living honorably with integrity, he adviced them to shun bribery and corrupt practices in and out of the ports.
In his submission, NAGAFF President, Dr Increase Onwuka Uche, said, ” let us start to open our minds to understand that the knowledge we acquire does not start and end with the clearance of cargo out of the ports. Cargo documentation process and clearance is just an aspect of freight forwarding; just one out of over twenty.”
He asserted, “Freight forwarders are supposed to man every unit in government corporations including manufacturing companies, trading companies, government parastatals and so on. It is when we begin to understand all these areas and the benefits that are attributable to freight forwarding operations or knowledge that you acquire through the training you undergo in an academy like this.”
He posited, “Don’t just restrict your belief that at the end of your training, you simply go back to the seaport or airport. This is the very time we should stand to propagate the ideals of real freight forwarding operations. As an individual, it is not compulsory that you must own a company before you can become a freight forwarder, You can be an operations manager, a logistics expert in an organization and all that.”
In his Paper Presentation, Mr. Ray Ogochukwu, the president of Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN) who was the guest speaker, delivered a Lecture titled: “Freight Forwarding as a Career: Benefits to the Nation”, he stated, ” The challenges faced in the industry particularly affecting the business of freight forwarding which include political intrigues, insecurity, lack of good legislation amongst others.”
He added that, ” These problems can only be effectively tackled if there’s proper education and implementation of the knowledge acquired. As you equip yourself, also equip your staff because if your staff doesn’t get it right then you’ll not get it right”
Highlighting the benefits of freight forwarding, Ray stated, “Freight forwarding in Nigeria has great pote
ntial in affecting the success and growth of the economy of the nation and the world at large through revenue generation, creation of job opportunities, facilitating international trade amongst others”
However, he noted and advised the management of the academy to look into the use of technology in delivering online lectures which he claimed will improve the level of growth and global relevance of the students.
