By Michael Saka
The Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr. Boniface Aniebonam is set to retire from leadership responsibilities at the association happily and fulfilled with six NAGAFF members on the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Governing Council.
Dr. Boniface Aniebonam made this remark on Thursday, last week during a media parley at the NAGAFF Headquarters in Lagos.
He expressed gratitude for the remarkable support of the maritime media since the association was established in 1999.
According to the Founder, his intention to take a back stage in the administration of NAGAFF was fueled by the desire to give the youths opportunities to transform the association and freight forwarding practice with innovation and dynamism.
Parading the six members of NAGAFF who were successfully elected into the Governing Council of CRFFN, he said; “When I look as these individuals who represent NAGAFF at CRFFN, I’m fulfilled and convinced that the association has a bright future”
He noted that the revered members were all graduates even as he lauded the capacity of the association’s President, Chief Increase Uche who is set to bag his doctorate degree.
While he recalled the opinion of a journalist who said that NAGAFF wouldn’t last more than three months, he commended the speaker for the statement which turned out to be words of motivation to enable him take the association to greater heights.
Meanwhile, he reserved special praise for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kings Communication Limited, publishers of MMS Plus weekly newspaper, Mr. Kingsley Anaroke noting that the MMS Plus boss was the only journalist who stood by him was the association was birthed.
He recalled “Kamba Krumbles”, a short piece Mr. Kingsley Anaroke wrote in 1999, commending the write-up as courageous, apt and professional.
Aniebonam who turns sixty-five next year, added that all freight forwarders in the association above 60 years would all relinquish their leadership portfolios to create room for the young ones to rule when NAGAFF clocks 20 years in 2019.
He also advised older maritime journalists to give way for the younger ones to take over maritime reporting, even as he enjoined maritime journalists to come together as one strong body in order to develop capacity of the practitioners.
Speaking on the need to synergize, Aniebonam stressed that there were more benefits the journalists would gain if they could come together under one umbrella.
