The founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Boniface Aniebonam, has likened two former presidents of the association to the late terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden was a founder of a al-Qaeda, which was designated a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the European Union, and various countries across the world after the bombing of the World Trade Centre in the United States of America.
Speaking in Apapa on Monday at the inauguration of new national executives of the association, Aniebonam frowned at the insistence of the two former presidents to contest election into the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) after serving out their tenures. He, however, did not name the former presidents.
He said, “The two previous presidents (of NAGAFF) are like Osama bin Ladin who was trained by the Central Intelligence Agency but later came back to burn the World Trade Centre.
“They were part of the (Governing) Council (of CRFFN) before now and they told us there was nothing there. But you were given private cars but you are hiding them. So, when there was nothing there, why are you aspiring to contest on an individual basis again?”
He charged the new executives of the association to be bold and courageous in their actions.
“I want to encourage you the president to learn how to take decisions. Decisions taken might be wrong but you must know how to make decisions. If you don’t know how to do that, you are not a leader.
“I advised Tony Iju, the ANLCA President when the uproar was just too overwhelming in his camp. He took the drastic decision and some members were expelled, and now, calmness has returned,” he said.
The NAGAFF founder, who has been a dominant figure in the association since inception 22 years ago, pledged to stay out of the limelight to allow the new executives chart their own path.
The new president of the association, Tochukwu Ezisi, in his speech, urged members to imbibe the spirit of unity and tolerance in interacting with one another.
“We all know the mission and vision of NAGAFF and I must state that the only way to continue to forge ahead and stay focused on the task ahead is to stick together as one family irrespective of age, tribe, and background.
“Let us see each other not as adversaries but as neighbours. Let us treat each other with dignity and respect. Let us join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity there is no peace, only bitterness, and fury with no progress.
“If we do that, I guarantee we will not fail. We have never failed. May I make bold to say that I have never been associated with failure and this assignment you have given me shall not and can never be an exception,” he said.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.