NSC: Jime Should Be Given Time to Study Industry Terrain, Not Stampeded, Freight Forwarders Tell Maritime Workers’ Union President
NSC CEO
‘ Perhaps unknown to MWUN, Jime has been meeting stakeholders’
‘It is too early now to judge him’
By Francis Ugwoke
Freight forwarders weekend said the present Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr Emmanuel Jime, should be given time to study the maritime industry before being expected to engage fully with stakeholders on all industry issues.
Reacting to the attack by the President General of Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, who accused Jime of shunning his Union’s request for a courtesy visit, the stakeholders said ES needs not be stampeded by workers’ union into taking wrong actions.
In a chat with SHIPPING DAY, the stakeholders said the workers Union was unfair to the Shippers’ Council boss, adding that
perhaps unknown to the MWUN and other critics, Jime has been engaging with many stakeholders since he assumed office.
President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent, Iju Tony Nwabunike said the Union needs to know that Jime as a lawyer would want to understand the industry better, study the rules and then follow up on all issues.
“There is no need to begin to apportion blames and attacking him”, Nwabunike said.
According to him, the Executive Secretary should not be blamed for wanting to have full grasp of industry issues, adding that this was the case for any new comer to any specialized industry, adding that he needs cooperation not attack.
The ANLCA President added, “For me, every leader to his own style, but we need to give Jime sometime and watch his body moves. For me, he should step up with the pace Hassan Bello has set up with the stakeholders”.
Former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Eugene Nweke in his reaction said the mistake those critics of Jime have been making was to compare him with those who emerged as industry chief executives from their organizations as against the ES who came from outside.
“I think the mistake those critics are making stems from the fact that they failed to appreciate the fact that Mallam Hassan Bello and Alhaji Bashir Jamoh both emerged as Head of their respective agencies from the inside having superintended over a department in a senior managerial cadre, before they rose as head , either as an Executive Secretary or Director General.
“As such it was easier for them to continue and modify the corporate and policy thrust initiated by their erstwhile
predecessors of which they were over time part of the management team.
“Therefore, expecting the incumbent Executive Secretary coming from the outside to do miracle, even when you don’t know his appointment briefs handed over to him by his employer is unfair.
“When the Director General of the SON was appointed, he took adequate time to study the systems and the industry environment and subsequently he hit the ground running. Then we didn’t hear more of the critics.
“Every administrator, appointed into an executive office preferably want to perform and do much better than his predecessor. To do this, he sits down to review his briefs, consult with experts, figure out and identify possible shortcomings of the previous administration, then study the management staffs and pencil down their capacity , subsequently, he gradually embarks on internal reorganization, doing so without upsetting the system.
“In the book : Survival In The Executive Jungle’ by Chester Burger, the author noted that a new Executive does not have only the staffs to reorganize and manage, the greater management task perhaps is the intrigues of the contractors and their insider trading activities. Dealing with contractors calls for carefulness because they can actually connive with the staffs and incapacitate a new Executive.
“The Contractor in protecting their interests, apart from having the capacity to use the insider staffs to plot a pitfall for the Executive, they also have a way of sponsoring campaign of calumny against the new Executive using the insider ( staffs ) , in the order of fifth columnist.
“Now, can we list those critics? If you ask me, many of the critics are based in Lagos, but is Shippers Council offices and activities limited to Lagos, the answer is NO..
“The good thing is that, the ES has started talking and reaching out to Industry stakeholders, canvassing for cooperation and selling his policy thrust to the stakeholders.
“It is therefore, important to allow the Executive Secretary to work and let’s see the vision he is driving clearly, by the time he marks one year in office, we can now rate or score him appropriately. But for now, it’s too early to judge him.
This is my candid opinion, please”.
Others who spoke under anonymity said that perhaps unknown to the MWUN and other critics, Jime has been engaging with many stakeholders since he assumed office.
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