The man being celebrated, Barrister Hassan Bello.
Story by Dili Utomi.
It was a fully packed hall at the Rockview hotel Apapa, Lagos as stakeholders in the maritime sector gathered to honour the outgoing executive secretary of the Nigerian Shipper’s Council on the invitation of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders.
The occasion which had stakeholders and Journalists moving into the hall as early as ten o’clock in the morning and the two floors hall filled with people who went for the sendoff party for the much loved Bello whose tenure at the regulatory agency expired.
Doc B.O Aniebonam in white with Barrister Bello to his left and Mr. Abubakar Tsanni further left.
The welcome address was presented by the President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Chief Increase Uche (PhD) who described Barrister Bello as a noble gentle man who bestowed the maritime sector like the proverbial colossus, initiating and enabling productivity and development to the industry and especially harnessing the economic potentials of the Port sector. He aslo described him as an achiever and a great performer par excellence. A paper titled The Difference Between a Licensed Customs Agent and a Freight Forwarder in the Logistics Chain and Customs Facilitation was presented by Dr. Alban Igwe of the Council for the Registration of Freight Forwarders. Dr. Igwe started by reading out the text message jokes that he shared with Mr. Bello as he said that he suggested writing a book on his tenure as the ES of the NSC and also an ambassadorial position for him as his next job. He went on to describe a freight forwarder as a practitioner consultant who takes takes part in every area of the supply and logistics chain while a Licensed Customs Agent is one who is a professional that takes part in an aspect of the supply chain.
NAGAFF President Chief Increase Uche in a hat with others at the event.
In a goodwill message by Dr. Kayode Colin Farinto the Vice President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents who represented his President, he described the various great efforts made by Barrister Bello in the course of doing his job and said that if not for politics, someone like Mr. Bello should be given a national award. Mr. Festus Ugwu of the Council Of Managing Directors said that the former ES has done very well as he recalled the situation that the NSC was in as at the time he took over from Captain Biu. The Chairman of the governing council of the Council for the Registration of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria, Mr. Abubakar Tsanni in his message called Mr. Bello a patriotic, humble and hard working performer par excellence. The Chairman of the NAGAFF board of trustees, Mazi Chidiebele Enelamah described Barrister Bello as a great man who never took his position as a personal thing and whose door was always open and who should immediately be given a higher appointment by the government.
A cross section of guests at the occasion.
On his part, Reverend Nichol of the Shipper’s Council of Lagos state described the eight years of Barrister Bello’s tenure as a period of great adventure for operators in the maritime industry. Chief Asu Beks of the Maritime elders forum said that the Minister of Transport, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi should share in the encomiums poured on the man being celebrated as he added that if he had the luxury of military fiat, he would appoint Mr. Bello as the Minister with many portfolios as he is quite capable of handling them all effectively. The President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemile in a lighter mood joked and said that since it is only the Holy Bible and the Quran that cannot be changed, the Constitution should be changed to give Mr Hassan Bello another eight years to hold the position of the ES. Mr. Kingsley Anaroke of the MMS magazine in his goodwill message said that though the Shipper’s Council is about the least in terms of income, but that Mr. Bello was such a large hearted fellow that he followed up on letters and requests to the Council and treated them all as generously as he could.
Guests at the occasion.
On his part, the President of the Maritime Journalists Association on Nigeria, Mr. Ray Ugochukwu said that during the tenure of Mr. Bello, the Shipping Association took the Council to court over the directive to refund some money and the Council won up to the Supreme Court level where it is awaiting judgment now. He praised the tenacity of purpose on the part of the outgoing ES and asked that his successor continue with the policy of re-attracting shippers to direct their cargoes to Nigeria rather than to Lome. The Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi called Mr. Bello a man with a large heart who has left a big footprint as the head of the Council.
The chief host of the occasion and the founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Okechekwu Aniebonam said that he wished that Mr. Bello’s parents were alive to see how their son is being celebrated today. He said that they are celebrating Hassan Bello because he understood that the real happiness in life rests in making others happy and he worked with that principle. He appealed to the government to get Mr. Bello appointed into a higher office.
The profile of Mr. Bello was read and it shows that he obtained a master’s degree in law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria before he was employed by the Sokoto state government and in 1998 joined the Nigerian Shipper’s Council as deputy director /head legal department and rose to become the executive secretary of the Council.
Mr Hassan Bello was also presented with several awards by NAGAFF. It was a very emotional day for him as he was moved to the point of almost shedding tears of joy. In his vote of thanks, Barrister Bello recalled the close relationships that he enjoyed with the sectorial associations and other Government agencies. He reiterated the need for operations in the sector to be fully digitalized to reduce manual contacts and also opined that the collaboration between agencies of the government and the critical stakeholders should continue. He thanked everyone including the members of the press who he said that he enjoyed good relationships with as he urged them to continue to constructively criticize the agencies since the agencies only hold power in trust for the public. He advised that public office holders should be more open to people and ideas.
There was a lot of merriment at the end of it all as entertainment was also provided to fully spice up the occasion.
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