ANLCA BoT Election 2024: Know Your Candidates: Ademola Mumuney

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

Sequel to our notice  on our publication of Tuesday, July 15, 2024, regarding the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) 2024 Board of Trustees (BoT) election , we have the privilege of featuring Mr. Ademola Mumuney, as our earliest recipient .

This special campaign project which is designed for willing candidates to voluntarily present themselves and speak to the heart of industry stakeholders, association members and voters, shall remain but a sincere and humble endeavour that permits candidates to speak to the issues of ANLCA,  about where they have been, where they stand, how they stand, their eligibility and capacity; aspirations and thrust of their focus.

Thus Mr. Ademola Mumuney, one of the contestants in the BoT election in a no-holds-bar chat with Eguono Odjegba, said even though he is optimistic about his chances of winning, he believes that the “best hand should win.”

A former customs officer, clearing agent, ship agent and former chairman of the prestigious Ikoyi Club 38, Mumuney says lack of interaction and understanding were the major cause(s) of the disaffection and fight, and the last, long drawn crisis between the BoT and the National Executive Committee (NECOM).

A gentleman to the hilt, Mumuney cuts the exemplary traits of our unspoiled political leaders of the early 60s and 70s, exuding affability, trust and confidence even as he discussed ANLCA’s otherwise explosive election matters. Enjoy the conversation. Excerpt:

Please can we meet you?

My name is Ademola Mumuney, l am Managing Director of Stoirin Maritime Services Ltd. We operate in the maritime sector as freight forwarders, clearing agents, ship agents and warehousing; and we are into collateral of money. Stoirin was formed in 1994, so we have been around for a long time. Perhaps you may wish to know that I retired from the Customs in 1996 and have been running the affairs of Stoirin Maritime Ltd. We operate in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

One can say that your names doesn’t ring bell in ANLCA’s political setting, have you held any prior leadership position in ANLCA? How have been of assistance or contributed to the association’s governance system?

Leadership position, not really, but l have been very much with the association and active in a supporting role except that l have not held positions in either the chapter or national level. I have been contributing meaningfully from the side and acted in the area of supporting some problems here and there.

With your long years of industry experience, what do you hope to bring to the table to advance the cause of the board if elected?

The position of the board of trustees’ member has to do with support administration from the background, usually through quality advise because l see the board more in terms of policy making. So it will be the responsibility of members of the board to ensure that things are done properly in the industry, to play by the rules and to continue to grow the association’s member’s investments and businesses. Broadly speaking, members of the board are supposed to make things going and easy for the association in terms of relating responsibly  with industry stakeholders including government departments like the customs, terminal operators, and regulatory bodies in respect of policy issues. As far as l am concerned, board members are supposed to be in the fore front, whatever decision that is taken by the board affecting the overall interests of members at critical moments is what goes down to the management of ANLCA, and the more you ensure that the proper things are done, the more successful the association will be.

And of course, we are supposed to ensure that the executive committee succeeds because if the executive committee doesn’t succeed, then we would have failed. So it would be part of our responsibility…l know that we have some members with lots of contacts within and outside the maritime sector and are supposed to deploy their contacts in times of need to ensure that ANLCA gets to where it needs to get, to get problems solved. If you look at ANLCA and the industry now we have a lot of grounds to cover to make ANLCA secure and maintain its rightful position. And talking about the profession and professionalism on the part of practitioners, like l always say, long time ago more than thirty years ago, when l was still in the customs service, you find a situation whereby at Broad Street, you’ll see all these guys hovering about. They were like leeches but they were insurance people, they were soliciting for insurance for their various companies. That was at that stage, now if you take a look at what is happening to the insurance sector today, they have professionalize and have a say in the affairs of the country’s financial administration and even foreign practitioners wanting to participate in the industry. By inference that is where the freight forwarding and customs brokerage industry should be and to get there, we need to do a number of things and l believe that a formidable board of trustees members can begin to think in line of raising our bar of professionalism to get to where we want to be; and to get what we want.

That brings us to the last crisis between the board of trustees and the executive committee which lasted almost five years with the fire still smouldering in a way even though it has been contained by the current administration in line with its restoration mantra. As someone aspiring to the board, what is the right steps you feel should be taken to forestall a repeat of that unwarranted leadership schism?

There should be a continuous interaction between the board and the management, l think this was not in place as at that time, both organs were at logger head as to who decides or takes decisions, or whatever. If the atmosphere was cordial, the board was not supposed to be part of the daily operations of the association. So what we would try to do is to have that connection and that interaction with the executive of the association whereby we sit down, we decide on what we want, we agree on what we want in line with the provisions of the constitution. It is not going to be that the board will be the only one that will take a decision; in fact every action must reflect the depth of the constitution. So there has to be that relationship and understanding between the board of trustees and the management. Both organs must be on the same page if we must make progress, and l think anyone who wishes this association well cannot do otherwise.

The board has a lot to do with continuity that is positive and up-building because like you said problems that have been resolved are being pushed up again by certain interests. But it is a good thing that the Comptroller General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi came up. Normally the customs brokers and freight forwarding agencies are licensed by customs and it is the responsibility of the customs service to ensure that customs agents are supposed to be of good conduct to represent their clients and to represent the customs.

So it was a good thing that with Wale’s coming, the customs service held meetings with them to sort out the problems. We thank God the present executive committee has reached out to bring everybody onboard. And that is why the board must comprise of people whose sole desire is to contribute and help to mould the right governance system for the growth of the industry,  and progress of ANLCA and its members.

Now we have a situation, where even though the board membership is nine, a total of sixteen candidates have picked nomination forms. Are you not worried that the large number of contestants may become a challenge to a credible, fair and free election?

I am not scared that sixteen people are vying for nine positions. l am the immediate past chairman of lkoyi Club 38, its membership is large but l went through it and l won. I was there as chairman for two years, so, the fact that we have sixteen as against nine shouldn’t be any issue for me at all. But the main thing is that the electoral umpire should do what they are supposed to do, be fair, be open. There shouldn’t be unnecessary interference, personal interference or whatever. It’s a game, its life, that’s the way l see it. If l win, good; if l don’t, there is still tomorrow. That’s just the way l see it, l say “may the best hand win”. We want to give what we have to the association, it is not a forceful thing but l know that we have to be very, very patient and l still believe we do have that election body that will carry out election properly as we canvass for votes and all that. There is a limit to what l can do as a human, but we must fear God especially at some point and learn to know where to stop.

ASECO has announced the registration of over 720 licensed members for the AGM and election, there has also been worries of possible infiltration by impostors and non members of ANLCA. Does this worry you as a contestant?

That will be the job of the ASECO, they know what to do, they laid down the rules of engagement. Yes they might have registered 700 and something licenses, some of them may be the hand bags for other freight forwarding groups. But l think they (ASECO) have the wherewithal to be able to sieve it, it’s been part of what they have been trained to do, and it’s part of their schedule. I don’t think this is the first time it is happening, l am certain they should be able to sort it out.

There has been murmuring that some individuals have continually remained at the national leadership arena, some for more than fourteen straight years. Does this behaviour promote inclusiveness and sense of belonging in the association?

I know…l know it is an experience to catch and new innovations to catch, so that’s where the issues of people staying too long and those wanting to come in, comes up. One cannot throw away experience, but there are certain people wanting to go for too long, and chances are that you miss it or you loss it; because we still need fresh ideas from the incoming ones. But for some of us things are changing, changing so fast, things are changing practically everywhere. What used to happen 20 years ago is not what is happening now or what should happen now. And that is where the issue of involvement and improvement comes in because without that the association won’t be where it is and that has to change and l think is part of what the body is looking at doing. So l think that the rules of engagement will take care of that is wrong.

Board membership requires lots of sacrifice, financial, time, energy, using your contacts to get things done for the association and all of that. How prepared are you?

I am very prepared. I am very much prepared and like l said earlier, am very used to it.  For me to have been the chairman of such a large body of various strata of life, presidents, captains of industry, it’s just your ability to be able to manage your time, your finance, everything. I do know that l have all the time in this world, l have a good organization that is running like an institution, so if they don’t see me, the company will still run. Above all there are times l consult with and seek the advise of those l am close to, in this case too, l have and that is why l have stepped out. I believe that l have strong contacts that will prove useful should the need be. l am from Lagos and l have a lot of friends. If it turns out that l do not have the contact of the man we need to assist us in the board over something, l can always get someone to speak to that someone for me. That is how politics work and it is the way to get things done.