Nuruddeen M. Abdallah and Abubakar K. Momoh
12 October 2008
analysis
The problem of substandard products have for a very long time remains a cog in the wheel of progress of the Nigerian economy. The situation as lethal as it is, has also translated into the death of so many Nigerians, who are innocently exposed to these products.
Apart from that, the prevalence of products faking and sub standardization has also portrayed the country in bad light among the comity of nations. Several agencies and efforts have been put in place to curtail the continuous slide into the substandard mayhem, though with relative success.
Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is the organization put in place by the government to enforce industrial standard in the country. The organization's Director General and Chief Executive, Dr John Ndanusa Akanya, in an interview with Sunday Trust provided insight into the activities of the organization saying that "SON is a body created to enforce standardization in all facets of Nigerian economy. That include Nigerian industrial standard. It is from that standard that regulation is derived. The regulatory agencies like NAPDAC used our standard to regulate foods and drugs."
He added that "From standardization we also move to metrology. Metrology is the science of weight and measure. Until this time it was not given any prominence. Without metrology, it means there will be a lot of waste in the economy. For example, if you go to a filling station to fill your tank, the fuel is discharge from the dispenser which is calibrated in volume per amount of Naira. Now if the volume is not discharging accordingly to Naira, the person who is taking the fuel is cheated.
"The same thing applies to our crude, ground nut, cotton and cocoa. There are other specific things we do in standardization like enforcement of standards. This is because the generality of the society are not conversant with the concept of standardization and total quality management. Nigeria is a very large country and the markets are opening up alike. If you go to the markets, you go to open markets not shops."
The director general stated that "If you go to Europe you can buy things in shops that are already being graded; even eggs are graded with a, b, c, d, e. In those areas standardization has gone very far. So you can know what to buy according to your choice."
He lamented that unlike in saner climes, the situation is very difficult to tackle here, "Because such situation doesn't occur, implementing standard has become very difficult. We have to go out and enforce standard, enforcement has therefore become a key aspect of our activity. And that takes the nature of going to border, ports and markets to enforce standards. And when these things have entered the country enforcement becomes difficult because our markets are diverse and vast. "
This according to Akanya, forms the most difficult part of his organization's job. "The question now is why is it becomes so difficult? If you look at the last 10 years, Nigerian industries have come down. The more government makes efforts to revive them, the more our appetite to import foreign goods increases. The difficulty here is that what you don't manufacture you can't control its quality. Quality is controlled from raw materials to the finishing point. If you want to build quality into any thing you must built it during the period of processing. While the product is completed, specifications are made; the products go out as completed", he declared.
The importers are largely responsible for this calamity, "Our traders, who are ignorant of so many things, buy products that are cheap and substandard and bring them into the country to make profits. And many of these things are not brought in through the normal border, but through the neigbouring African countries. We manage the border and check what is coming into the country and if they are substandard, as you have seen over the years, we seize those items and destroy. We did this destruction for five years."
"I was very moody and sad for Nigeria. Because the things we destroyed when you calculate the money of the destroyed items in a system where people are struggling to survive and money is difficult to get and you are bringing goods to Nigeria with hard earned money and only to be burning them and people are clapping for us in the television and praising us make a very sad Nigerian. And I mean it. We have to look into the implication of this, that for how long shall we continue destroying these items.
"One, it has a scientific implications. If you continue to destroy things, people who want to come and invest in the country will be discouraged. They will be thinking how they compete with the substandard products being burnt all the time. The second implication is the economic and financial lost. Another implication of the burning is the destruction it caused the environment. Morally also, the public will be demoralized with the substandard palaver, as whenever they buy something even if it is genuine, they will still think it is substandard," the SON chief executive explained.
The organization has been on the other hand, fine tuning ways of how to effectively salvage the country from the menace of substandard products. One of such devices was the initiation of SONCAP. Dr Akanya provided an insight into how the policy was evolved and how it will effectively rescue the country from the fangs of substandard goods thus "SONCAP is the baby that originated after the cancellation of pre shipment and destination inspections. You can look at it critically, if during pre shipment inspection you still had substandard goods coming, what of now when it is free to come in under destination inspection.
"If under pre shipment we had the bombardment of substandard in the country; what do you expect now that everything is freely imported to be inspected at the destination. What is the human, infrastructural, technical capacity of laboratories to test all these import. Nigerians don't look at the impact of destination inspections on the quality of the products coming in to this country. Oh you want to burn down our money.
"And we are not also comfortable that we have just the sanction of burning down things. So, we were in a tangle. We then said, let it be evaluated and as it is done all over the world to reduce this impact of substandard. I want to say categorically, to Nigerians that if we go all the way in the hope of judiciously implementing the standard; this country will benefit and will be free from all the roots of crime. At least, we will reduce it to the barest minimum because every thing that goes into many countries is tested before they go in there.
"Why must we allow substandard goods to come in when we don't even have the infrastructure to test all of them? And those people who are selling it are interested in pushing it to us because they see that we are a dumping ground. We are determined to stamp out that system. We must put our hands on deck and reduce the influx of substandard and cheap things in to this country. Those who are going into production are going to invest in manufacturing and manufacturing does not turn around within any time less than five years. And before you start reaping all the benefits, it takes time. If you are going to discourage these people, most of them along the line pack up. So, this will play a key role in the implementation the 7-point agenda of Mr President and we are not taking it lightly at all", he further highlighted.
By this, he said, value must be added to agriculture and standard must be insured as well as protecting unlawful competition with substandard products across the country. The success story of SONCAP, Akanya explained has been an interesting one, as many countries like Ghana, Uganda, Kenya came to learn from it.
While protecting the shores of the country from all sorts of cheap and substandard goods, SON is also concern that the country should not export substandard goods to foreign lands. This, the organization did, by creating MANCAP. Through MANCAP, standard is also being enforced on all goods and products manufactured within the country.
The fight against sub standardization is a daunting one that requires the cooperation of all Nigerians. "Standardization is a broad policy that must be enforced by parents at home, teachers in schools, clerics in places of worships and leaders at various levels of governance. It is a patriotic war that must be waged by all and sundry. Only then, our country will take its leading path to greatness and prosperity," the SON chief executive philosophically concluded.
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I would like to contact Dr Akanya (Director General of Standard Organization of Nigeria ) through phone or e-mail to urgently pass an important information from ISO that has to do with standard in Nigeria My phone is 084752087 E-mail is vinetribo@yahoo.com Thanks Engr Samson Adaramola