CURBING SUBSTANDARD PRODUCTS IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA ECONOMY
By Nwogboji Emmanuel
Promoting made-in-Nigeria products remains the surest strategy to gain economic growth. But it’s provoking that Nigeria has been deliberately turned into “a dumping ground” of all kinds of products. According to Dr. Joseph Odumodu, the former Director General of Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), about 60% of these products are fake. They include vehicle spare parts, foods and drugs, phones and accessories, building materials, electrical appliances, furniture and other equipment, both home-made and imported goods. These fake products are extremely dangerous and undermine the nation’s economy.
However, several factors have been identified which are responsible for the proliferation of this filthy practice. They include poverty— which has weakened the purchasing power of most of the Nigerian populace; unsteady electricity supply—which has subjected many industries to high production cost; negotiable boarder—which opened several illegal routes through which smugglers make their ways into the country; likewise ineffective legislation and poor regulatory framework. Some unpatriotic Nigerians have also been accused of colluding with foreign manufacturers to lower the quality of goods to be imported into Nigeria.
Be that as it may, there is the need to ensure quality control of home-made and imported products in Nigeria. It was in the light of this fact that the federal government established various regulatory agencies such as National Agency for Food and Drug Administrative and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and others. These agencies are all saddled with the primary responsibility of ensuring that our markets are not flooded with fake products that could be detrimental to health and the nation’s economy.
A cursory and retrospective look into the unrelenting efforts of these agencies, one may be eager to know why our markets are still engulfed with substandard products. As a consequence, many patients have lost their lives as a result of intake of substandard drugs. Many harmful goods have been innocently consumed by the citizens that end up causing injuries to their organs. Many of the fire disasters that razed down many houses and destroyed many lives and property have been traced to fake electrical cables and other electrical appliances.
In the same vein, substandard tyres could burst suddenly with the car in motion. A report by the Federal Road Safety Commission states that out of 8986 accidents recorded in 2015, 722 were due to tyre blowouts, resulting in the death of 446 persons.
In addition, importation of fake products has negative effect on the economy. A very good example of this is the death of the Nigeria textile industry which used to be the second highest employer of labor. This industry suffered competitive injuries from the massive influx of such imported products into the country.
There cannot be economic prosperity without standardization and quality assurance. Low quality products have contributed to the rejection of made-in-Nigeria products in the international markets. Standard products ensure value for money, promote employment opportunity, ensure wellbeing of consumers and equally stimulate economic growth. Therefore, the question is ‘how can the battle against fake and substandard products be won?
During the tenure of late Dora Akunyili, as the Director General of NAFDAC, the agency popularized the war against substandard drugs that in less than four years, most Nigerians became conscious of expiration date and NAFDAC approval number on both local and imported goods.
On March, 2017, Standard Organization of Nigeria confiscated five trucks loaded of substandard electrical cables that worth over 40 millions of naira in Anambra state. While on May, 2017, fake products that worth over 450 millions of naira were equally destroyed in Lagos state. Despite the above actions, our markets still remain the centers of gravity for all inferior products.
From the various reports of the sporadic efforts of NAFDAC and SON in curbing the massive influx of substandard products into our markets, it seems the above agencies only raid, seize, carry out public bonfire, close down and reopen markets believed to be hubs for fake products. But the fact remains that seizure or destruction of goods has obviously proven to be insufficient to deter those criminals because they are moved by the super profits they make and do not care about the effect of their activities on lives and our economy.
The lives of many Nigerians are at greater risk. Our economy is at danger, especially now we are considering the promotion of made-in-Nigeria goods as the only strategy for the economic recovery. This formidable enemy therefore should be fought vigorously by the federal government and in conjunction with the conscious efforts of all the citizens.
Our lives and the economic growth should be guaranteed through the following approaches:
First, these agencies saddled with the responsibility to fight this harmful practice together with those appointed to handle the vital functions should be properly examined to ensure they do not compromise the nation’s integrity in the course of discharging their duties.
Second, government should establish and strengthen laboratories and metrology labs to ensure that made-in-Nigeria products are properly tested to avoid been rejected abroad. It is deeply shocking that Nigeria, according to International Standard Organization (ISO) has only 84 accredited laboratories where South Africa has 340, China has 337033, United State has 13000, South Korea has over 7000, and other prosperous countries have vibrant and certified laboratories to give their locally manufactured products and services the required competitive edge in international markets. According to development experts, countries with higher number of accredited labs have higher economic performance and productivity than those with lower accredited laboratories. As a result of inadequate accredited labs in Nigeria, made-in-Nigeria goods hardly gain acceptance in international trade. What many of our Nigerian farmers do before they can take their products to foreign countries is to first take them to nearby countries for proper certification. Once the products are tested, they are been sent abroad in the name of those countries and those countries equally take the glory.
Third, the federal government should give adequate support and other incentives, such as adequate power supply, to local manufacturers in a bid to promote made-in-Nigeria products. Fourth, industries should ensure proper training of their human capitals as to meet the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) which is the benchmark for quality of products and services in Nigeria, like British Standard and American National Standard.
Finally, the regulatory agencies should be overhauled and backed with adequate policies to enable them carry out their duties accordingly. Setting ablaze seized products should not be the only punishment, the penalty for this crime should be determined by the National Assembly.
The above approaches will boost Nigeria external reserve. It will make Nigeria to export products than relying on importation. It will increase employment rate instead of exporting jobs and importing poverty into the country. It will increase the level of our GDP and finally guarantee the safety of all citizens of Nigeria.
Forward your comments and questions to:
Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (FUNAI)
Accountancy department
08063558464
nwogbojie@gmail.com

Get your verified UAE | US | SA PayPal account in few hours.




Number on Signature.