By Yemisi Izuora-Lagos
Worried by influx of substandard goods into the country and its attendant consequencies to the Nigeria’s fragile economy, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is considering new measure to end the scourge.
The agency is proposing stiffer penalties on nations exporting such goods into the country.
The Director General of SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said the countries involved are enemies of Nigeria’s economy and therefore do not mean well for the development of the nation.
The D-G therefore proposed stricter punishment to be deployed to curb the influx of substandard goods into the country.
Odumodu while speaking at a stakeholders’ forum on the maritime industry tagged: “Seamless importation: Building stakeholders’ synergy and fostering trade without compromising standards” said this move by the agency was to also boost local production in Nigeria, noting that if these products continue to flourish in the Nigerian markets, it would further worsen the unemployment situation and lead to economic loss to the nation.
Stressing that over 90 per cent of fake products in the nation’s market are imported, he said: ”We need to take firmer actions against countries that are selling death to Nigerians. We must take stricter actions. It is a self-intervention activity. We are loosing our people because they are selling death to us, but more importantly, we also need industries in Nigeria. If they continue selling these products to us and our industries continues to die, when are we going to have jobs open up to our own children.
“The point I am also trying to make is that the people selling this product to us are not ready to change because they are making money from it. So, we have to help ourselves,” he said.
According to him, “In SON, one of our six point agenda is to support Made-in-Nigeria goods and I want to state that statistically, 95 per cent of substandard products are products that are imported into Nigeria.”
The SON D-G appealed to stakeholders for a close collaboration to combat substandard goods in the country, maintaining that Nigeria is living dangerously patronising substandard goods.
“This is why we are here today to appeal to you; we all have to be part of the change process. Everybody is under this siege; you do not know who can be affected next .We are leaving dangerously in this country and all of us have a role to play. It is about us and I said it earlier that you can make all the money you make clearing the consignment but let us clear good consignments that will add value to our lives,” he said.
According to him, made-in-Nigeria goods suffer neglect and destruction in the global market bringing nothing but economic loss to the country.
He said to tackle this challenge, two of its laboratories had been accredited to ensure that any product that undergoes any form of test in Nigeria, will be accepted globally.
“Sometimes we export products like cocoa to the United Kingdom and when they test it and it does not meet standards, they destroy it but now we have a testing laboratory that is world widely acclaimed and this is not a Nigerian thing. Once we test and certify any product here in Nigeria, nobody can challenge it anywhere in the world and this is why we must also build capacity,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the President, on maritime industry, Mr. Oyewole Leke, urged stakeholders to support SON in finding a lasting solution to the menace of substandard goods plaguing the nation’s economy.
“We must decide how and what kind of goods come into the Nigerian market. Nigeria is not a dumping ground. We must search with the depth of our conscience on how best we can support SON in its fight against substandard goods,” he said.
He noted that substandard goods have made many companies close shops; contributed to a lot of unemployment crisis and has also brought so many deaths in Nigeria.
The National Secretary, Association of Nigeria Licensing Custom Agents NLACA called for the need to build an enduring Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the maritime sector, adding that PPP is a necessary tool for the growth of the nation’s maritime industry.
“No sector can do it alone without the support of other sectors .We need each other for a smooth trade facilitation process going forward. There is a need for a clear and explicit operation guideline by the public sector,” he said.
He pointed out that no sector of government or the economy can move Nigeria forward alone as each sector needs the other.
He further suggested, regular training for maritime sector stakeholders on the operation of schemes being introduced by the government, constant sensitization of exporting countries on what can be allowed to be exported to Nigeria and for SON to be humane when enforcing compliance in cases involving of importation of suspected substandard products, but should prosecute importers of substandard life endangering products
Other suggestions include that SON should be able to enforce compliance on the importers of substandard products without jeopardizing the business of clearing agents and that penalty for importation of substandard products should aim at being corrective rather than be punitive and that the agency should create a 24 hour Dispute Resolution Centre which can be easily accessed by stakeholders to facilitate trade as well as focus on building her integrity
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Good job