Nigeria’s immense potential in human and material resources can be greatly optimised through deployment of standardisation procedures to ensure effective quality assurance of all locally manufactured products.
Osita Aboloma, director-general, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), made this submission during an interactive session with Freight Forwarders and Clearing Agents in Kano recently
Aboloma described quality assurance as a critical element of the standardisation process for the growth of any nation, saying that regular quality control, inspection, sampling, testing and certification of manufacturing processes ensure that products meet the requirements of relevant standards. They also guarantee continual improvement to satisfy customer expectations, he said.
The SON director-general said the realisation of the importance of quality assurance had been a major driver of the Agency’s standardisation campaigns. “As the apex standardisation agency, it is the duty of SON to ensure that consumers get value for money and are protected from the dangers of substandard products; that is why I urge Nigerians to get involved in the campaign. We need the collaboration of all Nigerians to do the job effectively,” he said.
According to Aboloma, one of the current administration’s main agenda is promoting the ease of doing business in order to facilitate trade in addition to the federal government’s efforts to re-direct its focus to non-oil exports, with agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises as key drivers.
“I invite you to further partner with SON in our efforts toward trade and business facilitation to ensure Nigeria becomes a better place for all. The government is determined to create an enabling environment for business, thus, we should take up the challenge and let the change start with us as individuals and groups,” he challenged his audience.
He urged stakeholders to bury their differences with a view to tackling the challenges posed by substandard products collectively, adding we all should always remember that we are first and foremost Nigerians. “We must change from being just regulators to trade facilitators; that is what Nigerians expect from us,” he said.
“The SON Act No. 14 of 2015, gives us broader powers to combat the menace of substandard products importation, manufacture and distribution. It gives us the power to encourage growing industries and reward compliance to standards. We will carry out very extensive sanitisation of the system,” he said.
He appealed against any practice that promotes job creation for foreign manufacturers at the expense of local industries, stressing that preference for foreign goods meant boosting the economy of other countries while Nigerian firms were shutting down.
The DG hinged his passionate support for MSMEs on their potential to create jobs, reduce the crime rate and contribute to National economic development substantially.
According to him, SON is investing in building the capacity of the MSMEs, improving their quality control mechanisms and raising the quality profile of their products for improved competitiveness locally as well as for export.
Responding, the stakeholders commended Aboloma’s style of leadership and urged him to look into the challenge of obtaining SONCAP Certificates by small time importers whose different consignments are usually grouped together in same containers.
They assured SON of their preparedness to collaborate with it and foster a cohesive approach in the importation and clearing of products in Nigeria.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
