Nigeria joined the rest of the world recently to celebrate the World Consumer Rights Day 2019 with the theme, ‘Trusted Smart Products’.
The global event, which comes up every March 15, serves as a means of raising world awareness about consumer rights and needs.
Experts are of the view that marking the event gives an opportunity to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected,
According to them, the celebration is also an avenue to protest against market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights.
Read Also: https://businessday.ng/lead-story/article/full-speech-of-president-muhammadu-buhari-2/
But the question is how many Nigerians are aware of their rights as consumers?
It was against this background that Consumer Watch interviewed a cross section of consumers in Lagos metropolis to ascertain if they are actually aware of their rights.
Christiana Chukwu, a public servant, affirmed that she is not aware of anything called consumer rights in Nigeria, adding that she does not believe that such rights exist.
Chukwu further said: “If Nigerian consumers have rights, why are there much exploitations by the manufacturers? The fact is that consumers in the country are at the mercy of both the international and local manufacturers. They produce whatever they like and push into the market for consumers to buy. Some of the products in the market are of low quality, especially products from Asian countries. When you buy such products and discover they are fake, there is nobody to complain to and you will either use it or throw it away, thereby wasting your hard-earned money.
“I blame the agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting the rights of consumer in the country for such high level of exploitation of consumers by the multinationals. They have failed to enforce consumer rights, as a result foreign and local manufacturers do whatever they like and get away with it. It is not like that in other countries of the world,” she noted.
Bene Eziani, another consumer, lamented the activities of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), saying that it has reached to the extent of taking them to court.
“If there is adequate enforcement of consumer rights in the country, PHCN wouldn’t have exposed Nigerians to so much hardship. For instance, users of electricity in the country will pay their bills without enjoying constant power supply and nothing is being done about it. When Nigeria Electric Power Authority, (NEPA) was privatised some years back, Nigerians were glad with the hope that there would be an improved power supply like in other African countries.
“Nobody is talking about the activities of the telecommunication industry in Nigeria. They extort money from subscribers without explanations.
“The service subscribers have systematically received from these providers, a mix of rudeness, lies, disrespectful treatment and frustration.
“They are aware that their Nigerian consumers do not have the financial backing to challenge them and they have no protection from government”, she said.
On his part, Dinma Simeon, a consumer affairs analyst who spoke in a recent interview on the issue, said although he is aware of his rights as a consumer, he is not interested in pursuing it.
According to him, “An average Consumer Protection Right agent is not likely to provide you any service, unless he is sure of deriving benefit from it. So, a Consumer Protection Right agent can only protect you if he is expecting to gain something from you.
“Assuming, l have the resources to obtain justice, l might seek for their services. Look at this example, the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode banned hawking in Lagos State and made it a punishable offence.
“However, this has not deterred hawkers from constituting a nuisance which ranges from sell of fake products to causing gridlocks on the road.”
He further observed that the law against hawkers is not being enforced because of the unwillingness of the agency to enforce it, adding that the agency is rather more interested in collecting extra payment from the offenders in the form of uncounted taxes and levies.
“It is not possible for a poor man who is also a poor consumer to get justice in Nigeria over a well-to-do manufacturer or seller because he does not have the resources to pursue the case,” he insisted.
He therefore, stressed the need for the management of the relevant agency to be alive to its responsibility and also ensure that its staffers carry out their duties in line with the laws guiding their operations.
In his words: “They should be trained to do their job without fear or favour. If they do their job without compromise, consumers will have confidence in them and will be willing to report any matter because they are sure to obtain justice”.
While speaking at a press briefing heralding the World Consumer Rights Day 2019 in Lagos, the state Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Olayinka Oladunjoye stated that officials of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) would continue to educate the public on the rights of the consumers.
Oladunjoye described Consumer Rights Day as a global celebration of consumer rights and solidarity within the international movement to ensure that consumer rights are respected and protected.
The Commissioner further explained that LASCOP would soon carry out a sensitisation walk and engagement with relevant stakeholders at Ikeja Computer Village to educate the traders about consumer rights.
According to her, Computer Village was identified for the sensitisation exercise because the location parades an array of computer and electronic devices classified as smart products.
Such awareness-raising programme, the commissioner affirmed would encourage manufacturers to consider factors like consumer affordability, convenience, safety, security and privacy while producing smart devices for use by members of the public.
“We realise that owing to the incorporation of smarter products into the lives of the people, issues such as lack of security, safety amongst others and lack of internet access due to high data charges have become worrisome to both consumers and stakeholders; however, the State Government will see to these issues,” she said.
Ngozi Okpalakunne
