As part of its renewed efforts to fight the growing number of fake and substandard products in the country, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has taken its sensitisation campaign to importers and traders at the Alaba International Market in Lagos.
Speaking at the sensitisation workshop with the Electronics section of Alaba International Market in Lagos, Osita Aboloma, director general of SON, stressed the need to fight against the buying and selling of fake and substandard products.
Represented by Yahaya Bukar, a director from DG’s office, Aboloma told the traders that both SON and the market association have decided to constitute a taskforce that would comprise of traders as well as SON officials, with the mandate of taking regulation closer to the importers and traders.
According to him, SON believed that fighting against fake imports among traders, would help to identify those importers, manufacturers and traders, who are not complying and those, who are genuine and highly committed to complying with the required standards.
“There are those, who are not willing to comply with standards. These set of people are enemies of the public and their acts are not only dangerous to lives and property, but also drains people’s pockets. We must also protect the businesses of genuine importers and traders by eradicating substandard products from the markets and ensure that Nigerians get value for the money spent on electronics,” he said.
Aboloma noted that it is the responsibility of SON to make sure that electronic products sold in Nigerian markets are safe to use, especially owing to the fact that Alaba International Market is regarded as the largest electronic market in West Africa.
Stating that Electronics Market of Alaba International was reported to be the largest in West Africa if not in Africa, he pointed out that it will be a thing of joy if the market is also known for only good quality products.
“This is not impossible to achieve. It only requires your collective effort, dedications, patriotism, truthfulness, uprightness and more importantly, the fear of God,” Aboloma said.
The SON boss however urged Nigerian importers to approach SON for the branding of their locally manufactured products with customised brand-names rather than using labels of already established foreign brands, which according to him, amount to promoting and creating employment to those countries nationals.
“Substandard and fake electronic gadgets cause lots of hazards including electrocution, deaths, injuries, loss of revenue, among others. We seek your contribution as worthy stakeholders in this fight against sub-standard products. We urge you to avoid non compliant trade,” he warned.
Earlier, Paulinus Ugochukwu, president of International Markets Association Electronics (IMAE) Alaba International, called on the Federal Government to address the challenges of power supply and the deplorable state of access roads to Alaba International market.
Ugochukwu also pleaded with the government to reopen the nation’s land borders, noting that genuine traders and importers have suffered severe loss from the border closure.
He assured SON that members of the association would continue to adhere to stipulated SON standards even as he encouraged his colleagues to tilt towards manufacturing their own products rather than importing finished electronic products.
Ugochukwu observed that the theme of the event, “Promoting Self-Regulation to Eradicate Substandard Electronics from Nigerian Markets,” showed the high degree of stakeholders’ engagement by SON to sanitise and rid Nigeria of substandard products.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
