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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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SON'S Boss Decries Nigerians Misunderstanding Of Organisation's Role
THE Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. John Akanya has expressed regret over the misunderstanding of the role of his organisation by many Nigerians.
He has also called on the people to make information available to SON and other regulatory bodies in order to curb smuggling and dumping of substandard goods in the country.
In an interview with The Guardian, Akanya denied the allegation that his organisation was not living up to its statutory responsibility in the area of checking substandard goods.
He said it was "unfortunate that the issue of standardisation and the role of SON have not been understood by many people in Nigeria. However, we have tried to create awareness, to tell Nigerians what standardisation is and what we do."
According to him, SON is charged with the sole duty of providing standards for products and services, which are supposed to be implemented and enforced by the various regulatory agencies in the country.
"As a standard bureau these standards we provide are to be used by stakeholders and interested parties and to be controlled by the regulatory agencies," he said, adding that SON only intervenes in the absence of such regulatory bodies.
On the high incidence of substandard goods and smuggling, Akanya blamed the rise on the depressed economy. He said that in the past, the country was free of such goods, noting that with the death of the manufacturing sector, imported goods of poor standards and smuggling became the order of the day.
"In the past we never had this problem but with the depression of the economy where manufacturing was almost comatose and everything have to be brought into the country, we diverted from manufacturing to trading and not even formalised trading but smuggling. And then, unfortunately, the battle we are battling is what the whole world is battling with also," he said.
Akanya said the activities of smugglers and importers of substandard products are having negative impact on the nation's economy.
"It is a colossus loss; we don't even know the actual value. Government doesn't derive money from it. No job is created, it creates unemployment and inflation in the economy," he said.
He urged Nigerians to always avail the regulatory bodies with the necessary information that would help in checking these activities.
"Information is what moves a nation forward. We should give accurate information. If you give information to the regulatory agencies they can arbitrate for you. Smuggling is a global problem, it is a challenge we face everyday," he said.
He also called on Nigerians to be hardworking and dedicated to the task of building the nation, adding that what we need is a sense of belonging and national orientation.
"What we need is a national orientation, a sense of belonging and hard work. We must have confidence in ourselves and say, 'why don't I put an assembly plant here to start assembling TV and call it a Nigerian name.' People will buy it but it is like we don't have confidence in our selves," lamented Akanya.
He said that despite of the difficulties and lack of understanding, SON would not be deterred in the performance of its duty. According to him, SON is well equipped and would continue to collaborate with all the regulatory bodies.
"I am talking to all regulatory agencies, I am bringing them on board. There is a Consumer Protection Agency where you are supposed to make complaints but Nigerians say they don't know it.
"It is a societal issue; SON is doing its work. We have our standards, we as Nigerians have the duty to protect this country even with the last drop of our blood," he said.
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