By Egufe Yafugborhi & Chioma Onuegbu
UYO – STANDARDS Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says Nigerians shun locally made products because local manufacturers don’t give regard to standardisation in what they churn out.
Director General the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, said this attitude among local manufacturers impedes economic growth, fuels the increasing dependence on foreign products and depreciates the nation’s currency.
Salim was addressing stakeholders Monday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state during a one-day sensitisation workshop on the theme: Promoting Export and Economic Growth via Standardization and Quality Assurance.
Represented by Usman Mohammed, Director, SON, South-South Region, Salim noted that, “The major problem we are having is depending on imported goods. Ask people why are they not buying Nigerian products, they say they are not of standard.
“So, if our manufacturers do not gear up to do their products using the required standard and also carrying out necessary quality assurance procedures, the quality of our products will not improve.
“That is why we are carrying out this sensitisation, to enlighten our manufacturers, educate them on the importance factor, which is standardization. The country is undergoing a period where our import dependence is too much, yet that is the major reason our currency has continue to depreciate.
“There is no magic on earth you will do to improve the value of your currency if you do not improve your export drive. That is why we are going out to carry out this sensitisation to educate the general public.”
He said that SON is not just regulatory body but also a trade facilitation agency responsible to emsuring that both locally and imported products meet the minimum requirements of the standards.
He added, “Our major concern is not to close down companies but to advise them, give necessary information on how to improve the quality of their products. Quality is a journey and it has no destination.
“Why some of our manufacturers are lagging is that they don’t move with time. People’s taste change and that is what our manufacturers are suppose to know, move with time, even go beyond requirements of the customers. That is what will make your products to move in the markets.”
Workshop participant and Akwa Ibom State Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Entreprises (NASME), said members were having challenge sourcing finance to improve on quality and standard of their products.
He said that the sensitisation workshop would enhance their knowledge in products standardization and quality assurance to promote economic growth in the country.
Source: Vanguard