Most market transactions in Nigeria continue to be governed largely by the dated rule of caveat emptor (BUYERS BEWARE) despite the evolution of government agencies saddled with regulating the exchange of quality goods and services for consumers hard earned money.
Actually, Nigerians deserve better and the concerned agencies will do well to serve Nigerian consumers the best of their mandates in 2020 and beyond.
Imported products
Most of the products in Nigerian markets are imported and unfortunately, more than 90 per cent of them are either fake or substandard made in China.
This category of goods falls under the purview of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigerians are supposed to feel confident in the capacity of the SON, backed by constituted authority and trained personnel, to rid the markets of these fake and substandard products.
It is more so disheartening that the saturation of these fakes and substandard products has over-shadowed genuine products circulation in the market, to the extent that it is a task of finding a needle in a haystack, seeking out quality alternatives.
Weights and Measurements
It is common knowledge that some petrol stations must be avoided if one must get value for money on dispensed petroleum products and even cooking gas. While commendable efforts have been made in this direction in sealing up filling stations of culprits, it appears such exercises only get to be carried out when discovered by a staff of SON as they are few and far in between, a big contrast to the reality on ground.
For some packed FMCG products, it would have been much better to display the actual number of nuts or teaspoonful of liquid contents, than the dubious weights written on the packs, otherwise known as slack fill. It is not unusual to see packaging practices which exploit consumer expectations in respect of the quantity of a certain product which they were familiar with. These products would be sold in the same packaging but with less quantity.
Assessment
In summary, a consumer has no choice when it comes to spending money on goods that meet standard expectations, as they are pre-conditioned by retailers’ stock inventory to accept what is on offer. The impunity of retailers to stock their shops full of these substandard and fake products, is in itself an assessment of SON’s dismal performance in the exercise of its mandate funded by taxpayers.
Whatever handicap the agency has in coping with the task of checkmating the influx and market saturation of substandard products, now is the time for such limitations to be addressed. Nigerians are running low on patience and frustrated at the impunity of those stocking their shops full of substandard products, especially in electrical appliances, building accessories, plastic products and furniture.
Pragmatism on the part of SON will go a long way in changing the sour narrative of the agency and its ‘docile’ rating by consumers. The agency is hardly ever in the news these days for clamping down on economic saboteurs, who it appears are having a field day at the expense of taxpaying consumers.
SON is practically non-existent to average Nigerians who are at their wits end and will like to see a protectionist agenda for them, given that whichever way the transaction coin flips today, they always tend to lose.
Sometimes they are out-rightly ripped off with a fake badge after exchanging hefty sums as if it is an original. Other times where they part with a token for obvious substandard products, they pay for it through repeated purchases as these don’t last, or they sustain injuries ranging from minor to fatal, from the use of these substandard products.
As victims, it makes sense that consumers will only be too happy to collaborate with SON in dealing with these unscrupulous elements who feel more emboldened each time they rip consumers off and they are not brought to book.
SON should make themselves easily accessible by those whose corner they are supposed to be in – the consumers; through a more deliberate and pragmatic strategy.
Social media handles used by the agency such as Twitter and Facebook should be expressly deployed to receive complaints. Expecting consumers to write an official email of complaints, in this era of social media penetration is an indication of unwillingness to be proactive and progressive. When videos can be easily uploaded in real time and at consumers’ convenience, why make them pass through more bureaucratic stress?
SON led by its Director General, Mr Osita Aboloma, should borrow a leaf from the private sector consumer complaints resolution model, which has since leaped-frogged to social media channels, where even CEOs are directly tagged on issues. In 2020 this is where SON should be active. Effective collaboration with the public is key to ensuring that the consuming public is better served in 2020.
