SON charges local manufacturers on standard to compete globally

Abiola Seun The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has urged manufacturers of locally produced goods to adhere strictly to standards in other to be globally competitive.This was disclosed by the Director General of SON, Malam Farouk Salim, at the flagging off of a campaign tagged “Standardisation; Panacea for economic growth” in Enugu.The SON boss said adhering strictly to standardisation and quality assurance would make Nigerian products and services more acceptable at the international market.Salim, who was represented by the Director, South-East Operations of SON, Mr Fred Akingbesote, noted that when all products and services conform to standards, the country and her people would benefit tremendously from it.He explained that there was standard for every product or service, adding that upholding standardisation even in service industry of hospitality, tourism and hotel would create international markets and patronage for such services.

The SON boss said standardisation would also lead to cost reduction, less effort on production, strengthen brands and make it convenient and easy for customers to recognise and pick quality products and services.

“If you see any product with SONCAP certification logo, rest assured that you have got a product with quality and satisfaction guaranteed.

“It provides a company with a competitive edge in the market. “Manufacturers and service providers need to ensure that their products and services meet the right specifications and deliver on their customers’ expectations.

“When a company assesses its products and services in accordance with relevant standards, this helps the company to adapt to the latest market trends regarding quality.“And avoid the costs related to product returns, buyer complaints, and loss of goodwill in local, regional, and international markets,” the SON DG said.Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the SON DG, Chief Duru Emeka, who doubles as coordinator of the sensitisation, said it was part of the agency efforts to take culture of standardisation to the grassroots.“Once the people in rural areas imbibed standardisation as a way of life, the fight against influx of substandard products is almost won. We need collaborative efforts to tackle the menace,” he said.Duru said that Nigerian products were produced in line with international best practices and enjoy global competitiveness in line with the organisation’s quality infrastructure strategy under the able leadership of Mallam Farouk Salim.“This will reduce the rejection of some of our products at export market, increase industrialisation and wealth creation,” Duru said Duru subsequently urged the participants to consider the sensitisation workshop as an opportunity to broaden their scope saying, Enugu is the first to benefit from this particular sensitisation series.The Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Dr Godwin Anigbo, urged SON to extend its services to the grassroots by creating more awareness on standardisation of products and services.

“We need robust engagement with the people at the grassroots in the local areas to enable them know how they can attain and maintain internationally acceptable standard for any endeavour they engage in.

“Once majority of our local people start doing the right things and getting it right; our products and services will be the best internationally and the country will be better for it,” Anigbo said.