Proposes Stiffer Penalties, Longer Jail Terms for Defaulter 

Farouk Salim, Director General SON

As a regulatory body in charge of ensuring the maintenance of standards in local and imported products, the Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, has said it is demonstrating capacity in combating counterfeiting, fake and substandard products, the Director General of the agency, Farouk Salim has said

One of the ways through which the organisation is fighting the menace is by initiating the Products Authentication Mark (PAM).

According to Mr Tersoo Orgudwem, Director Product Certification, SON, the organisation introduced the SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) to ensure that all imported products are of acceptable quality.

Orgudwem said for the international community not to assume Nigeria is creating a trade barrier; SON also introduced MANCAP for the locally manufactured goods in Nigeria.

“The world has become a global village, and Nigeria is part of that village, and we cannot run away from it, so we have introduced measures, particularly for imported goods. This ensures that Nigeria does not become a dumping ground for any other country. So, if they want to trade with us, they should give us what they can use in their country.

According to Orgudwem, the consumer is fully involved in enforcing quality by scanning the PAM or sending a short message (SMS) to verify the product’s status before purchasing a product.

According to him, PAM is designed such that the product has a stamp on it and consumers have the QR code either on their smartphones or there is a number on the stamp on the product.

“If you don’t have an Android phone or an IOS phone, you can send the number of the product on the stamp to a toll-free code 281. And within five seconds, they will return a message telling you that the product is certified by SON and is good for use”, he said.

According to Orgudwem, Nigeria makes up about 20 per cent of Africa’s population, estimated at 220 million, making it a target market for both genuine and fake products.

Addressing the challenge posed by counterfeit products is a difficult task and an economist, Margaret Attah, says all relevant bodies should partner to ensure that the battle is won.

According to Attah, tackling counterfeit products successfully will massive benefit the economy because it will stimulate the growth of industries, attract investment and reduce unemployment.

While some stakeholders commend SON for initiating PAM to mitigate substandard products, others urge the government to ensure the prosecution of offenders.

The Director-General of SON, Farouk Salim, said the organisation was working with the National Assembly to amend its Act to make for more successful prosecution of counterfeiters.

“We are already working with NASS to amend the existing Act to increase the penalties such as jail terms for defaulters,” he said.