A study by The Qoheleth within some major cities in Nigeria shows that Nigeria market is filled with substandard and adulterated products. These include food, drugs and beverages, household items, electronics, auto parts, and various materials. While most of these substandard products are manufactured in the country, some of them are imported from different countries especially China. There are also substandard services and processes exhibited in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
There are so many adulterated foods and beverages in both stores and open markets. Many drugs are faked and sold to people despite their dangerous implications. An anonymous stated that the sellers in most cases knew that such products were adulterated but still choose to buy them from the producers. They sell them almost at the same price or sometimes even higher than the genuine products. According to him, the sellers make triple profits from such adulterated products.
The auto spare parts markets are also filled with substandard motor parts. Most of these are imported. A trader informed The Qoheleth that the importers in most cases give specifications to the manufacturers in China on the standard they want. These are subsequently sold to the end users. Ike Okoji, a spare parts motor dealer said that in most cases the buyers are presented with an option of choosing the genuine parts from the fake ones. This indicates that the buyers know that what they are buying is substandard. “The users most times prefer the substandard parts to the genuine ones due to the fund available to them. The original motor parts are usually expensive and they don’t have option but to buy fake ones,” he said. The users also find it difficult to identify the genuine parts from the fake ones. As a result of this, many of them go for the fairly used motor parts. These fairly used motor parts referred to as “follow come” serve more than the substandard products.
Also affected are the household items such as soap, disinfectants, food items and beverages. A housewife, Mrs. Adeleke lamented that most insecticides in the market today no longer kill insects. “Most notable insecticides do not kill mosquitoes and cockroaches. There are fake seasonings, fake processed food items and even fake plastic bags. When you buy plastic bags today, the traders will double it for you because they are so fragile and tear at any moment.”
The Qoheleth also gathered that most detergents are not as effective as they use to be. There are also many fake beer, spirits and soft drinks all over the place. Despite the fact that the consumers find it difficult to know the difference, the institutions responsible for the quality control seem to be dragging their feet. An official of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), who wish to speak in anonymity said, “the whole thing is caused by the high level of corruption in the country. Many staff members compromise their standards when offered incentives. They do so because their salaries are not enough to cater for them and their families.” It was also observed during the study that most of the substandard products have NAFDAC numbers on them. To this, the official said, “Those numbers may also be fake. Even though they are supposed to be updated from time to time after approval, most producers do not go through the process of verification, inspection, lab analysis and vetting. And the market is so large with few staff to go for quality checks.”
The sub standardization does not stop with tangible products alone. Most organizations fall short of offering quality services. These include the financial institutions, corporate organizations, educational institutions and even government institutions and parastatals. Many customers complain about the poor services of banks and how they are exploited with no one coming to their aid. Same is noticed in the telecommunications sector where people are billed without offering quality services. Dr. Anderman has been a business consultant for over 30 years. He spoke to The Qoheleth. His words; “In those days, before any organization is set up, they set up a standard process. This will be enshrined in their quality management system. The Quality Management System (QMS) is a collection of business processes and procedures that ensures that the quality of products or services meet customer expectations. This system is measurable, and requires continuous improvement. Today, many companies, even government institutions do not have practicable standard practice and process. This has led to service failures.”
It was gathered that many organizations do not have standard procedures for operations. Some copied from existing ones. The processes are not measurable. The agencies in charge of standardization are no longer efficient. There are many substandard products and services which are not checked. Many Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises fail because of lack of standard practice. Anderman further stated that many agencies fail in their duties because they have been compromised. There are very few measures put in place to check standard processes. The government have abandoned standard practice put in place for better results. Standardization of processes and system rest on the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). There are many companies that are not certified and not making efforts to do so.
The functions of Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON)include certifying products. creating policies for production quality of goods and services, assessing quality assurance activities, including certification of systems, products and laboratories throughout Nigeria. This is expected to lead to improved product quality, ensured interoperability of products, as well as provide a technological baseline for future research and product development.
The Qoheleth gathered that the quality of products and services can be improved if the regulating institutions improve on their jobs and diligently supervise the market. The campaign for certification of organizational processes and product qualities should also be improved. While control supervision helps regulate the changing processes over time, process control and product quality control will assist in monitoring and adjusting products to required standards.
