Appolonia Adeyemi 
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has said it has started the sensitisation of the populace to ensure that standard products only are patronised and accessed across Nigeria.
The organisation which made this known during an awareness walk which was held on Saturday to mark World Standard Day, said the measure would boost Nigeria’s export potentials and foreign exchange earning.
The Director, Public Relations Affairs, SON, Mrs Folusho Bolaji, said it was important for Nigeria to adopt world standards so as to help the government and the economy create more revenue.
“The whole world is adopting a world standard so that if you move goods from Nigeria and you take them to the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (U.S), you will have the same standard.
The advantage is that if Nigerians subscribe to the policy of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria and they are implemented, they can export their products.
“The aim of this walk for standard is to tell Nigerians to embrace standard and we are saying that all of us should embrace standards,” she said.
During the 2023 annual World Standard Day celebration with the theme ‘Shared Vision For a Better World’, staff members of the SON embarked on the walk which took the participants from the SON office along Industrial Street, Ogba through Acme Road, Agidingbi Road, connecting Awolowo Road, Ikeja from where they linked, Aromire Street into Adeniyi-Jones and back to the SON office.
Throughout the exercise, Information education and communication (IEC) materials on the need to patronise standard products were handed to both commuters and persons within the walking areas.
The Director of Standards Development, SON, Engr Yahaya Bukar, explained that the reason why the organisation decided to use a walk as a means of sensitising the public is because it depicts fitness.
He said the organisation was alert and fit to do its job of ensuring that Nigerians had access to standard goods.
“The message is that we are united to fight substandard products. They have a negative impact on society. It is unproductive and money is lost.
“We are together and united to fight substandard products and we are carrying our stakeholders along so that they will know the advantage of standards; when standards are implemented it is for the benefit of all of us.”
“We are telling you that we have a lot of standards and we are going to work with our stakeholders to ensure that we eliminate these substandard products.
“We are also going to sensitise the people that standard is what we need to be able to achieve what other countries in the world have done. What differentiates America from Nigeria is standard and we have to move in to ensure that we get to where they are through standard.”
According to him, the theme of this year’s World Standard Day “Shared Vision For a Better World’ means that we can not achieve anything without having a common front; we have to unite to fight the menace that is out there.”
“Every time we carry out factory inspections we sensitive them on the need to implement standards. As for those that are not complying we get them prosecuted,” he said.
Director, Inspectorate Compliance, SON, Mr. Pius Maraji said the organisation was working tirelessly to make sure that only quality goods are accessible to Nigerians.
He said the organisation was working in collaboration with other bodies and security agencies.
“My department inspects products and we report compliance. We have standards that are used as a yardstick to measure the quality of products.
Without standards, we cannot in any way determine the quality of any goods. Standards are very important because in life there are standards for everything. When they are not used, people will not understand that they are important.”
“There are standards for things naturally. When you put it down as an approved document to be complied with, you must comply with that standard.
“For us to do that as an inspectorate we inspect mostly imported goods and we ensure that they comply with the requirements.”
