Checking Sub-Standard Goods

A Key responsibility of any nation-state is to guarantee the health of its citizenry  through regular and responsive evaluation of the quality of consumables the people are exposed to.  It is for the same reason that proactive governments insist on standard goods, especially drugs and foods from the import source and within the countries.
This obligation to the Nigerian citizenry seems to have suffered greatly, if the alarm raised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) about the preponderance of Sub-Standard goods, are any leads to go by.
In what seems a wake-up call, SON said recently that more than half of the goods brought into the country were sub-standard. If indeed what the standards orgnaisation has stated, is true, to the effect that most of what Nigerians consume, particularly foods and drugs are unsafe then government ought to be worried.
Coming at a time, when proper manning of the nation’s borders by relevant institutions, is repeatedly canvassed, that such sub-standard goods find their ways into the Nigerian Market, is most condemnable.
Unfortunately, some of those with the penchant of flooding Nigeria with such dangerous consumables are also Nigerians, knowing fully well that their stock in trade is injurious to the economy.
The Tide is worried in view of the havoc such foods and drugs must have wrecked on unsuspecting users, some of whom must have met early deaths.
We condemn the seeming indifference of the nation’s security agencies, and indeed, the standards organization in checking the ugly trend.
But this is not limited to consumables.  Sub-standard electric cables also flood the Nigerian market while indeed Nigerian made ones are acclaimed by experts as better.  This, indeed, is double jeopardy for an economy that needs all the patriotism of the citizens and indeed, other investors to protect and sustain.
While calling on government to consciously address the matter as one of urgent national interest, we think that the Nigerian Consumers Protection Council should accept the challenge to protect Nigerians from the looming danger posed by sub-standard goods, especially foods and drugs.
On its part, NAFDAC needs to do more in probing the activities of questionable manufacturers of sub-standard goods within the country as was the case years ago, when regular raids exposed the evil machinations of greedy traders at the health risk of fellow Nigerians .
The Tide believes that multifaceted as the problem appears, it can be solved if there is a proactive synergy among all relevant agencies concerned, particularly, the Standards Organisation, NAFDAC, and indeed, Security Agencies saddled with the responsibility of manning the nation’s border posts.
For now, many security officials appear to be easily compromised, while the most needed internal surveillance and approval of manufactured goods within the country seems totally lacking.
Were the opposite true, the situation would be different.
This should be the challenge to confront with success, for the health of the citizenry.