Active Participation In National Codex Commission To Check Food Safety And Promote International Trade
Prof. Akanya on assumption of duty as SON DG urged to took full advantage of the global economic and trade benefits accruable to it from a functional National Codex Committee in advising policy makers on food s a f e t y and internal trade fairs. He made the call in the welcome address he delivered to the technical meeting of the National Codex Committee (NCC) held at the Federal Secretariat, Ikoyi, in 2001. According to him, a functional National Codex Commi t t e e (NCC) is a national forum where consumers, the relevant arms of government, the food industry and individuals with interest in Codex work as well as other stakeholders discuss and take national position on issues of food safety and international trade fairs
Prof. Akanya disclosed that SON has given a new lease of life to the Codex Contact Point which houses the Secretariat of the NCC. He therefore called on members of the committee to assist in its funding. The SON Director-General stated that the membership of the Committee has been further expanded to accommodate experts in the relevant field in line with the request made by the NCC. He stated that the recognition of Codex as the final texts by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in arbitration of cases of disputes between participating countries is significant for member nations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. In a good will message to the meeting, the Director-General of National
expressed delight at the new impetus being given to the NCC as witnessed by the varied representation at the meeting. She confirmed that the circulation of Codex Documents to stake holders has significantly improved, stressing that Nigeria through the NCC is set to take its rightful place at international fora of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and the World Trade Organisation.
According to the NAFDAC Director-General, Nigeria would henceforth be able to present a truly national position arising from inputs expected from the gathering of experts and professionals with relevant knowledge and skills, who constitute the NCC.18
The Organisationin 2002 identified poor monitoring and enforcement as the weakest links in the chain of SON regulatory activities. To address these problems, the management evolved new operational strategies to eradicate fake and substandard products, and created a strong regulatory environment. The strategies include developing new regulations, reviewing tariffs, developing guidelines and standard operating procedures, targeting the sources of substandard products in Nigerian environment, increasing surveillance at ports of entry, mopping up substandard products in circulation, and monitoring the GMP of manufacturers, among others.
New Regulations
Nigerian SON laws were non-deterrent, unwieldy, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting. SON were however, expected to operate with these laws in spite of their deficiencies. Since regulations, which are sub-legislation, are easier to promulgate and the principal laws empower SON to do so, SON in the interim create regulations within the laws to enable the Organisation operate effectively. Consequently, initiated a review of the existing regulations with representatives of the relevant stakeholders, and this resulted in the repeal and re-enactment of some old regulations, as well as the enactment of new ones.
Developing SON regulations and partnering with Agency like NAFDAC was a well-articulated, step-wise procedure that ensures transparency and takes into account inputs from stakeholders. This was aimed at promoting easy compliance with the regulations when concluded and finally coming into effect. The procedure involves the identification of the need for a regulation by the SON management team. The Organisation sources information from credible international organizations such as the WHO and FAO websites, or websites of national bodies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), EU etc.
The draft regulations are considered by an in-house Standards and Regulations Committee, corrections made and inputs of the Committee are reflected in the draft regulations circulated
to members and endorsed at the next Committee meeting. The draft regulations are later sent to the relevant groups and posted on SON website for stakeholders' comments and input. All acceptable comments and input are considered before the draft regulations are sent to our Governing Council, which considers them and sends them to the Federal Ministry of Justice, through the Legal Unit in the Director General‟s Office. The regulations was finally sent to the Federal Government Printing Press and gazette for use by the public after consideration and approval.19
Mandatory Pre-Shipment Information
SON made it mandatory for all products importers to provide pre-shipment information to the Organisation before the arrival of any shipment into Nigeria. The pre-shipment information includes the chemical name of the product, the brand name, the active ingredients and the strengths, the dosage forms (in the case of drugs); pack sizes, quantities, MANCAP Number, type of product, country of manufacture, name and address of manufacturer, country of shipment, name of vessel, expected date of arrival and port of entry.
Requirement of Certificate of Free Sale for Registration
Efforts was made by SON to enforce that any product presented for registration to SON must be confirmed to have been freely used in the country of production. To this end, SON required that the Certificate of Free Sale, signed by the Minister of Trade or Industry of that country of origin of a product and authenticated by the Nigerian Embassy, or any Commonwealth Mission, (if there is no Nigerian Embassy in that country) be submitted along with the rest of the required documentation before it can enter into Nigerian market. This Certificate of Free Sale must clearly state that the product is freely used in the country of production. Any product not used in the country of production was not be accepted in Nigeria for registration; hence products labeled "For Export Only" are not allowed to be registered or used in Nigeria.
Strengthening Surveillance at all Ports of Entry Ports/Border Operation Scheme
The role of SON at the Nigerian Ports/Border is aimed at controlling the influx of substandard products into the Nigerian Markets. It was in pursuit of this statutory function that a presidential directive was issued to SON in 1988 directing it to man the Nigerian ports and border posts nationwide. Sequel to this directive, SON in 1989 established the ports operations scheme, and SON presence in the ports nationwide had led to regular monitoring of the quality of imported products to ensure that they conform to relevant NIS requirements.
The Federal Government trade liberalization policy and the deregulation of the economy, has influenced the influx of goods into the Nigerian market, but not without some problems such as increased importation of substandard and unsafe products into yhe country.
The SON's role at the Port/Border operations scheme over the years has yielded positive results in checking the indiscriminate dumping of poor quality products in the country.
Procedure
The port/border inspection scheme involves the inspection, examination, sampling and the laboratory analysis of imported goods. It is pertinent to mention that, despite its numerous constraints and problems, SON has continued to make its presence felt in virtually all the Sea Ports in monitoring the quality of imported goods. While progress is being made to completely cover airports and borders, efforts are equally afoot to improve communication and operational facilities for effective performance of duties.
Problems
Nevertheless, there are many problems encountered at the ports. Among them are, the increased activities of smugglers bringing poor quality products into the country through routes not manned by SON (illegal routes at border posts). The smuggling activities have continued to puncture the effective impact the organization‟s operation would have had on the economy.
Other obstacles being encountered are evasion of SON inspection by importers/clearing agents, shortage of manpower and funds to operational vehicles and sophisticated testing equipment.
However, it is being hoped that with continued and increasing assistance of government agencies, and the general public the Organization continued to exert greater impact on the imports into the country.
The creation of the Ports Inspection Directorate for effective surveillance at all ports of entry and the Enforcement Directorate for the enforcement of regulations, led to increased seizures of Substandard products. Hitherto, land and sea borders were major routes of importation of fake and substandard products. As a result of intensified surveillance at the borders, fake and substandard products' dealers resorted to air freighting their cargo.
Consequently, SON, with the support of the Ministry of Aviation, issued new guidelines, prohibiting all aircraft from carrying products into Nigeria without obtaining SON authorization from their clients. SON wrote to all the airlines informing them that any aircraft caught bringing substandard products into Nigeria would be grounded. Advertorials were also placed in print and electronic media to this effect. When it became very difficult for them to freight the substandard products by air, dealers resorted to the use of speedboats and other forms of water transportation.20
Mopping up Fake Products in Circulation
Cogniz ant of Nigeria‟s many porous borders, SON embarked on planned, continuous and sustained surveillance in all markets and retail outlets for products and other related products.
SON carried out routine sampling, checking and testing of all SON registered products in circulation. The Organisation also traced dealers of fake and substandard products through reports received from victims, other professionals and tip-offs from the general public. Some of these reports assisted SON in identifying the sources of large consignments of fake, counterfeit and other substandard products.
China And Substandard Products In Nigeria
The People‟s Republic of China denied exporting counterfeit and substandard products to Nigeria. The denial was made by the Chinese Consul-General, Dr. Liu Xianfa, when asked to respond to an allegation by the former Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) late Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili that a large portion of the fake goods in Nigeria emanated from China.
Before the denial, the Director-General of NAFDAC, had alleged, during a press conference, that India and China accounted for most of the counterfeit drugs and other substandard products imported into the country. She added that while India was playing supportive role to fight the trend, China was passive. The DG did not explain what she meant by passive role, but Xianfa‟s denial did not seem to change the opinion of general consumers and authorities in the country. Both the old and young in Nigeria believe that substandard products are synonymous with China; it used to be India. It is generally held that products made in China have short life span and cannot be repaired when damaged. Again, all inferior products in the country are believed to have been made in China or Taiwan. When one says a product is China or Taiwan, the underlying meaning is that such product is either counterfeit or substandard.
Unfortunately, what many Nigerians do not understand is that China manufactures for Europe and America. Before the emergence of China‟s economy, South Korea and Japan were seen by Europe as a base for low-cost labour which offered low production cost. It all translated to low prices of goods. Note that low price is not the same as poor quality of, or cheap, goods. The price of a product is largely, determined by the cost of producing the product. Following the 1990s reforms in China, the country emerged to challenge the biggest economies of the world.
It has come on top of such economies, given the availability of a large labour force, superior
Major investors in Europe, Americas and even Asia now turn to China to produce goods which they could not produce in their respective countries. The best Nokia phones in the American and British markets are manufactured in China. If such quality phones are produced in Europe, the prices would have been too high, given the high cost of their production.
Like American and British investors, Nigerians have also turned to China to produce. But while American and British investor-vendors have respect for model and quality specifications in accordance with the prescriptions in their respective countries, their Nigerian counterparts prefer to cut corners to make ungodly profits. Worse still, the Chinese factories accept to produce whatever poor quality that is asked for by the Nigerian investor-vendors. The Nigerian investor goes to China with products for which they have no copyright for counterfeiting, without the Chinese factories asking questions or complying with the existing laws. This explains the poor quality or counterfeit products from China and the culpability of the country in the crime. While Indian authority, which was as bad as China, is now assisting the Nigerian government to wage the war, China doesn‟t seem to be bothered. Counterfeiting in China is a serious offence which carries death penalty. If offenders are prosecuted in China, it will be difficult for the Nigerian investor or vendor to continue the illicit business.21 It is also of great concern that men of the Nigerian Customs Service are not able to stop these products from coming into the country. It is worrisome that some of the counterfeits pass the screening by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). They are largely detected in the market before actions are taken. Not all the counterfeits are smuggled, as SON may want people to believe. Again, Nigerians do not have the moral justification to call the products of others substandard according to Ifebu Okoli, a phone an electronics dealer at Computer village Ikeja, Lagos. Nigeria should produce for the Nigerian market. The major industrial enabling factor – power or energy if tackled will bring to an end the age-long wahala over fake products from China and India. Nigeria is yet to experience impressive transformation in that direction.
Nigerians should avoid partisanship in dealing with the issue of industrialisation and power development in the country. It is not about who rules the country but about existence of the country and its citizens.22
Someone who travelled to Israel recently said he refused to buy certain things over there because they were poorer than what he found back home in Nigeria. It is, therefore, about time we began to look inward. These importations are not anywhere close in quality to what is produced in Aba, Lagos or Kano. The onus is on the government to promote locally made goods in order to stop blaming counterfeits on India and China. But if the importation becomes imperative, over and above everything the solution is that there has to be collaboration between Nigerian and Chinese governments. Counterfeiting carries death penalty in China; and the manufacturers in China are not spirits. There is, therefore, the need for the government to
make the Chinese counterpart to check their manufacturers. If the Chinese government refuses to cooperate, it is also the duty of the Nigerian government to blacklist products from that country until the home government complies.23
Substandard ICT Products and their Effects
1EThe use and sale of substandard mobile phones in the country telecommunications space have been increasing to the extent that it has become a menace as it affects quality of service among other consequence. According to Mrs. Ify Umenyi, director general, Consumer Protection Council (CPC),
apart from the health hazards that consumers of counterfeit products are exposed to, since counterfeit products are usually not subjected to any regulatory authority and thereby not made in conformity to relevant standards and specifications, the country loses a lot of revenue through the activities of counterfeiters. Producers of counterfeit products evade legitimate sources of government revenues like duties and taxes.
Also, employment opportunities are lost as genuine producers and employers of labour are hindered from attaining economies of scale and as a result forced to shut down on many occasions.
There is also a genuine concern around the world that terrorists get their funding from illegal activities like counterfeiting smuggling, bunkering and so on 24.
In view of the foregoing, the influx of fake and substandard products has been a source of concern to the federal government of Nigeria. The apex consumer protection agency of the federal government, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), she said, came up with an interventionist programme like the establishment of joint task force, in conjunction with the Standard Organization of Nigeria, National Environmental Standard Regulation and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and Alaba Market Association, on fake and substandard electrical and electronic products in Alaba International market, Lagos. She noted that CPC partnered with some genuine manufacturers to raid some known black spots, with a view to ridding them of fake and substandard products. In this regard, the council and the joint taskforce carried out more than three different raids in GSM village, Lagos, to rid it of fake mobile phones, and carried out several other raids in Lagos metropolis and other states of the federation to remove different counterfeit and unwholesome products from the marketplace.25
In spite of all these efforts being made by other regulatory agencies to combat counterfeiting in Nigeria, the trade appears to be gaining grounds at huge costs to consumers, manufacturers and government alike. For instance, the result of a research carried out by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the International Data Corporation (IDC) disclosed that Nigeria lost more than N19.8 million to software counterfeiting and associated problems.
Microsoft Nigeria said that, consumers and companies spend millions of dollars each year on counterfeit copies and financing scammers who threaten the integrity of the software industry.
But for victims of software piracy, the losses are not just monetary. In the telecom market to be precise, apart from the loss of valuable income through the purchase of fake handsets and their frequent replacement by consumers, there is a growing concern that the result of highly hazardous emissions from fake mobile phones may soon begin to manifest. Counterfeit mobile devices are low in quality and do not meet standards. In some situations, the radiation from them is beyond the permissible limits and can cause serious damage to the health of consumers. Scientific study on the levels of radio frequency emissions from mobile phone handsets indicated that several of the sophisticated looking fake and cheap phones in the market emit high levels of radiation, far higher than what is globally accepted as safe.
Ironically, manufacturers, and dealers in fake handsets are harvesting bountifully from this illegal business. 26
Timi Bomodi, the Public Relation Officers, Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area 1 Command, said that the “counterfeiting of products has been a source of worry to governments, and institutions the world over. He added “that the behavour of certain individuals and companies in developing countries such as Nigeria has made dealing in counterfeit products very attractive. That the large domestic IT market is buoyant, and developing at an incredibly fast rate”.27
This should be an economic asset to the country. However, it has negative connotations, he observed. Standard Organization of Nigeria has put in place a programme it called SONCAP, which means SON Conformity Assessment Program, designed to protect the Nigerian consumer. The aim of SONCAP is to identify those goods which pose the highest risk to consumers in Nigeria and ensure that their claims of safety are verified before they are exported to Nigeria. This helps to ensure that Nigerians are protected from unsafe and substandard goods as well as ensure that Nigerian manufacturers or brand owners are not subjected to unfair competition from such goods. 24 The extent to which these initiatives by the country‟s gate keepers have effectively performed it obligations is open to debate as in spite of these programme substandard mobile phones still find their way to Nigerian markets.