SON Targets Calibration to Drive Penetration of Made-in-Nigeria Goods Globally
Gilbert Ekugbe
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has announced plans to deploy a massive calibration exercise campaign to give access to made-in-Nigeria at the global markets.
The Director General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, said the move is aimed at creating a niche for Nigerian goods at the international market, maintaining that calibration would help to ensure compliance, monitoring the control of substandard products across the country, promote mass production for industries and businesses, facilitate transactions in business, trade and commerce and fast track overall industrial growth, especially development of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
The SON boss at the inauguration of mobile calibration vehicles and measurement equipment in Lagos, said the agency would be engaging in public awareness to promote and protect safety, stressing that public awareness will also highlight the importance of calibration to improving the quality of lives in general.
“As we are all aware, the plague caused by substandard products to our to our nation cannot be overemphasised as seen in declining foreign exchange, surging unemployment and insecurity. In addition, of course, the closing of factories, “he said.
To address this challenge, the SON boss said his administration has set out to strengthen available measures to fight substandard products across the country.
He also announced plans that the standards body would be unleashing a massive calibration service campaign across the country in its bid to drive industrialisation as well Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development in Nigeria.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has extolled the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s (SON’s) quest to promote made-in-Nigeria products in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) through calibration.
The Director General, MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, stated this on the sidelines of the inauguration of SON’s mobile calibration vehicles and measurement equipment in Lagos.
According to him, market penetration is key, saying that without market penetration, Nigeria will only gaze at all the 1.4 billion people’s market in Africa.
In his words: “One thing all over the world that has been acknowledged is that what we cannot measure we cannot value. So for us, today marks a milestone in our quality infrastructure programme in Nigeria. SON is blazing the trail in ensuring that not only our big companies that are located in centers that we can access, but where vehicles can move to remote areas in Nigeria to deliver the measurement service.”
