OBAMA: NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WELL DESERVED?

By Paul Arhewe, Online Editor

Less than nine months ago where the world stood still to give accolade to its first global president, another major feat is added to the feathers of American first black President Barack Obama.
Obama is announced, last Friday in a most surprisingly fashion, the winner of this year's Peace Nobel Prize.
Being the humble and gentle man he is, Obama told the world in a cable channel that he is honoured and feels he 'doesn't deserve this award'. His words: "I do not view it as recognition of my own accomplishment. I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of those that have achieved so great feat to be accorded this Nobel Prize".
While many who disqualify him support the aforementioned view, majority see him as worthy to be crowned the world's peace ambassador even within a short space of time when he took over the ruin left in the White House by his predecessor.
Obama winning this esteemed prize is seen by those disqualifying him as the biggest joke of the millennium, and a means to watered-down the value associated with the prize.
Be that as it may, Obama is awarded this prize based on his meaningful bold contributions in four spheres that affect the lives of all humans. This include continual move to global nuclear disarmament, provocative contribution in soliciting support for global climate change and the inspirations many have tapped from him in areas of democracy and good governance. It takes a superhuman to achieve these within short term, especially when many leaders in our part of the world have contributed in debasing the virtues left for spurring development in their countries talk less in fending for global development and peace.
While Obama's contenders for the award, like Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Tsvangirai and former Israeli's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may have promoted peace in their countries and sub regions, for instance Tsvangirai reneged from his rightful mandate to lead his fellow countrymen for a power deal with the power drunk Robert Mugabe, this is commendable but not a feat that can really measure up to Obama's strides that is not unidirectional but an integrative push for promoting global peace.
Before assuming office January 20, Obama had not only push for peace in Middleeast but back up his words with actions by reversing many peace sapping policies that President Bush championed that led to his disgraceful exit from office.
As a peace ambassador, Obama not only closed the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp where many dehumanising treatments were melted out to inmates, sometimes based on stereotyped inclination, but a major advocate for respect for human rights and diplomatic moves for combating threats to global peace. Before the entrant of Obama calls have long being on ground for the camp closure without positive response from previous American leaders.
With an extraordinary diplomatic gifting, within short time he had converted many foes of America to her allies. Russia now is treading soft spot with America, and many other Middle East countries, despite the harsh and unfriendly posture President Bush's administration honoured them with, are beginning to mull over expanding their friendship with US.
In his recent visit to Africa, Obama in Cairo told the world that US is opening a new frontier in dealing peacefully with the Arab world. Some of his critics believe that the US president is a good talker without substantial result to commensurate with the former. Again, while it is too early to measure his level of achievement, the direction he is towing is a pointer to the performance he stands to attain.
Some analysts have condemned some of the American president's speech as palliative approach or rounds of moral equivalency, like his speech in Cairo recently where he compared those living in terror in Israel with those Palestinians still waiting for clean water and a state of their own. Such statement is faulted because it bodes ill for any prospect geared towards ensuring peace to reign in the Middle East.
The award, definitely, is given to spur Obama to speed up action in fulfilling those promises and actions already embarked in area of nuclear disarmament and climate change and the safeguarding of global peace. The US president has even acknowledged this in his speech on Friday in respect to the award. His words: "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."
Since more is expected of the American president in area of global peace, and his speeches and actions are trailing this direction then the Nobel Peace award is one that is well deserved and one that will further challenge Obama into doing more for mankind and global peace.

IS SON REALLY SAFEGUARDING NIGERIAN CONSUMERS?

By Paul Arhewe,

Online Editor INL.

In this age where competition in business world is very keen, where manufacturers of products and services continually seek ways in improving their products’ quality in order to maintain their goodwill and continuous consumers’ patronage, the rate at which substandard goods are flooding Nigerian markets is unprecedented.
To make matter worse, the performance of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the government agency established to regulate standard of products/services delivered within Nigeria and those imported into the country, have remained ineffectual, docile and further aggravates the sufferings of Nigerians by the activities of some of its official with their slapdash deals with businessmen and manufacturers for personal gratification.

While, the intensions of the former military Head of state General Yakubu Gowon in creating the then Nigerian Standards Organisation (NSO) through the ACT 56 of 1971 was for the benefits of all Nigerians, the reformations of the agency by the military regimes of General Olusegun Obansanjo in 1976, Major General Muhammadu Buhari in 1984 and General Ibrahim Babangida in 1990 have seen NSO change only in nomenclature to SON as poor performance underscores its protecting the interest of Nigerian consumers.
Quality of consumable products available in contemporary Nigerian market is a far cry from those available in the 80s and 70s.
Made in Nigeria goods such condensed milks, soft drinks, detergent, leather wear and clothing materials, among other many canned eatables are watered down in bid for the manufacturers to accrue more profits at the detriment of consumers.
This greed for exploiting Nigerians with substandard goods are not only trademark associated with domestic goods; those imported, that hitherto début Nigeria market with high quality are soon diluted as importers connive with foreign manufacturers to make new brand of low quality products exclusively for Nigeria market; where these same substandard prototypes are not permissible in their originating country or other foreign markets.
For instance, an imported men’s roll-on from Dubai when it début Nigeria market was of a high quality when applied can last two days with its fragrance remaining fresh even after taking bath, but today, after six months, the same product when applied after ten-minutes one is not aware it is used. This is just an instance of hundreds of many watered down products Nigeria consumers are subjected to in their everyday living.
Many electronics product in our markets would only pack up after one to two months of their usage, where the original ones are either not available or off-shelf to only astute buyers who are ready to part with higher payment for them.
This matter becomes painful when these same products even in our nearby neighbouring countries like Ghana and other francophone African countries are of higher quality compared to what we get here.
There is another phase to this, while it is expected that these diluted products should be cheaper to the original and standard ones, Nigerians most times end up paying same price as for the original ones. Assuming manufacturers of these products bear increasing costs of production and attempt to hike their prices, so far their qualities are maintained the motives for hiking price would be understandable. But, where there is increase in the prices of substandard products higher than the price of standard ones this does not only portend a clear scam against consumers but also a crime against humanity as the health implication and moral justification for this is in many cases have grave consequence.

At this juncture, the question is how effective is SON in ensuring Nigerian consumers always get the best of quality of what they consume?

The Product Registration Unit of SON was created November 2002, with the function, inter alia, to establish reliable information on quantity, quality, source and origin of products/services manufactured in and/or imported into Nigeria, this include product/services available in any part of Nigerian environment. Also, the agency’s unit has the duty to obtain relevant information on persons and organizations responsible for producing/importing such products/services and the legal status, genuineness or otherwise of such business operations; ensuring and/or facilitating fair-trade practices as a function of standardization; preventing dumping of substandard products/services into Nigeria, thereby facilitating consumer-protection functions.
If this unit of SON is actually performing the above listed functions then our market would not be saturated with substandard products.

One is tempted to believe that the agency carries out products test and measurement unsystematically; depending only on quantitative basis, and secluding quality standardization. If this is not, why does inconsistency in products quality elude the agency’s experts? Or is the agency lacking in proper data management; in filing and recording past quality from those substandard ones available on daily basis in our markets? Does the agency have any monitoring group? If it does, how frequent is monitoring conducted, and what modus operandi is utilized in collecting samples to be tested? Answers to the above questions are germane as they really tell if SON is out there safeguarding the Nigerian consumers’ interest or if some saboteurs among the agency’s staffers have sold their conscience for bribe collection from manufacturers and importers to pass whatever quality they bring forward for testing.

Severally, it is proven that some products imported to Nigeria from other countries do not share same quality with those available in the originating countries where these products are made. Would SON claim ignorant of these facts? Or does the law that established the agency not give it the power to reject products with differing quality from those available in other markets outside Nigeria? If it does, then the agency is really working below par.
Nigeria market is now a known dumping ground for fake and substandard products. The ease for allowing these products to spread and remain in our markets is not only embarrassing to Nigerians but highlight the fact that the country’s protection for consumers is one of the lowest globally.

Are Nigerians Consumer Rights Respected?
Consumers universally posses some rights which manufacturer of goods and services and government agencies for protecting their rights need to respect and protect. Among those recognizable rights include the right to derive satisfaction of basic needs, the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, the right to redress and the right to consumer education.
Juxtaposing the aforementioned: consumers’ rights with SON performance for Nigerian consumer, how has the agency fared? Again, the satisfaction derived from the consumption of substandard products would never be wholly satisfying as when quality ones are within consumers reach. For instance, the problem of epileptic power supply in the country; no thanks to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), has made the influx from Asian countries substandard generating sets that has added to the suffering of the ordinary Nigerian consumers. How then would users of such nerve-breaking products claim satisfaction from them when they pack up within one to two months from the date of purchase, even though they are labelled as new?
The presence of SON’s officials assessing and monitoring these products daily on our borders and every entry points in the country, still these fake products still elude their assumable vigilant presence. While the above scenario gives credence to the fact that the right of consumers to satisfaction and safety is consistently violated, the level of information and education available to consumers in this part of the world is either not available or sparsely spread.
The widening gap between the rich and poor in the Nigerian society, where the middle class is not visibly seen, has left the poor having a forced choice of buying substandard products as a way to make ends meet (which in most cases do not meet). As their choice for substandard products are readily ripped off as they end up spending three times or much more the price for genuine ones.

Role Of Information Dissemination In Consumer Protection

A well-informed consumer in a country is a vital tool in expediting effective protection. The Communication Publicity and Marketing Unit has the responsibility for creating awareness in ensuring that Nigerians are informed on the statutory activities of SON. The outlets available for this unit of SON in implementing this onerous task of awareness creation for consumers’ protection include, inter alia, the use of jingles to create awareness, preparations of press releases/briefings on the agency’s activities, participation in Trade Fairs/Exhibitions, participations in Workshops and Seminars.
In this era of SERVICOM where Federal government has entered into a social contract with the Nigerians in order to make her citizen have right to demand good services from its entire establishments including its agencies, with relatively low level of consumer awareness in the country, Nigerians have the responsibility to demand from SON on its stake in improving the quality of goods available to them and how well their rights as consumers are safeguarded.
Poor consumer education in the country has made many users of consumable products such as beverages, confectionaries, toiletries among others, from discerning the difference between expired goods and healthy ones. Recently, the Zonal coordinator of SON in Borno and Yobe states identified expired products as the major challenge the zone face. Markets in these North-Eastern States are flooded with expired products with some having two or three year’s expiration. Consumers in these states would everyday risk their health as they consume them, especially as there is little effort from agencies such as SON to conduct regular and wide reaching consumer education.
Many Nigerians are not aware that there are standard expected of manufacturing companies to stick to as their produce their products. When there is no awareness how can consumer claim their rights? Even, the existence of SON is elusive to many Nigerians.

Is overlapping statutory jurisdiction the problem?
In time past SON has accused NAFDAC of usurping on its oversight functions; where the former DG of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Dora Akunyili and SON’s DG Dr. John Ndunuba Akanya were at loggerhead over which agency should operate in some area of jurisdiction for consumers protection. While, the overall functions of the above two agencies, including others like the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) are to see that Nigerian consumers are adequately protected, there is nothing wrong for them putting their manpower resources in getting this task effectively done, without recourse to time and resources wasting on operational jurisdictions, which are normally stated in the parliamentary Act that usually brought their creation.
SON a member of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) should wake up to its statutory responsibility by ensuring that global standard applies in all cases during the execution of its statutory functions without bending the rule in any given circumstances, so as to make quality products and services available in the Nigeria market. The agency’s officials should be closely monitored against collecting kick-backs in approving substandard products.
While it is germane for government to make distinctive clarification of the operational jurisdiction of these agencies there is then a need for an overhaul of SON, especially as government seeks to make Nigeria a leading economy in the comity of nations, with its 20:20:20 economy policy.