By Hassan Zaggi
Manufacturers and importers of products in Nigeria who have the penchant of faking the logo of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) will soon be a deep trouble.
This is even as the SON is seeking the support of the National Assembly to amend its laws to ensure that all those who engage in faking the logos of the Organisation are not only punished but sent to jail.
The Director General of the SON, Malam Farouk Salim disclosed this at a media briefing to mark the 50th anniversary of the organization in Abuja.
“Part of the amendment we are going to do in the days ahead from the National Assembly is to make sure that people faking logos and the SON should not only be fined but will be jailed.
“This becomes serious because that is the only way we can stop human beings from breaking the law if they know the consequences are bad. But if they know they can get away with it, it is a calculation to do whether they can get away or not get away from it.”
While explaining that SON is modifying its logo in order to checkmate influx of the fake and substandard products in Nigerian markets, the Dr. Salim said: “We are improving our logo because we want uniform logo for all our products. Very soon we will have a new logo including product registration.
“Be rest assured that anybody breaking the rules by copying our products including our logo have found themselves in the wrong side of the law.
“There is a new product coming in, we call it product identification mark. That process will be a single one. It is not like the NAFDAC number. The difference is that in our own, you don’t have to buy the product before you can screen it.
“The mark will be on the product, if you go to buy the product, you will use your phone to check and it will tell you whether the product is authentic or not, when it was produced, where it was produced and its expiry date. That process is already on-going.”
This initiative, according to him, will be in the market in the next few weeks.
“In a month or two, that should be in the market. The mark is only necessary for products that are imported, our manufacturers have the option to opt and give the same mark to their products.
“That will help a lot because if you notice the other processes of identification where you buy the product and type the number and you are sure that it is authentic, this will go a long way to produce the same result,” he explained.
He, however, applauded the federal government for ensuring that the SON staff are back to Ports, which, he stressed will make the work of the agency easier.
“The importance of being back for now to the Ports of entries is that we don’t have to chase criminals to the thousands of markets in Nigeria and some of these markets are not accessible to government officials. Most of our people are being attacked everyday,” he noted.
While soliciting for the support of all Nigerians, Dr. Salim said: “It is very important for consumers to know that they are partly the gatekeepers of substandard goods. When you see, you report. If you cant report, sent us text or find a way of letting us know, but do something about it.”
