By Eniola Olakunri
January 08, 2024, saw President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) giving heads of two parastatals the boot. They were Mr Babatunde Irukera, who until that day, held sway as the Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC); and Mr Alexander Ayoola Okoh, erstwhile Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
According to the Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Chief Michael Ngelale, the two were relieved of their jobs ” in conformity with plans to restructure and reposition critical agencies of the Federal Government towards protecting the rights of Nigerian consumers and providing a strong basis for enhanced contributions to nation’s economy by key growth-enabling institutions…”
The current Nigerian President has been one whose track record had always shown his penchant for appointing the right people for the right jobs. I am aware that a lot people have been quick to condemn the actions of some of his cabinet members lately, who ‘seemed’ to have betrayed their oaths of office. I hasten to add that Nigerians should be patient and allow the investigations ordered by the Commander-in-Chief, run their course. An undertaken has been made by Government to make public the findings of the inquiri(es). So, we wait.
However, the weighty decision of appointing the best person to head the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) cannot wait.
Truth be told, Nigerians are reeling under the hardship they are being subjected to daily, in the hands of companies, small shop owners, retails outlets, vendors….name it, with their insensitive, impudent and ignoble “No refunds” policy on goods purchased or services rendered sub-par.
Most people who have been shafted, or who got no satisfaction with goods bought with their hard earned money, bear their pains silently, hoping to get lucky next time, if indeed, they would.
In all this, no one is really feeling the effect of the FCCPC in actually protecting the citizens’ consumer rights. That’s the unvarnished truism. In fact the only place where anything could palpably be felt along that corridor in the whole 36 states and Abuja (I stand corrected), is in Lagos under the auspices of The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA).
I have been a victim of such an atrocious treatment in the hands of a popular communication shop in Lagos some 16 months ago, where I was told by the staff that they cannot refund my money after selling me a defective product until the General Manager of LASCOPA, Mr Afolabi Solebo, who happened to be present there, and then, came to my rescue.
I wrote about the experience a few days later and was gobsmacked by the tonnes of feedback I received from Nigerians all over the world. In fact, the story trended for well over 4 months and most were recalling the horrors they experienced in hands of unscrupulous people and business outfits over the years. (I will provide the link of the must-read article at the end of this piece).
I have determined not to do a long treatise on why a tested, thorough and tenacious administrator in the mold of Barrister Afolabi Solebo, who talks the talk and walks the walk, should be appointed as the head of the soon-to-be revamped FCCPC under the able direction of President Bola Tinubu. His antecedents and copious achievements in LASCOPA speak for themselves.
Incidentally, and as a matter of pure coincidence, Afolabi Solebo was on air this morning (January 9th, 2024) as a guest on a programme tagged “Owuro lawa” on Lagos Television (LTV 8), where he kept mantra of his Agency going; apprising Nigerians that they have rights to demand refunds/seek redress from sellers of defective goods and/or deliverer of poor services. He spoke of how his Agency has recovered over 300 Million Naira for the benefit of Nigerians who brought their cases before LASCOPA in just 3 years. A car company was made to refund the millions it collected for 3 cars when they were found to be defective. An international airline was also made to cough out 3 million naira to repay a customer when it was found wanting in the course of its operations as regards that particular intended passenger. The LTV8 programme is replete with so many actions LASCOPA has taken over the years on behalf of consumers and I would want same to be beamed nationally if I have my way.
However, recovery is a function of cases brought before the Agency. Now that people are seeing results, no one needs a crystal ball to predict there is certainly going to be an uptick in cases from Lagos citizens for LASCOPA to tackle on their behalf.
As I am typing this, MAX AIR, a Nigerian Airline based in Kano, is yet to refund my Airfare of 80,000.00 (Eighty Thousand) Naira when it cancelled our 9.25 am, Lagos-Abuja flight (Booking Reference AFVRZH) on Thursday November 30, 2023.
The passengers waited for hours and not until I went downstairs did I know the flight had been called off. After some further delay, we were made to fill forms at their office at the MM2 Airport and I was told my account would be credited within the paid sum, in 5 working days.
Till this moment, the airline is yet to honour its word. I went again to their kiosk of an office at Murjantu House at 10, Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, Abuja, two and a half weeks ago. The lone figure there, a personable lady, made me fill another form. Still no refund.
A gentleman that was billed to travel that day with his family and caught in the same cancellation-bind with me, spoke about how he had paid over 1.2 million as fares for himself and family, as they intended to attend a wedding in Abuja. He wore a mournful look throughout, and said he didn’t have anything near that kind of amount again, to procure fresh tickets.
The subtle messages Nigerian Airlines are sending customers is simple: it behoves on them (passengers) to have extra money to procure new tickets in case the intended flight did not happen. They don’t care if the intending passenger doesn’t have money for a new ticket or transportation back to where they came from.
Yet, MAX AIR is striding on, and lately got the biggest chunk of contracts handed out to specific airlines to airlift passengers for the next Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The airline believes it can get away with anything and there is nothing in place to discourage it from continuing such impunity.
Which is one of the reasons why it is important to put a round peg in round hole and get Afolabi Solebo appointed to steer the affairs of FCCPC.
For most citizens, they are, at the moment, one with the words of Judith Martin, an American Columnist, Author and Etiquette Coach (September 13, 1938 – Present): “Honesty has come to mean the privilege of insulting you to your face without expecting redress”.
However, with the appointment of Barrister Afolabi Solebo as the Federal Consumer Agency’s Steersman, dynamics are bound to change quickly in consumer protectionism, as Nigerians embody and start to live one of the creeds of the iconic English playwright, poet and actor, William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616), who said: “Wise men never sit and wail their loss, but cheerily seek how to redress their harms”
Nigerians yearns for good leadership and are eager to support their President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in making changing the narratives of this great nation.
Readers can find below the link as promised at the beginning of this piece, where Nigerians could read first hand my chance encounter with the LASCOPA GM and how he proved unwittingly, he is always on duty in dogged defence of citizens’ consumer rights.
Eniola Olakunri
A public sector analyst writes from Abuja
Email: eniolaolakunri@gmail.com
Phone: 08033467676 (WhatsApp and SMS only)
