The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has identified Public Private Partnership (PPP) and building strong institutions as the surest path to attaining an enduring economy that would cater for Nigeria’s over 200 million population.
Director General of MAN, Dr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, disclosed this at the inauguration of mobile calibrate vehicles and measurement equipment by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Lagos
He assured SON of MAN’s partnership especially in areas where support is needed, saying that MAN recently concluded a leadership retreat with plans to prioritise its relationship with SON.
“This is because politicians come, politicians go, but institutions have to be strong to be able to maintain the synergy that we have and so all of us have a responsibility to support SON we have a responsibility to encourage them.
“I want to say here that we should all leave this place resolved to ensure that SON has the resources at their disposal. The equipment we are going to launch here today are not the numbers that is required to cover this country.
“We have 774 local governments. We need SON to be everywhere, so that we are able to deliver excellent service. So I encourage all of us business organisations to look for ways that SON can be supported to make our country better.
“This is a game changer for us. We assure SON that together we shall make this country great again,” he said.
For his part, the Director General of SQN, Farouk Salim, announced plans by the agency to unleash a massive calibration service campaign across the country in its bid to drive industrialisation as well Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development in Nigeria.
He said said under his leadership, the standards body would be expanding its services through mobile laboratory facilities to achieve its calibration objective.
Salim outlined the benefits of imbibing the culture of regular calibration of equipment noting that operators in the industry would get it right, lives would be saved while economic development is assured. According to him, with SON’s state of the art mobile calibration services, remote areas will be served, thereby enhancing the nation’s economic growth.
” The benefits of calibration would help to ensure compliance, monitoring the control of substandard products across the country, promoting 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.”
He also stated that calibration would provide access to new markets, prevent trade barriers, open up global market, increased market share, increase productivity, reduce costs, minimise errors and guarantee consistency and uniformity of product.
The SON DG said going forward, 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 overemphasized as seen in declining foreign exchange, surging unemployment and insecurity. In addition, of course, the closing of factories.”
To address this challenge, he said his administration has strengthen available measures to fight substandard products across the country.
In his words, “Some of the measures include establishing six new offices in more locations for better coverage, provision of testing facilities across the various regions and the establishment of SON special task force to serve as a third eye.
“Though there have been so many challenges, but we remain undeterred. It is a worthy cause and together we shall win this war. I therefore invite you to join hands with us to fight the influx of substandard goods and create a healthy nation by patronising our calibration services.”
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