Amechi Ogbonna
The collateral effects of fake and substandard products in any economy cannot be overemphasized. For the Nigerian economy, adulterated and substandard products often leave indelible foot prints on the health of the citizens, the environment and economy.
From soft drinks to biscuits, body creams, soaps, and oral health care the effects are quite huge on the economy and the lives of Nigerians. Such activities have indeed led to loss of revenue to the original or genuine products dealers through low sales occasioned in turn, with the influx of fake products into the economy. The situation sometimes degenerates into low productivity and resultant lay-offs in most manufacturing firms.
According to a report recently published in a national newspaper, the manufacturer of X-Pression hair products, Solphia Nigeria was said to have lost huge revenues following the invasion of the market by fake version of its products.
Sales Manager, Solphia Nigeria, Mr. Shola Oduwole, was quoted as saying that the presence of fake operators had caused adverse effects on the company resulting to low sales.
His fears were further confirmed by company’s secretary and a lawyer, who hinted that the activities of fake operators had dealt a deadly blow on the Federal Government’s effort to boost employment and job creation by the company as thousands of workers had to be laid off recently as the effects of low sales continued to take its toll on profitability, while fakers have continued to smile to the bank after saturating the market with “heap of fake products”
Indeed, consumers who fall victim to these fake products dealers often endanger their health through the consumption or utilisation of these unwholesome products. It is even more worrisome when one considers the fact that the situation is rife with consumables and construction industry where mult-imillion naira edifices are often razed by fire just because inferior or substandard materials were used in the engineering process.
Unfortunately, despite the nation’s volatile and fiercely competitive market, the proliferation of imitation of well- known brands including packaged foods and beverages, sometimes, even bottled water has continued unabated.
The unhealthy trend also stretches to the textile, cosmetics and oral health products to mention but a few.
However, some market analysts consider the yuletide, a season with preponderance of fake products as at an all-time high and this according to them, is very worrisome. They affirm that the rush to have nearly every item of choice in store during this period, in preparation for a hearty celebration, precariously leaves consumers at the mercy of producers of these fake products. They added that the development often becomes an open window for producers of inferior goods to ‘flood’ the market with these unpleasant commodities.
There are numerous cases of how many consumers have fallen for these schemes by makers of imitations. While it is quite unclear which market segment or Sub-sector is the worst- hit, one can clearly admit that the real estate sector has had its own fair share of the vicious cycle.
Again, Nigeria’s foam and bedding industry with a rich list of manufacturers of genuine products, which include WincoFoam, Vitafoam, Sarafoam and Mouka, just to mention a few is not spared of this menace as there is sadly, also a catalogue of fake operators sabotaging the genuine efforts of these well-meaning industry players.
Investigations have implicated two Chinese companies reputed to be the centre of fake and adulterated products ring in the country. .
The perfidy of this fake Chinese manufacturer and their collaborators has indeed left its imprints on the Nigerian foam market, a strain of economic sabotage which continues to permeate the sector.
It is widely believed in various quarters that ‘flooding’ of Nigerian markets with cheap Chinese goods has become a sensitive political issue, that has combined with the importation of second-hand European products to hurt domestic industries, especially in textiles leading to closure of over 65 textile mills and the laying-off of 150,000 textile workers over the course of a decade.”
But as the sting of counterfeiting continues to ravage nearly every spectrum of industrial activity in Nigeria, many have raised questions as to what the various government regulatory agencies are doing to checkmate such proven cases of economic sabotage.
On June 4, 2019, a report by a widely read publication, revealed that a Chinese company ‘located in Kirikiri Industrial Estate, Apapa, Lagos, was said to have been engaged in trade malpractices, involving the importation and distribution of substandard AKT bulbs from China into the country’; a situation which led to its closure by the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN).
According to the report, the Chinese firm was sealed off by the special task force of the Association for alleged forgery and trademark counterfeiting.
The Acting Director-General of the special task force, Amb. ChijiokeOkoro, was quoted as saying that the company was “brazenly doing its business in the country without registering with IMAN.”
Head of the disciplinary unit of IMAN also explained that the company had over the years circumvented the extant law regulating operations of businesses in Nigeria, allegedly with the sole purpose of widening its surplus value to the detriment of the nation and consumers.
Many also view the pervasiveness of inferior products in the Nigerian market as partly a function of importation from China. They argue that importation of inferior and substandard products from the Asian Tiger, combines with the illicit activities of Chinese firms in Nigeria, manufacturing bootleg products to exacerbate an already bad situation of counterfeiting in Africa’s largest yet developing economy.
This has also led to a call for the Nigerian government to throw its weight behind the war against counterfeiting.
Makers of this clarion call are of the view that the country’s government should engage its Chinese counterpart to totally eliminate the manufacture of inferior or substandard products whose origin is traceable to the Asian country. They further opined that the Nigerian government should ensure that the Chinese government would check their manufacturers as if (and of course it is) it was an issue of concern to China’s national image.
So far, the refusal by the Chinese government to check the activities of its manufacturers, demands that the Nigerian government should no longer hesitate to blacklist all products from China until its home government complies.
The argument is that if the Buhari -administration can take such punitive action against Nigeria’s West African neighbours with the closure of borders with Niger and Benin Republic, it can also do same with Chinese importers and manufacturers.
While one considers this a viable option, however, its implementation by the government might not be without its accompanying bureaucratic bottlenecks; which again brings to fore, the bare intricacies of a socio-economic problem which unarguably leaves the consumers as those that bear the brunt of the direct impact of the sting of counterfeiting, while the economy depreciates in the long run under its ruthless effects.
It becomes imperative that consumers must dutifully protect their interest in this matter using resource at their disposal to exploit for the protection of their interest is the Consumer Protection Council (CPC).
The CPC’s mandate incudes among others, elimination of hazardous products from the market, provision of speedy redress to consumers complaints, undertaking campaigns leading to increased consumer awareness, ensuring that consumers interest receive due consideration at the appropriate forum, and encouraging trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields, quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers.
As the season of yuletide approaches, the danger of counterfeiting looms even larger with an intensified effort by manufacturers of fake products to mindlessly sabotage real players with whom they compete, leaving the consumers at the receiving end.
Market dynamics also suggest that the season witnesses high volume of sales as many consumers begin to brace up for the demands of the festive period.
Market analysts have insisted that many unsuspecting consumers on shopping spree this season, are more likely to fall for the antics of manufacturers of inferior products, even as industry experts have warned there’s need to be wary of unwholesome products of companies like Zhe Long, as audience of the concerned market segment shop for new acquisitions this period.
They argued that consumers should ensure that they look the way of established brands like foam makers which are synonymous with quality to get value for money, stressing that with quality as a hallmark of their designs, Mouka and other local foam producers have succeeded in carving a niche for themselves by dint of innovation and excellent service delivery, adding that the brands reputation for entrenching healthy sleep culture in Africa’s most populous country, remains unrivaled in value creation.
They noted for instance that Mouka’s quest for value creation which is widely believed to have earned it enormous advantage in building its ability to achieve profitable and long lasting growth, an attainment which has continued to position it as Nigeria’s beddings and mattresses market leader.
Embracing all the indices of quality, what Mouka has done and is seen to be doing, is enough persuasion for a paradigm shift from a low standard production model, as applied by Chinese firms in Nigeria’s industrial landscape, and capable of influencing medium scale manufacturers and start-ups whose production activities may be facing constraints in terms of accessible revenue and matching the stiff competition from fake products.
Mouka remains an inspiration as a business model, with its route to market technique, excellent service delivery, and brand positioning strategy derived from its value creation model. Little wonder the brand continues to earn endorsement from relevant bodies and institutions considered authority figures in various spheres of modern business management. And to set a seal on the projection of Mouka as a firm with a business model worthy of being emulated, the company was documented twice by the London Stock Exchange Group as a company to Inspire Africa; a no mean feat by any standard.
Products in Mouka’s portfolio include; Regina and Regal orthopedic mattresses, Comfy, Flora, Mondeo -Spring and Dreamtime mattresses. The industry giant is also the proud producer of Africa’s first biotechnology driven Mouka-Mozzi, a three-variant repellent.