SON Reveals How Fake Cable Manufacturing Firm Was Exposed

Farouk Salim, the Director-General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria has revealed how a fake cables manufacturing firm was exposed during SON’s routine crackdown on manufacturers of sub-standard products in the country.

Salim disclosed this in Lagos at the Annual General Meeting of the Apapa Branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, where he was the keynote speaker.

Speaking on the topic, “Standards: An imperative for competitive manufacturing in a continental and global market,” Salim decried manufacturers who cut corners in their activities.

“A few months ago, we exposed some fake cable manufacturers. The business was owned by foreigners but fronted by Nigerians.

"When you spend 10 years building your house, if the contractor goes to the market to buy fake cables, by the time there is an electrical surge, the house catches fire and everyone is burnt.

“If our country would adopt and strictly follow standards and have discipline, we as Nigerians, we are very efficient.

"So, the benefits of standards, it promotes innovation, it reduces technical barriers to trade.

“If you don’t have standards you can’t sue anybody for anything that didn’t work. I always tell this to people because it is very important, God has standards, and if you don’t believe in God, nature has standard

“If you step out of your house in the morning, what you expect to do is to step on the ground. If God decides to play a prank on us, then you will fly up.”

The SON boss also decried the unhealthy recycling practices adopted by some manufacturers.