Williams Shakespeare[baptized
on April 26th 1564/died April 23rd 1616], the English Poet and Playwright was
the one that stated thus; "Things done well and with a care, exempt
themselves from fear". This wise saying came home to our consciousness
only this week when the new management team at the Nigerian Consumer
Protection Council (CPC), in Lagos, reportedly slammed Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited
and franchisee of its various beverage products- Nigerian Bottling Company for
allegedly offering defective products for sale at the detriment of consumers
across the country.
The uncommon courage displayed by
the Director General of this agency of the federal Government will properly be
understood when we cast our minds back to only a couple of months ago when the
same Consumer Protection Agency under the immediate past hierarchy was busy
hobnobbing with manufacturers and other service providers to such a ridiculous
extent that at a time when most Nigerian users of the telecom services
were embittered by the crass incompetence and insensitivity shown by some of
the telecom services providers, the Consumer Protection agency funded
with tax payers money was busy dishing out some crooked awards to some of these
defaulting and perennially insensitive and professionally decadent companies
most of which are run by foreign owners who also engage in notorious capital
flight and treat their Nigerian staff as slaves.
Less than six months into her high
profile appointment apparently to revive the near moribund government agency,
Ms. Dupe Catherine Atoki, the Kogi state born human rights lawyer has
remarkably told Nigerians through her activism on the job that it will not be
business as usual for criminally minded manufacturers and service providers in
Nigeria. This new approach in the once moribund government agency has proved
beyond the shadow of doubts that 'all that it will take for evil to triumph is
for good men/women to do nothing", as stated by one of the European
writers.
First, she went into battle with
some foreign airlines doing business in Nigeria for their age long neglect
of the consumer rights of the Nigerian international flyers and other
passengers who have continued to be treated shabbily without the
slightest modicum of respect like their opposites from Europe and America.
She took her activism to these foreign airlines who in turn wrote in to the
council to pledge their determination to respect the consumer rights of
Nigerian passengers. But these foreign airlines have neither kept to their
words nor have they been sanctioned by the relevant aviation officials in the
Nigerian state and since the Nigeria's Consumer Protection Council is hamstrung
by paucity of operational fund and some hiccups in its enabling act, it is
almost unable to bark and bite effectively to such an extent that these
defaulting foreign airlines would be compelled by law to adhere strictly to
their professional ethical code of conduct.
But with the ongoing but slow
process at the National Assembly of the proposed amendment to the enabling Act,
it is the aspiration of millions of disadvantaged and oppressed Nigerian
consumers that the national law makers will have the courage to amend the
relevant sections in the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council's Act to make it
much more powerful and equipped with the needed tools to bark and bite for the
benefit of Nigerians.
Well, as a good lawyer with solid
number of years of post call practice, Mrs. Atoki has galvanized the resources
and officials available to her in the new office to begin a vigorous campaign
to name and shame some of these bad manufacturers and service providers to
compel them to improve on the quality of products and services that they take
to the Nigerian markets. In the last couple of decades, many Nigerians have
lost their precious lives due mainly to substandard and poorly manufactured
products that they have consumed in the past and because there was no
proactive Nigerian Consumer Protection Council, it was cumbersome for most
Nigerians to obtain redress. The Standard Organization of Nigeria has also
failed to stop Nigeria from the notorious position as the dumping ground for
substandard products from foreign jurisdiction such as China and India.
This lethargy and inertia on the
part of the Consumer Protection Council may have changed going by the new war
against poisonous drinks that are packaged under very inhabitable and
unhygienic environment by manufacturers and supplied to Nigerians for their
consumption and due to poor consumer rights education, majority of Nigerians
are still unaware of their rights and duties as consumers. The Nigerian
Consumer Protection Council on Tuesday February 18th 2014 took the war to the
doorsteps of one of the World's most popular soft drinks brand- Coca Cola
whereby she directed that steps be taken to improve the hygiene status of their
products.
This conclusion, according to Mrs.
Dupe Atoki, CPC’s director-general, became imperative consequent upon
an investigation by the council arising from consumer complaints about “rusty
bottle tops, rusty cans and foreign particles in beverage products of the
Nigerian Bottling Company under licence of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited. The
panel, after five hearings, held between September 2013 and February 2014,
substantiated the allegation of product defect and violation of the Consumer
Protection Council Act.”
She added also that although “the
investigation was premised on two half-filled cans of Sprite, it led to a
plethora of findings, among which are: that the cans of Sprite are products of
the Nigerian Bottling Company under license of Coca-Coca Nigeria Limited; that
the cans of sprite were defective and had health and safety implications for
consumers; that the Nigerian Bottling Company does not have a detailed written
shelf life policy for dealing with expired products; and that the Nigerian
Bottling Company’s grievance resolution policy does not cover instances where
the consumer suffers physical injury from consumption, or compensation in
instances where replacement will be inadequate.”
In arriving at the decision, the
Director General said the council also found that NBC does not have a detailed
written shelf life policy for dealing with expired products, and that the NBC’s
traceability policy fails to effectively address the real purpose as the
company often relies on information as to the place of purchase of the product.
According to Mrs. Atoki, the council
had made comprehensive recommendations for system change in NBC and CCNL
ordered remedial actions on all aspects, including that both companies subject
their manufacturing process to the Council’s inspection for 12 months. This is
believed, is to ensure compliance with safety standards and regulations,
besides formulating, and making available to the Council a shelf life policy
within 90 days, to facilitate the removal of expired products from the market.
From the reports quoted in the
media, the defaulting companies are also to review within 90 days their
grievance resolution policy to address compensation for injuries, or
compensation in instances where replacement will be inadequate and review their
supply chain management policy within 90 days to include retailers in order to
minimise the distribution of defective, non-conforming or expired products.
For many years Nigerians have
suffered and continued to smile even as they keep consuming cheap poisonous drinks
disguised as soft drinks and because it has always been this attitude of
'to your tents oh Israel' in Nigeria, most Nigerians have nowhere to run
to for redress except those few rich elites who have the wherewithal to hire
expensive lawyers to head to court and to undergo grueling court sessions
before getting any resolution which most times never arrives till their deaths
because these big time multinationals have enormous financial firepower to
sustain prolonged legal warfare which most Nigerians cannot afford.
The decision of the Nigerian
Consumer Protection Council to confront these powerful manufacturers
should be applauded and supported. Nigerians in their millions are expressing
optimism that the new management at the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council
will sustain the fight and not give in to the intense intrigues and bribes that
these defaulting manufacturers are sometimes accused of buying up Nigerian
government officials. Nigerians are praying for the Nigerian Consumer
Protection Council to consistently remain consistent in this line of honest
advocacy to achieve better results and safeguard the lives of
Nigerians.
Already, the alleged defaulting firm
in Nigeria have gone full swing into propaganda to try and save their public
image. Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs & Communications Manager, CCNL who
defended his firm, said “as responsible organisations, NBC and CCNL take all
matters relating to products very seriously and remain committed to maintaining
the highest international quality management and food safety standards and
certifications. Because consumers are at the heart of everything we do, both
organisations also take a responsive approach towards satisfying customers and
consumers".
On his part, Adeyanju Olomola, Head,
Public Affairs and Communications, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) said
“Nigerian Bottling Company Limited and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited hold the
Council and, indeed, all regulators and stakeholders in high esteem and will
continue to work with them to make any necessary improvement.”
* Emmanuel Onwubiko;
Head; HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA;blog@www.huriwa.blogspot.com;www.huriwa.org
19/2/2014
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