By Dele Sobowale

What is good for General Motors, is good for America.

That was a cardinal principle of American life  at a time when General Motors, GM, was not only the largest corporation in the United States, but the world as well. Governments literally prostrated before GM which was also the largest employer of labor for several years.

No President of the United States dared to openly attack GM and any presidential aspirant who made even the mildest negative remark about GM was certain to lose. GM was Americas second god. The company could do no wrong. Or so it seemed.

The challenge and humbling of GM came from a source totally unexpected. As a wise one had said, when fortune plots the downfall of any entity  person, government or company  it chooses a method and an instrument totally unexpected. That was what happened to giant GM when a man called Ralph Nader, wrote a book titled UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED. Until the book was launched, GM had always prided itself on producing the best cars possible in America  and, perhaps, the world as well.

Naders book took aim at the core of GMs pride by claiming that GMs cars were anything but safe. This was economic sacrilege of the highest order and GM was not going to take this insult lying low. They went after the author. History would record that in what was another instance of David versus Goliath, David beat Goliath to a pulp. GM was forced to re-appraise its production methods and to improve the safety of its cars  after humbly admitting that Nader was right after all. But, it required the patriotism and good sense of fellow Americans to save Nader from the almighty GM.

What has that got to do with Nigeria and Coca Cola, one of the worlds greatest brands? The worlds largest selling soft drink brand also enjoys global support and clout  based on its presumed quality attributes. It is quite possible that the company had, inadvertently, allowed complacency to creep into its operations; just like that which jolted GM in the 1970s. Coca Cola has fallen foul of the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council C.P.C. Anybody who thinks that this is just a domestic dispute is ignorant of the impact of globalization of brands and competition. Coca Cola cannot risk its reputation for quality in any market, anywhere in the world  especially the largest in Africa.

Global sector leaders, like Coca Cola faced with intense competition from Pepsi Cola, among others, cannot afford to lose in a challenge to their quality and safety image. Stone-walling is their first line of defense. That means they deny every allegation  irrespective of its validity. Facts are released to point to the rigorous process and quality control policy designed to ensure perfect quality. The problem with that approach is that it deliberately ignores the fact that no system designed by man can be error-free.

When that fails, they go after the complainant and/or the regulatory agency which has the temerity to question a global giant. When that occurs, they will stop at nothing to intimidate all those who challenge the company and its brand. That is understandable because trillions of naira are at stake worldwide and one successful claim against the brand could have serious consequences.

At the moment, Coca Cola, in Nigeria, is locked in combat with consumers claiming they were sold defective Coca Cola brands and who approached the C.P.C with evidence to support their claims. The C.P.C must have considered the facts sufficiently credible to warrant an investigation; as a result of which it ruled that Coca Cola had a case to answer.

Predictably, Coca Cola had reacted in the classic manner  it rejects all the evidence. That is the mildest of the reactions. Apparently, having failed to stop the claimants and C.P.C, the company is now adopting Plan B  intimidation. That is precisely where Nigerians, as a whole, must insist that the entire truth should be revealed. Two important reasons argue for civil society to get involved in this controversy.

First, Coca Cola young people constitute the consumers of soft drinks. It is bad enough that, despite all the evidence arguing for lower consumption, kids continue to drink rivers of Coke. Second, parents and adults, who will suffer collateral damage, if anything happens to the kids, have an interest in what the kids ingest. Businesses have a legitimate right to promote their brands; but, the marketing must be done with strict compliance with the law and the safety of consumers in mind at all times.

Adults have enough problems coping with the over-consumption of sugary carbonated soft drinks; they should not have to worry about anything else.

NEXT WEEK. The facts of the story.