As we mark this year’s edition of World Standards Day, let us take some time to reflect on where we were before now in terms of our level of awareness with regards to product quality in the country, and where we are at this present time. We can rightly conclude that we have come a long way in our quest for quality and standardisation, and we still have many miles yet to go in our journey towards excellence.

The issue of product quality and international standards  was hitherto  taken lightly and casually in many less-developed and developing nations, but the trend is rapidly changing to give way to a new dispensation of intentional standards  awareness and quality consciousness.

Some years ago, while serving as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of May and Baker Plc, I was rudely awakened to the stark reality of how international standards could  determine the fate of an entire organisation.

With a heart burning with the desire to contribute further in the pharmaceutical world by taking our company’s products to a greater number of people through participating in international tenders,  the company and I embarked on an unprecedented scale of activities targeted at achieving this goal.

In contrast to our earlier drive, our hopes and high aspirations melted with each passing day, as we realised that the more we tried to succeed in international bids, the more we became aware of an underlying challenge which was not yet known to us. Our suspense became fact when we realised that the quality of the company’s products, though of very high and internationally competitive standard, was not all that we needed to become successful players in the international bidding process. The production facility and by extension the products first had to be certified to meet the guidelines of  the World Health Organisation, WHO.

In response, we commenced the construction of a new, WHO-standard production facility for May and Baker Plc in Ota, OgunState, with the aim of equipping this new plant with the necessary infrastructure needed for international standards to be met. This landmark achievement was the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. The facility, which is now known as The Pharma Centre, was completed and commissioned in 2011 by His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and is undergoing certification to meet the guidelines of  the WHO.

The end of the expedition was a sad-happy one for me. On one hand, I was sad that the products are yet to  gain international acceptance, while on the other hand the experience provided me with the opportunity to learn a new requirement and a new way of doing bigger business. The principal requirement for international trade had been revealed: International standards was the watch word.

In my tenure as the Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, I have once again, come face to face with this same situation, although on a higher scale, the national one. The scenarios may differ, but the underlying challenge remains the same. Today, manufactured products tested in Nigeria are not accepted anywhere. Where they do, it would be on the terms of additional testing by certified laboratories in other parts of the world. To a large extent and to the best of my knowledge, we may not yet boast of accredited  laboratories in Nigeria.

International standards enhance environmental sustainability. These benefits and many more, attest to this year’s World Standards Day theme which is  International Standards Ensure Positive Change.

The adoption and customisation of the theme to reflect the critical needs of the Nigerian economy, led to a supporting theme, which is,  “International Standards: A Wheel of Transformation”.  Every sector in Nigeria has a uniform challenge in the area of standards.  Under this realisation, SON successfully brought down the level of sub-standard goods in the Nigerian market from a frightening 85% to below 50%. In May 2013, with the approval and active support of the honourable Minister of Industry Trade and Investment,  SON inaugurated a committee to midwife a National Accreditation Body with the aim of ensuring accreditation of products were done based on global standards. The committee will facilitate persistent monitoring of the market to ensure adherence to global best practices.

Sequel to this, the National Quality Policy Committee was inaugurated by the Honourable Minister  on September 26, 2013 in Abuja. This committee aims to nurture and grow the practice of standards as a  way of national life. With a clear definition of government’s commitment to create the environment that promotes best quality practices in all sectors of the economy, and an obligation to develop strong quality infrastructure through strengthening and upgrading metrology, standardisation, testing and conformity assessment, formulation and effective enforcement of technical regulations, the committee lies strategically in the development of a quality creed in the country. All stakeholders will collectively work to ensure the entrenchment of true standards in every area of endeavour, so as to facilitate Nigeria’s ability to fully benefit from international bilateral agreements and trade relations.

Physical infrastructure has not been left untouched, as SON’s laboratories in Enugu, Kaduna and Lekki in Lagos have been refurbished.

A landmark achievement was witnessed on October 3, 2013 when Distinguished Senator Anyim Pius Anyim (GCON); Secretary to the Government of the Federation,   commissioned  a four-storey, world class laboratory facility which is under construction by our agency, and is located in Ogba, Lagos State. This awesome project is a direct response to a long-standing key requirement of direct participation in international trade, as it is endowed with 20 modern  laboratories comprising testing rooms, training rooms with diverse administrative functions; a research faculty for the activity of research organisations; conference rooms and facilities for support staff.

Such infrastructure will put an end to samples of products imported into Nigeria being taken out for testing in laboratories in Ghana and South Africa. The laboratory, which will be ready in 2014  will ensure that goods produced in Nigeria are within the borders of the country  tested once, certified once and accepted everywhere in the world. Imported goods will also be tested and in a reverse of current practice, testing services will be rendered here in Nigeria to other nations that do not have such testing facilities.