SON Calls For More Media Support And Partnership In SON’s Advocacy Campaigns

The Director, Public Relations Department, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mrs. Foluso Aina Bolaji in her brief remarks during a courtesy visit of members of Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) to her at SON office at Ogba, Ikeja on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 said the agency has not only been in the forefront of advocacy against fake products but continues to do enforcements, monitoring and tracking of offenders and suspects neck deep in this criminality.

In his earlier remarks, Chairman of CICAN National, Mr Charles Okonji while welcome the new director, public relations department of SON saying I and CICAN members are glad to received news about your appointment to replace the outgoing director, Mr Bola Fashina, who is now retired from the SON.

CICAN Chairman disclosed that there are outstanding promises with the management and with your coming and adage of “what man can do, woman can do, even better” with that, association hope, the management will turn-in new leaves to get outstanding promise resolve quickly.

Okonji further said if, the outstanding promises are resolved as soon as possible with open mind going forward to carry association along in all its activities including supports and retraining of CICAN Members, the management should rest assured that CICAN National will surely strengthen their role in forefront of advocacy against fake products campaigns.

In response, the new director, Mrs Bolaji, said I have just resumed and had been briefed about your support and partnership in terms of publicizing the activities of SON in your various publications. We appreciate your support, she added.

While acknowledged further association’s roles in the past, she promised to improve on supporting the association going forward to enable management to achieved advocacy against fake products across the country.

Mrs. Bolaji cited that Standards Organisation of Nigeria was established with the SON Act 14 of 2015. And by the Act, SON is the apex STANDISATION body and represents Nigeria at other international standard bodies, she added.

According to her with this kind of background, I’m sure we all can understand the enormity of the role and huge responsibility which rest on SON shoulders as watchdogs of STANDARDS in our society.

“In line with our mandate at SON, especially under the able leadership of Mallam Farouk Salim, the agency has not only been in the forefront of advocacy against fake products but continues to do enforcements, monitoring and tracking of offenders and suspects neck deep in this criminality.

In the last couple of years, she said as you also can attest, we have run many of these cartels out of business through seizures, destructions and even by prosecutions in the court of law.

She further noted that but there is still a lot of work to be done because we cannot rest on our oars or become complacent as a result of the modest victories and positive outcomes we have recorded.

In her words: This is why we seek to renew our social contract with you, our media partners, as we focus on the “Buyers Beware Campaign,” especially in these Ember months and beyond.

The director further stated that studies have shown clearly that the last quarter of the year, specifically from October to December, usually witnesses upsurge of imports because it coincides with the festive season. These are very perilous times indeed.

Therefore, she disclosed that we are stepping up advocacy campaigns, carrying out lots of sensitisation programmes, arranging meet-and-greet meetings, monitoring and enforcement of fake products, creating a media hype around the activities of the SON and forge better collaboration with our media partners to help drive SON’s zero-tolerance mantra against product counterfeiting across all frontiers.

She stressed that “All these activities outlined here, suffice to say, require effective collaboration with the media; the fourth estate of the realm.

Interestingly, this is one of such collaborations we are having here today. But this is not going to be a one-off engagement. As our partners in progress, I urge you all to see this assignment as a national call to service. So, let’s go beyond the bounds of duty in the discharge of this onerous responsibility, she stressed.

“It’s an enormous task alright but it’s not beyond any of us here if we put our minds and hearts to it adding that no one can have a sound sleep if the roof over his or her head is on fire. As a collective, let’s join hands together to rid the country of unscrupulous persons and characters that continue to rip us of our collective patrimony, she added

Mrs. Bolaji said “All that is required is total commitment and dedication of all, including the media in our collective drive to make our country a safe haven for all.”

October 20, 2022