Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/02/26/who-is-responsible-for-brand-faking-in-nigeria-2/This question has called for a great concern today because brand faking is dangerous and poisonous. It is dangerous in the sense that it has thrown confusion in the world of products where customers or consumers who are victims pay for fake products thinking they pay for the original.
It is also poisonous because a lot of people have met their early deaths after consuming such fake and expired products they bought at a high cost thinking that such products are original that will serve the purpose for which they were bought.
There are many as I write who are hospitalised as a result of skin cancer contracted through the use of fake and expired products. Today, skin diseases abound everywhere in Nigeria which led to many deaths and others suffering as a result of constant use of fake and expired products found at every corner of the Nigerian market. Who knows who will be the next victim?
Today, hardly can one differentiate fake products from the original. Recently, a man bought a bottle of Guinness Stout and when he poured the contents into a glass, it turned out to be bitter-leaf water corked in Guinness stout bottle.
Investigations have proved that there are a lot of fake drugs packaged in original brand packs. It is worrisome, considering the fact that fake, substandard and expired products are out -numbering original brands. It keeps ringing bell in the minds of innocent Nigerians who are responsible for this menace. Fake drugs are weapons of mass destruction .
For instance, “My Pikin” was a product which killed many children without notice after consuming it thinking it would cure sicknesses but reverse became the case. Fake drug consumption is genocide.
The producers should be sentenced to life imprisonment. Human lives are no more safe in the midst of fake and expired products.
Some of these products are imported from Asian countries and this affects some good original locally made goods, while many fake products are produced locally.
It affects industries’ capacity utilisation and when capacity is affected, it leads to manpower downsizing which compounds the poverty problem in the country. It is something that is disastrous and it affects every segment of the manufacturing industry. It affects industries’ turn -over as the manufacturing sector suffers the heat from time to time.
Recently, we have seen the moves made by NAFDAC like procuring equipments that can easily detect fake drugs. We also acknowledge that SON is doing its bits to help curb the menance, but the problem we must admit is beyond both NAFDAC and SON put together.
It cuts across every sector of the economy, from the east to the west, south and north, the song remains the same. However, Nigerians have questions for the government agencies at our seaports, airports and other borderlines to explain what is going on at our borderlines. It’s agreed that a lot of these fake and substandard products being paraded in Nigeria today enter through our borderlines.
Two, Nigerians value goods produced abroad ignoring the fact that most foreign products are not superior to Nigerian products. We have seen a good number of Chinese and Korea products inferior to Nigeria- made ones.
