SON is the acronym for Standards Organization of Nigeria, which is a national establishment charged with the formulation and implementation of product standards in Nigeria.
SON guarantees that any good produced in Nigeria or brought into Nigeria is produced according to the required standards.
The need to protect the citizens from shoddy products, improve the quality of industries, and spur growth has been the reason why SON has remained prominent in the regulatory framework of Nigeria.
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Functions Of SON
1. Shaping and Managing Standards
SON designs, issues, and implements standards for industries among their products and the products satisfy the levels of health, safety, and quality specified.
2. Certification of Products
There are several product certification schemes that SON runs namely the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) for goods manufactured within Nigeria, and the SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) for goods imported into Nigeria. This means every product available in the market conforms to Nigerian standards.
3. Quality Control
The standard organization of Nigeria inspects, tests, and certifies products to ensure that products meet laid down regulations.
It collaborates with businesses and manufacturers in establishing quality management systems (QMS) to enhance operations.
3. Protection of the Interest of Consumers
The standards organization of Nigeria is an effective controller as far as ensuring the people do not consume low-quality or dangerous goods. It campaigns for the restriction of the released products to the market to only those that have been given a clean bill.
4. Education and Awareness
The Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) undertakes the responsibility of reaching out, conducting training sessions, and even holding conferences, to Inform producers, merchants, and the society at large of the principle and importance of standards and means of upholding standards.
5. Inspection and Compliance
Officers of the Standards Organization of Nigeria patrol the market regularly to carry out inspections in the market on compliance with standards.
They also engage in the investigation and prosecution of offenders for the production and distribution of products below the required standards.
6. Promoting Export Quality
SON facilitates local industries in the production of goods and services complying with international/ regional standards as this contributes a greater deal to Nigeria’s export trade.
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The Founding and History of SON
In the 1970s, when Nigeria was experiencing rapid economic growth, the government realized that it was necessary to protect consumers from inferior products but also to enhance the image of Nigerian products internationally.
In 1971, the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) was created by the Enabling Act No. 56 of the Year 1971, which heralded Nigeria’s journey into the formal standardization and Quality control of goods and services.
In its early years, the main functions of SON included establishing minimum product requirements and educating the public on the issues of quality assurance. Gradually, however, its mandate changed beyond the initial expectations.
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The formation of SON was indeed necessary so that the risk of allowing both goods manufactured in Nigeria and goods brought into Nigeria with no regard for standards of safety, quality, and performance would be checked.
In 1990, SON was further strengthened with the Amendment No. 20 of the Enabling ACT which gave more responsibilities to the organization in regulating standards in all sectors of the economy.
This encompassed the right to subject products to inspection and monitoring, carrying out laboratory analysis, and taking steps against manufacturers or importers who contravened the set rules.
SON has maintained its place as one of the critical supportive institutions in the national development strategy in Nigeria.
It protects the internal market from product quality erosion while encouraging the exports of Nigerian products by ensuring they meet the quality requirements of the importing countries.
SON is also instrumental in the emergence of Nigerian industries in global competitiveness through the encouragement of alliances with international standardization organizations such as ISO.
