Substandard tyres:  SON moves seized  tyres from Ogun in readiness for destruction

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) said  it has moved some stuffed-in tyres it seized from a warehouse located in a remote area of Ogun State.away for destruction.

The 200 containers siezed in Obafemi Owode LGA of the state was to ensure that the tyres do not find their ways into the nation’s market, having been tested, and all failed the critical parameters as a result of stuffing.

Speaking, the Director General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, represented by Mike Dakhing, Director, Inspectorate and Compliance,said the evacuation process was the first step having obtained laboratory results which the tyres failed.

Dakhing said the agency awaits the necessary legal procedures that will enable it carry out destruction of the tyres.

” You may recall that few weeks ago, the Director General, Mallam Farouk blew open to the whole world the nefarious activities going on in this community and as you know he opposes fake and substandard products and any unwholesome activity that will encourage it because that is the mandate he has been given.

“Today we are here to evacuate these tyres which is the first stage in their destruction. It will interest you that we obtained the laboratory results after testing these tyres which they all failed. In our warehouse, we will await the necessary legal procedures that will enable us to destroy them,” Salim said.

Destruction exercise at SON warehouse, Lagos

The evacuation and destruction he said would cost the agency much money, stressing that it has been perfecting the process that would make importers of such substandard products bear such cost.

The act of stuffing he said has been classified as substandard, have rendered the tyres dead on arrival into the country.

“The act of stuffing them into one another and instead of bringing in the tyres into different containers, the purveyors of these tyres stuff into one another. For example, if they are to bring 300 tyres in one container, they will now have the opportunity to bring in 1500 tyres and in doing that, this compromises the quality of the tyres.

“As you know the tyres are made of wires and carbon and the test reviewed that the textile strength of the tyres have been compromised so they are no more fit for use and this is why we are going to destroy them. They may look nice in the eyes, but we rely on scientific investigation and analysis,” The standard body boss expressed.

The agency it said has a law that specify the right type of punishments to be melted on dealers of fake and substandard products in the country which it must envoke at the appropriate time.

Nigerians he advised to always support the agency by giving relevant information whenever they suspect any form of dubious activity in their locality, saying SON cannot be everywhere to checkmate such products with no economic value.

“I will like to appreciate the tip off to this place, because we got this through intelligence reports. We crave for the indulgence of Nigerians and implore them to help us identify not only tyres, but all products that are dangerous to human lives and the environment. We are calling on Nigerians to let us have any information because in line with our mantra which is “see something, say something”, the truth is that we cannot be everywhere if Nigerians do not help us we will not be able to address this issue headon,” he stressed.

SON he said would invest more in sensitizing the populace to desist from the purchase of substandard goods with their negative effects only because they are cheap.

“We are in a dilemma and just like any other regulatory agency, when a consumer in his own decision goes to buy something that is substandard and fails to report,  this is why we organize sensitization programmes and stakeholder engagement to warn Nigerians about the effects of substandard products,”

He called on Nigerians to always give them information as they are not at every point of entry, restating that many lives are being saved iwhen people buy standard products particularly tyres, electric cables and cylinders.