QUALITY CONTROL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THE MANDATE OF STANDARDS ORGANIZATION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

At the fulcrum of ensuring the maximization of the benefits that accrues to economic integration, as well taking advantage of the benefits of the theory of comparative advantage is; standardization. The Standards Organization of Nigeria was established with the mandate of ensuring standardization with respect to imports and exports in Nigeria. This mandate is achieved by the publication and review of Nigeria’s Industrial Standards and the measurement of these industrial products against these preset standards to ascertain an effective system of quality assurance within the country. Since its coming into force, the organization has published about 965 industrial standards and has been involved in an array of activities geared towards ascertaining standardization of goods within the country. However, this paper finds that there appears to be a number of challenges that hinders the full actualization of the mandates of the organization, a fact which has contributed to the influx of substandard goods into the country and impacted negatively on the health and safety of the citizenry as well as the economic growth of the country. Using a desk-based methodology, this paper considers the statutory mandates of the Standards organization of Nigeria, the activities of the organization in achieving its mandates, the challenges that hinders the attainment of its mandates, and concludes by proffering recommendations.