Recently, at a luncheon in Lagos, I had a somewhat sober encounter with Mr. M. Akinbinu, who was, to my pleasant surprise, introduced as the General Manager of Honda Manufacturing Nigeria Limited, makers of Honda generators and motorcycles.
I had been driven to frustration by a new and expensive generator that had expended all the fortunes and goodwill associated with the brand by refusing to accord value for money and thereby making itself a disastrous and disappointing supplant of the moribund National Electric Power Authority. Fortune could therefore not be kinder, a chance I must seize by the forelock. But on reflection, I elected to mollify the mordacity of my words, giving the benefit of the doubt on a first encounter.
‘Mr. GM sir, we are faced with a hopeless situation in the country; small businesses that could not withstand the grinding economic conditions foisted on them largely by hopeless power outage die daily; the cost of living is reaching for the skies… Everywhere, you are assailed with the noise of generators, to keep life on, how much has your company ameliorated the Nigerian situation?’
‘Well, no firm feels the impact of the socio-economic downturns better. Nonetheless, Honda’s philosophy remains immutable. We are committed to supplying products of the highest quality yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction; this is our contribution to Nigeria.’ ‘Products of the highest quality you said, but that looks to me a mirage as such commitment flies in the face of realities… you also talked about reasonable price…I do understand the need for PR but hitting someone that is already down by selling substandard products to him is inhuman…!’
‘I do hope you’ve not been shortchanged by fake dealers. Ninety percent of the products that are branded Honda in Nigeria are fake; they are copy models of our products. This has been a major challenge to us; in fact, our existence as a company is on the line because of activities of these fake products’ dealers. In every city and corner, you see Honda, yet they are not from us. Fraudsters use our name to sell their goods and do collateral damage to all we stand for as a reputable company in Nigeria but we are taking the battle to their doorsteps.’
‘I regret I’m not in the least persuaded; I hope you’ll excuse my imprudence.’ ‘I quite share in your feeling sir; we address this issue from time to time but as I said, it’s been a tough battle…’ ‘I understand your company is located in Ota, in the bowels of Obasanjo’s Farm. I think I read sometime last year that the President visited your firm…’ ‘Yes, I received him on that occasion. I told him about our problems, how faceless importers of fake motorcycles and generators that pay no tax to government are pushing the company that has Nigerians on its pay roll down the slope of destitution. This is beside the government policies that have over the years brought the company to this abysmal state.’
‘It may interest you to know that our company has an installed capacity of 120,000 motorcycles per year but today produces less than 10,000 a year due to influx of fake and substandard products into the country. I walk through the country and observe many companies and warehouses converted into churches and mosques and several Nigerians thrown out of job and I do pray that would not become our lot one day...’ ‘If I may cut in, most of those (foreign) companies you referred to were run down by the unabashed avarice of our own people- I mean Nigerian managers- after the whites departed our shores, even when the economy was good and government policy was fairly favourable.’
‘It is right to say many Nigerians are corrupt but wrong to hold everyone culpable. There are some of us that will not trade integrity for anything. My brother, can you imagine how long it takes us to clear our goods when they arrive at the ports, just because we are not ready to compromise on certain standards of doing business…’ ‘But you got a presidential visit, in a relaxed atmosphere for that matter…’ ‘That’s another issue entirely.’ ‘So, what’s the fate of my generator?’
‘I’m afraid we cannot do anything except it’s the original product purchased from our accredited dealers across the nation. Any fault is immediately rectified upon receipt of complaints or the product is replaced in line with our policy of not receiving bad products and not supplying bad products. But if you insist it’s our product, then bring it to our factory at Ota.’
I’m not quite sure why I was cynical about the whole explanation especially on the idea of traveling several kilometers to confirm the source of a product. I considered the appalling state of the road, the soul-corroding traffic jam… I there and then dismissed the idea. Some weeks later, the issue of generator came up again in a chit-chat with a friend, who drew my attention to a Honda advert in a daily tabloid. I was intrigued the more as I could see no difference between what is in my house and the advert. We then decided to visit the company with the product about a week after. But the whole experience was illuminating.
After traveling for about two hours, we were ushered into the reception room of Honda Manufacturing Nigeria at Ota but could not see the GM until about an hour later because of management meeting. It was time to reminiscent on a company that is known to my friend for several years: ‘This looks like a shadow of its former self,’ he lamented, ‘a combination of faulty government policies and unrestrained liberalization have almost brought the company to its knees. I understand the staff strength has reduced drastically due to poor returns.’ ‘The same holds for other companies in the country; they are a reflection of the descent of Nigeria to want and privation from the height of abundance,’ I submitted plaintively.
We were soon ushered into the office of the GM who was pleased to introduce us to their Japanese Managing Director, Mr. T. Senda and his compatriot, Mr. Okawa. We had earlier examined the products in the showroom and discovered the dexterities of fake products importers. The rest is history. But before we left the company, we were, on request, allowed to watch the practical training session organized for motorcycle riders. We were stunned that nine-five percent of the riders could not pass the braking test in the face of danger. Little wonders that Okada accident is rampant in the country. It behoves the government to introduce driving licence for Okada riders and save the poor masses from unnecessary and avoidable injuries and attendant hospital bills.
As we journeyed home, we took time to observe the so-called Honda products and were alarmed by how Honda sticker is pasted on almost all the products displayed yet they are not recognized dealers of the brand. So, this is how so many Nigerians are shortchanged. But is there anything that is not fake in Nigeria?
Where is the popular TEMITOPE BISCUITS today? It has succumbed to the yoke of unrestrained liberalization. No one knows the fate of NASCO BISCUITS anymore. The nation has become a dumping ground of all foreign junks. Even table water is imported into Nigeria, yet we continue to produce thousands of graduates annually. The other day,
I watched a woman battle with her newly purchased pressure cooker. On closer observation, I recognized it was a fake product from China. From hurricane lantern to kerosene stove, to hot plate, cooking pots, from electric bulb to electric cables, radio, television, ceiling fan… a whole house may actually be filled with fake and substandard imported products.
Nigerians should therefore be cautious when making purchases. It is also the major responsibility of corporate organizations to protect their customers from substandard products.
Soyombo is Lagos-based public affairs commentator
This article is already published by ThisDay Newspapers: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=22611