The Nation Newspaper

Tag: quality

  • Obong varsity holds seminar on quality research

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Obong University in Etim Ekpo, Akwa Ibom State, Prof Udoudo Ekanemesang, has urged members of academia to renew their commitment to intensive research in order to engender innovative and homegrown solutions to problems bedevilling the country.

    Ekanemesang made the call at a seminar organised by the institution’s Directorate of Research for lecturers, and other staff.

    The VC said research, teaching and community service should be cardinal focus of every university, lamenting that many schools have failed in service to their communities. He said there was a need for tertiary institutions to create platforms to achieve these objectives in order to make significant impacts on their immediate communities and the nation.

    He said: “Universities are meant to drive technological, social and environmental change in a world facing increasing challenges. Research is a systematic way of inquiry with the view to arriving at new facts that could be useful in understanding a phenomenon or altering it.

    ‘’Some two years ago, our Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry recorded some feats in research and innovation through the use of herbs to produce highly medicinal tea and soap. Plans are underway to obtain patent rights for the two products from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). So we encourage other departments to take up innovative research as a serious enterprise. We need to pioneer more innovations in various fields.”

    The Registrar, Mr Imo Akpanudo, hailed the Directorate of Research for the seminar, while expressing optimism that it would bring out new thinking among members of the university to devote ample time for researches that would provide practical solutions to real life problems.

    He said: “As a university, we should strive to make new discoveries through our innovative, world-leading research. We should comfortably occupy a top position among tertiary institutions in Nigeria and Africa that are recording significant milestones in solving societal problems through research.  We shall continue to actively support and encourage efforts made by members of this community.”

    In her remarks, the Head Directorate of Research, Prof Rose Ebana, said the seminar was put together to equip academic staff with new information on how to write grant-winning research proposals. She said proposal writing remained a critical aspect of application to get grants for research purpose.

    She said: “It is common knowledge that research is a financially-demanding enterprise. Fortunately, several organisations exist to support research enterprises, but most times, researchers usually fall short in meeting the guidelines provided by these organisations for winning  or accessing these funds for research purposes.

    “Therefore, this seminar is meant to refresh our employees’ memories on the fundamentals and emerging requirements for writing grant-winning research proposals. We must be reminded that research is a vital requirement for making progress in the academic environment. Seminars like this will become a frequent event in the university and we encourage members of the university and outsiders to always take advantage of them.”

    Presentations made by speakers at the seminar focus on areas, such as the components of a research proposal, grants, funding bodies and scholarships.

  • Minister harps on quality food

    Health Minister Isaac Prof Adewole has sought the production of quality food, saying that anyone who eats good food will not need the use of drugs.

    Speaking at the opening of the Food West Africa exhibition conference organised by Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions in Victoria Island, Lagos, the minister called for safety food, adding that when food is not safe, it becomes poison to the body when eaten and would cause ill-health.

    Noting that Nigeria is not a stranger to food safety good governance, the minister represented by Mrs Modupe Chukwuma, the Director of Food and Drug Services in the Federal Ministry of Health, agreed that a food safety system was expensive to maintain and that the government could not do it alone. He called for support from the private sector to promote a food safety culture.

    Also, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Acting Director-General representative at the event, Mr Abimbola Adeboye, urged Nigerians to join hands in ensuring that foods are safe for consumption. He noted that the supply of safe food promotes food security and sustains development.

    Informa Exhibitions Life Sciences Group Africa Director Jamie Hill said of the 140 exhibitors at the event, 35 per cent was from Nigeria. He said the country’s food industry is the largest in West Africa, advising that there should a paradigm shift from oil and gas to the sector.

     

     

  • Film industry: SON advises stakeholders on quality culture

    Film industry: SON advises stakeholders on quality culture

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has urged film producers to adhere to standards to drive the industry.

    ItsDirector-General,Osita Aboloma, made the call at a stakeholders’ meeting with the legends of Nollywood industry, in Lagos, during the week.

    The theme of the meeting was: “Empowering the Nigerian film Industry-issues and prospects.”

    Aboloma, who was represented by the Head, Customer Feedback and Collaboration Unit, SON, Mrs. Mosunmola Samuel, said adherence to quality products and services would ensure inclusive growth.

    Noting that everything in the world is about standards, Abaloma maintained that the agency would continue to work tirelessly in educating Nigerians to be abreast of global trends.

    He noted that the agency was throwing its weight behind the  film industry to ensure that whatever instruments used conformed to the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS).

    “We are poised to use every opportunity to educate Nigerians on quality issues,’’ he said, adding that consumer protection could only be achieved through standards hence, the film industry needed to combat faking and counterfeiting through standards.

    “We are here to throw our support to the film industry to support their legends. We are also here to educate them and the physically challenged that are legends. They have contributed one way or the other to the success story of Nigeria.

    “We want to assure them that when they buy made-in-Nigeria certified products, they are buying safety. We want to also educate them on how to identify certified and quality products. If you look at the film industry today, all the products they use are brought into the country and we have a SONCAP scheme that ensures that these products conform to standards,” Abaloma said.

    He added that the SON moved to educate them to look beyond the aesthetic beauty and watch out for the specifications.

    “We are here to support them that through quality the film industry will remain sustainable,” he declared, assuring that SON will continue to use every medium to educate and sensitize the Nigerian consumers.

    In every forum, we discuss standards the safety aspect is taken care of using standards. We talk about every day to day activity. Everything in the world is about standards and we will continue to educate them about the importance of standards”.

    The convener, Mr. Paul Obazele, commended the agency for its fight against fake and substandard goods in the country.

    “SON has helped the film industry by ensuring that only instruments that meet global best standards are used in film production.

    “We are highly grateful for the support and encouragement of the SON. The agency has continued to fight relentlessly to safeguard every sector of the economy against the influx of fake and substandard goods in the country. This is the way to protect the local industries from unfair competition,” Obazele said.

  • IPAN: quality products vital to growth

    For Nigeria to grow its economy, it should insist on quality products certified by accredited laboratories, the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) has said.

    Its Acting Registrar Duro Abdusalam stated this on Tuesday at the 25th Training Workshop of the institute in Lagos. It had as theme: The role of public analysts in a depressed recessed economy.

    He said the cost of circumventing lab analysis was heavy, warning that no government  would tolerate it. He said: ”Let’s embrace, vote for, spend on, invest in and rely on laboratory analysis. The cost of circumventing laboratory analysis is dear to pay – loss of revenue, bad image among comity of nations,further improvement and loss of jobs as well as denial of golden opportunities for growth and development of science, technology, etc.”

    He said the institute would continue to insist on its core mandate of proper analysis in every sector of the economy, especially in the food and health, to enable Nigerians enjoy its benefits.

    Specifically, it praised the Lagos State government for its strides in the water sector, adding that it should also extend same to food. He said: ”It is not only about water, even food – all of us here run the risk of slow death through poisoning from unwholesome food, water, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemically or biologically-based consumer products. The entire population of Nigeria can be saved by investing hugely in lab analysis and ensuring wholesomeness consumer products. The prevalence of strange diseases and resistance of some of these diseases to drugs are all consequences of neglect. They are preventable.”

    Adusalam, who pledged the institute’s support for the government, praised it for its collaboration with UNIDO on the execution of the key components of the national Quality Infrastructure Project. ”IPAN spreads its hand of fellowship and is ready and determined to assist the ministry achieve its laudable objectives,” he added.

    Hon Tunde Braimoh, who represented the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, praised the theme of the workshop, describing it as apt.

  • Etisalat promotes quality education across Nigeria

    Etisalat promotes quality education across Nigeria

    As part of its quest to promote qualitative education and sustainable development in Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, has renovated and remodeled some schools across key communities in Nigeria under its Adopt-A-School initiative.

    In addition to the renovation and remodeling of the school buildings, Etisalat also equipped the adopted schools through the donation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities, laboratory equipment, textbooks and back-to-school kits amongst others.

    Adopt-A-School is one of the platforms through which Etisalat implements its core Corporate Social Responsibility strategy which is built around three pillars: Education, Health and Environment.

    Among the schools that have benefitted from Etisalat’s recent interventions are Girls’ Government College, Dala, Kano State; Edward Blyden Memorial Primary School Okesuna, Lagos State; and Akande Dahunsi Memorial Junior and Senior High Schools, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

    Other schools that benefitted from the largess include Igwe-Uwokwu Village School in Oju Local Government Area, Benue State and Nuhu Bamali Primary School, Fadi Sanka community in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    Speaking on the telco’s passion for investment in the education sector, Director, Regulatory and Corporate Social Responsibility, Etisalat Nigeria, Ikenna Ikeme, said these interventions were aimed at supporting the respective state governments to further improve the learning and teaching environment, thereby raising the standard of education in the country. He added that feedback received from the schools show improvement in school enrolment, attendance and quality of teaching.

    Ikeme said, “Etisalat’s Adopt-a-School initiative avails students in government-owned primary and secondary schools access to high-quality qualitative education as well as a range of modern education facilities. The initiative aims to provide an environment that is conducive for learning, to the benefit of students across the country.”

    He further restated the company’s unwavering commitment to continuing to support government in ensuring that Nigeria meets the Sustainable Development Goals especially “Goal 4”, which is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

    “As a company that is committed to the development of Nigerian youth, Etisalat Nigeria recognises education as the bedrock of sustainable development, which is why education is one of our core three CSR pillars. We shall continue to do more in this regard. One of our key goals is to help Nigeria meet the objective of the Sustainable Development Goals, notably Goal 4”, Ikeme stressed.

    In the first phase of renovations at Girls’ Government College, Dala, Etisalat Nigeria refurbished several facilities including the ICT Centre to which it donated 30 desktop computers; the library was fitted with furniture and stocked with textbooks and other study materials; Kwankwaso Hostel Block was renovated; while a modern science laboratory, solar-powered potable water facility and chairs and tables were also provided for seven classrooms.

  • Towards cultivation of export quality cocoa

    Towards cultivation of export quality cocoa

    Farmers and exporters are learning to cultivate safe and high-quality cocoa that meets international standards through a project coordinated by Farmers Development Union (FADU) and some partners, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Evangelist Samson Makinde is a cocoa farmer in  Osun State. He owns a farm within the Ojere farm settlement. Over the past years, he has tried to do many things to improve his annual income from cocoa without results.

    Makinde was introduced to ‘Kokodola’ project. Kokodola is a Yoruba word which means ‘cocoa brings wealth.’ It started in 2012. It is a public-private partnership between Ferrero, Petra Foods Limited, Continaf , IDH, Oxfam Novib, and Farmers’ Development Union (FADU) in Nigeria. This opened the way for him to improve his cocoa business which he operates alongside rural missions.

    He is well-established locally and is fast becoming a household name. Before he did not have the technical knowledge to produce certified cocoa. Today, the programme is training him and a group of farmers in the state, through their cooperatives, to grow and harvest cocoa in the proper way.

    International organisations  have assisted the nation’s cocoa farmers to increase production to 500,000 tonnes per annum. They  have  encouraged  farmers to key into certification schemes to improve the country’s foreign exchange forex earnings by capitalising on her reputation as one of the producers of fine, or flavoured cocoa.

    The organisations include United States-based Hershey Company, German International Co-operation (GIZ), IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) Oxfam Novib, Continaf, Ferrero, Petra Foods Limited and Farmers’ Development Union (FADU).

    Producers of certified cocoa receive the best prices. Through the project, aimed at improving safety and quality of cocoa, funded by GIZ, IDH and others, farmers received instruction from master trainers and extension officers on growing cocoa that meets international requirements. They visited other farms that have been certified for standards for the certification of cocoa cultivation – to learn good agricultural practices, such as the minimal use of pesticides and fungicides.

    Certification covers food safety and traceability; environment; workers’ health, safety and welfare; animal welfare; and integrated crop management, integrated pest control, quality management systems and hazard analysis, and critical control points.

    According to FADU Programme Coordinator, Victor Olowe, the certification helps farmers to ensure quality at a holistic level, in terms of taking  better care of farm workers  and  the produce, apart from the confidence it gives to foreign buyers.

    He said farmers were trained on a variety of things, including  use of fertiliser, chemicals, hygiene, health or safety, and how to bring a quality produce acceptable for export to the marketplace.

    He explained  that   farmers and  extension officers participating in  the project learn best practices in cultivation and post-harvest care to understand market requirements.

    Since FADU represents farmers including those in the cocoa sector, Olowe said the training has helped to see the quality of cocoa raised to a certain standard and quantity.

    Also the use of certain pesticides, weedicides and fungicides has been controlled.

    Phytosanitary methods is also part of the training which helps farmers to improve their quality standards.

    Through the project, he said FADU has been able to strengthen collaboration involving farmers, processors, exporters, government officials and buyers, adding that stakeholders value the need to partner and act together to address safety and quality-related issues for the benefit of all.

  • Institute harps on quality service, ethics in public service

    The Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD) has stressed the need to enhance responsive governance through quality service delivery.

    It’s President and Chairman of Governing Council, Mrs. Janet K. Jolaso, said the Institute’s “2017 Learners Forum” was targeted at inculcating dedication and professionalism in the public service.

    Speaking during the NITAD’s yearly seminar on human resource development held in Lagos, with the theme: “Private Sector Mindset in Public Service”, Jolaso said there was a need for an attitudinal change among civil servants to bridge the entrenched performance dichotomy between the private and public sectors.

    At the event attended by executives from private and public sectors, the NITAD boss argued that the role of public servants in bringing about good governance could not be over-emphasised, even though the private sector was still more being business driven and profit orientated.

    She expressed the hope that the forum will, through experienced and successful senior career officers and their counterparts in the private sector, diagnose and calibrate its efficiency indices through a balanced analysis, value chains, prospects and challenges.

    “We hope, at the end of the day, to chart a way forward to guarantee a better future through a responsible and responsive public service structure, capable of embracing entrepreneurial spirit, strong enough to support the political class to deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizenry”, Mrs. Jolaso said.

    Speaking from industry perspective, the Group General Manager, Tower Aluminum, Dr. Olawale Fatolu, said the mind-set of those in the private sector was miles apart from the public sector, as they were mindful of profitability and efficient service to customers.

    He said this was unlike the public sector that depends on processing, compliance and application fees to earn revenue and, most times, multiple taxation at the expense of service to consumers.

    According to Fatolu, the bane of the public sector is the regulated and regimented environment. He argued that though they may have all the parameters and indices to perform, the operating environment remains a limiting factor.

    He, however, advised the government to encourage best global practices among workers to deliver good governance to the public.

    Dr. Banji Ogunbiyi, who spoke on professional practice and industrial relations, stated that in the private sector, discipline and sanctions are reactive and transcendentional unlike in the public sector with its bureaucracy that delays punishment for offenders.

    According to him, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) is highly competitive and pragmatic unlike civil servants who wait for their promotion, according to the number of years spent in service.

  • Quality and Nigeria e-commerce market

    The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the arm of the UN that deals with issues on trade, development and investment in its July 2016 report placed the worth of global e-commerce at $22 trillion. This is a huge market and with increasing penetration of internet and ubiquity of broadband deployment around the world, especially in emerging markets in Africa and Asia, this volume is bound for the sky in the coming years.

    In the UNCTAD 2016 business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce index which gauges the readiness of countries to engage in online commerce, no African nation made to it to the top 50 nations but the report did not fail to notice that e-commerce is on the bounce in Africa.

    Different studies by McKinsey and PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) among others have placed Africa’s ecommerce on a growth curve. The continent’s online sales are expected to top $75 billion by 2025, with Nigeria taking $10 billion of it, according to projections.

    This is buoyed by Nigeria’s fast-growing mobile internet market ranking seventh among the top 20 highest internet users in the world by country after China, India, US, Brazil, Japan, and Russia in that order according to Internet World Stats, June 2016 data. Such impressive mobile internet profile and the current zeal of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to spread broadband across the vast corners of the nation bode well for the future of ecommerce in the country.

    There are many drawbacks to online retail in Nigeria but they have not dampened the spirit of shoppers. This writer has patronized all the major online retail outfits. Yes, it gives a good feel factor doing the traditional shopping of walking into stores, seeing and feeling what you buy but online shopping frees you up, saves you time and the routine stress of moving through dodgy traffics. A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report revealed that studies show 70% of 3,000 online shoppers prefer visiting their preferred retailer online. This attests to its growing popularity and the rising preference of shoppers to online purchases.

    Jumia, Yudala and Konga are top of the range among the crowd of ecommerce stores in the country. There are many more and all of them have made lasting impressions, for good or bad, on shoppers.  But there is an inherent risk posed to online shoppers. It is an ugly global trend that is being dealt with by various governments and consumer protection cum anti-counterfeiting agencies across the globe. It’s the critical matter of online retailers offering substandard products dressed and garnished as high-end products and showcased to consumers as such. In plain language, what you see is not what you get for the consumers. In some cases, product on display for the online buyer is not exactly what is eventually delivered to the buyer. Using Photshop and sundry technological morphing tools, substandard products are garbed and sexed up as original stuff; in some cases popular brand names are misrepresented and passed off by the retailers.

    OpSec Security, a division of OpSec Security Group, London, recently did a study to monitor the level of counterfeiting and vending of substandard products among online retailers. OpSecSecurity   is reputed to be a global leader in providing anti-counterfeiting technologies as well as solutions and services for physical and online brand protection to companies and over 50 governments worldwide. The study revealed a dangerous dimension to online retailing especially in the Asia Pacific region where online B2C retailers took advantage of the desire of consumers to buy cheap products to offer them substandard products. This online buyers’ nightmare is already trending in Nigeria.

    Countless consumers have complained of how they placed orders for certain items which looked elegant, top-of-the-range on display but turned awkwardly different on delivery. Most of the top 10 online retailers have been accused of engaging in this what-you-see-is-not-what-you-get bubble. But Yudala has continued to buck the trend, offering a wide range of products on a credit line of integrity. People are more comfortable with Yudala because what they see is what they get and the online-offline scheme gives it a head-start on the integrity curve.

    Launched barely a year ago, Yudala adopted a disruptive composite style of online and offline retail, a novel formula which has also become the preferred strategy of America’s  Amazon and Alibaba of China, the two dominant players in the world. Yudala debuted as the first true composite retail platform in Africa. What the continent has seen prior to its entry was at best a window-dressing of what modern, competitive e-commerce retailing should be. It is the first to combine a world class e-commerce platform with an offline chain of retail stores. This innovative model immediately set it apart from competition.

    Nigeria’s Yudala combines B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) models through its trademark Mobile Monday and Neighbour to Neighbour campaigns. These market-deepening strategies are now being deployed by Alibaba and Amazon to cut deep into the global e-commerce markets.

    This is the sense in which Nigerians should take pride in the evolving revolution of e-commerce across the nation. With obvious limitations of poor connectivity, bad road networks to enhance speedy delivery of orders, Nigeria has through the innovative spirit of a dynamic team at Yudala added value to the global ecommerce value chain.

    It is both humbling and intriguing that the offline-online model initiated in Nigeria has become the trending global model for major players in e-commerce. It is a model that is fast bridging all the gaps that have limited e-commerce in recent years by connecting business to consumers in a more direct manner.

    Recent studies on consumer behaviours outlined a few key factors that influence online purchase decision among consumers. Credibility and trustworthiness are at the root of these factors. This is where Yudala towers above the pack. In barely one year, it has redefined the nation’s e-commerce space with integrity of products and credibility of processes.

    But no matter, the relevant agencies should be alive to their responsibilities to keep substandard products away from consumers. With more people having access to internet, Nigeria looks good to drive her big foot into the lucrative global online market. But first, she must deal with the issue of substandard products.  Standard Organisation of Nigeria, the Ministry of Trade and Investment through Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and other relevant agencies must rise and arrest this seeping miasma of substandard goods being forced on Nigerian consumers by some of the online retail stores. Nigerians deserve better than this.

    • Umukoro, a blogger, writes from Lagos.

  • Quality diagnosis vital, say experts

    PathCare Laboratories Executive Director, Operations, Dr Tolulope Adewole, has stressed the need for quality diagnosis in laboratory analysis.

    At a seminar by the firm in Lagos, he said any life lost to misdiagnosis is avoidable, describing it as injustice to the patient, his family and friends.

    “Evidence-based medicine is hinged on obtaining an empirical evidence of a diagnosis before administering the appropriate treatment. All over the world, the bedrock of laboratory medicine is quality and its processes. For this, it is important that the entire value chain is covered,” he added.

    In her paper titled: “Quality as the differentiator,”the lead facilitator, Janette Wassung, an assessor and former head, Quality Management of PathCare South Africa, said quality is a big global medical issue as it affects the overall health status of the world.

    She said quality diagnosis runs thus: pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical stages.

    Her words: “These stages cover the collection, transportation and reception of samples; reagents and instruments used and personnel who conduct the test; as well as the result format, international unit of measurement used and the pathologists that interpret the results.”

    She noted that the cost of deploying a good quality management system (QMS) may look huge initially but this cost would amount to almost nothing compared to the cost that labs would have to bear in case of a misdiagnosis.

    She called on labs practitioners to institute a good QMS to avoid the costs that could come from a lack of good quality management system.

    For Wassung,”misdiagnosis, the major fallout of a lack of QMS, leads to a number of unpalatable circumstances including death, unnecessary and elongated treatment and the attendant high cost. It could also result in lengthy and costly litigation for the laboratory.”

    On the need for a good QMS, she told a story. In another lab, a mother of two who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer at 34 and was told she only had months to live underwent five surgeries to excise a cyst from her gum, remove lower jaw and teeth and face reconstruction with bone taken from her lower leg.

    Later, this woman, Wassung lamented, was shocked to hear that she never had cancer in the first place. The slides from the biopsy of the cyst that was taken from her was contaminated by cells from another patient which led to a misdiagnosis.

  • Experts seek solution to air quality, others

    Environmentalists have met in Abuja to proffer solutions to some problems in the country.

    This was at the 10th Stakehol-ders’meeting of the National Evironmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) at NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

    The event’s theme was Air quality: aspect of control and regulations.

    Participants discussed installation of emission control devices on vehicle generations, collaboration within relevant agencies in environmental management and encouraging urban to rural movements.

    They also discussed firewood as a cooking instrument versus gas cooker, deforestation, ozone friendliness, toxicity, biodiversity and species extension and cost.

    A member of the Nigeria Environment Society (NES) Chief James Nwachukwu said to get quality air in the country, the following must be done: awareness on the implications of air pollution and its health hazard, the menace should be tackled with scientific alacrity and there had to be sincere strategic plans by the government.

    Accappocco Global Services Nigeria Limited Managing Director Opone Valentine Ottis rooted for the establishment of an Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC), rejigging of the laws establishing some parastatals to avoid clash of interests, higher penalty for defaulters, and periodic Environmental social Impact Assessments (ESIA).

    The forum later went into technical sessions. Its chairman was Prof. Babajide Alo, a former DVC, University of Lagos.

    In a communique, it urged the Federal Government to provide adequate funding for effective implementation of air quality programmes, including compliance monitoring and enforcement. It askedthe Federal Government to build capacity for national monitoring of emissions from both stationary and mobile sources, including the development and management of national emission inventories for the major air pollutants and greenhouse gasses.

    It suggested that NESREA should establish an air quality monitoring network to link the geo-political zones for data acquisition.

    The participants said since the world would converge on Maracach in Morocco this month to discuss global air quality and its environmental and health impact, Nigeria had to attend with a ratified document on environmental management.

    Among those at the event were Minister of Environment, Hajia Amina J. Mohammed who gave the keynote address, House Committee on Environment and Ecology Chairman Hon. Osita Obinna and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) Director-General.