MARCH 15, this year, again, provided the Nigerian consumers, and other relevant stakeholders, to join the rest of the world in celebrating the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD), and bring vital issues that bother on consumerism to the front burner.
Interestingly, while some believe consumerism is beginning to find its footing in Nigeria, not a few are, however, see such optimism as rather unfounded.
For instance, at a recent seminar, orgainsed by the Brands Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN), the umbrella body of the nation’s brand writers, in Lagos, to mark the day, not a few speakers believed that a lot still needed to be done for consumerism to effectively take root in the nation’s market space.
Flagging off the event, tagged “Digital Finance: Risks, Opportunities and Challenges for Consumers”, the Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Ken Onyali Ikpe, believes despite being dressed in royal garb, the average Nigerian consumer is still far from getting the royal treatment he deserves.
According to him, brand owners, in this part of the world, still refuse to see consumers as the essence of their businesses, hence their inability to easily sway them to their side, and get their unflinching commitments.
“I think that is what separates the multinationals from the local brands. The multinationals understand this. They know they are into the business of service delivery, and that the most important person is the consumer,” he stated.
The non-Executive Director of Troyka Holdings, also stressed the imperatives of understanding consumer pain-points, before embarking on production.
“You can only deliver solution to your consumers, when you understand their pain-points. But many of the local brands do not take time to understand this, and this is why they, sometimes embark on advertisements that do not really resonate with the target market,” he stated.
In his paper: ‘Digital Finance: Risks, Opportunities and Challenges for Consumers’, the Chief Technical Officer, Digital Encode, Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, noted that while the average Nigerian consumer, in the nation’s digital finance space has not been getting the best of deals from brand owners, the time has, however, come for such consumer to avail himself the opportunities the internet provides to better their finance lots.
According to him, the advent of block-chain technology offers consumers in the sector the opportunities to have control over their funds, and how such funds are used.
He believes it also insulates them from a hostile regulatory environment; since transactions in this space are always borderless.
But, while the technology offers such hope to consumers in that sector, their counterparts in the power sector are not all that lucky. For instance, the issues of arbitrary billings, erratic power supply, and bare-faced exploitation have been the lots of such consumers, of late.
A consumer of the Ikeja Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr. Akinwale Oluwadamilare believes there is nothing, in that market segment, to celebrate, for now.
“With IKEDC, the odds are stacked against the consumers. We are being ripped off on a daily basis, and nobody seems to listen to us. For instance, while we barely enjoy a cumulative four- hour light in a week, we are still made to pay through our noses, at the end of every month.
“And when we even requested for meters and volunteered to pay, such requests are usually delayed by IKEDC to ensure bills are accumulated, unduly. We really need a strong regulation in this sector,” he added.
Quite reassuring is the fact that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the federal government’s agency, with the mandate to ensure consumers’ rights are protected, says it is not unaware of these developments, and it’s ready to address them.
For instance, at one of the town hall meetings, organized by the Commission for distribution companies, and other relevant stakeholders, in Lagos, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, expressed his displeasure at the unethical ways the IKEDC treats its customers, while assuring customers of the agency’s determination to go the whole hog in ensuring consumers’ rights are not trampled upon.
But not a few believe that until some of these service providers, caught napping, in the sector, are made to account for their ‘sins’, it may take some time for the Nigerian consumers to experience the much sought-after relief.
and then