SWORD
Your Excellency,
Nigeria is under siege—not by foreign invaders, but by the unchecked flood of counterfeit goods that threaten our economy, public health, and national security. Fake products are everywhere, from essential medicines to automobile spare parts, building materials, electrical appliances, and even food items. This epidemic has persisted for too long, and it is time for decisive action. We urge you to declare a state of emergency on fake goods in Nigeria.
The Dangers of Counterfeit Goods
- Threat to Public Health: Fake drugs are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths yearly. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals lack active ingredients or contain toxic substances that worsen illnesses rather than cure them. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other regulatory bodies have made efforts, but the influx of substandard medical products continues to claim lives.
- Economic Sabotage: Counterfeit goods cripple local industries by undermining genuine manufacturers who adhere to quality standards. Nigerian businesses struggle to compete against cheaply made, fraudulent imports, leading to factory closures, job losses, and a weakened economy.
- Infrastructure Failures: Poor-quality building materials contribute to building collapses, endangering lives and wasting valuable resources. Substandard electrical appliances lead to fire outbreaks, further compounding the losses suffered by innocent citizens.
- Consumer Exploitation: Hardworking Nigerians spend their money on what they believe are genuine products, only to suffer from dangerous and defective goods. This erosion of consumer trust damages confidence in the marketplace.
Call for Immediate Action
We urge you, Mr. President, to take the following steps:
- Declare a State of Emergency: Recognizing the gravity of the problem will enable the government to allocate special resources and mobilize agencies to combat the menace effectively.
- Strengthen Border Controls: Increase surveillance at ports and borders to prevent the importation of counterfeit goods, with harsher penalties for smugglers and their collaborators.
- Enhance Regulatory Oversight: Provide more funding and support to agencies like NAFDAC, SON, and CPC to improve monitoring and enforcement.
- Implement Stiffer Penalties: Manufacturers and distributors of fake goods must face severe legal consequences to deter further proliferation.
- Public Awareness Campaigns: Educate consumers on how to identify and avoid counterfeit products, ensuring they make informed purchasing decisions.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s future depends on the quality of products we consume and the integrity of our market. If decisive action is not taken, the consequences will be irreversible. We urge you to demonstrate strong leadership by taking bold and immediate steps to rid our nation of fake goods. The time to act is now.
Sincerely,
Concerned Nigerians
PRESS
A Call for a Revolution Against the Scourge of Counterfeit and Substandard Products ( FAKE GOODS )
By Chief Anthony Tosan Prest
Vice President South South
ASSOCIATION OF TOURISM PRACTITIONERS OF NIGERIA
CHAIRMAN / NATIONAL COORDINATOR
WOKE 4 TINUBU 2027
CHAIRMAN / NATIONAL COORDINATOR
IJAWS URHOBOS ITSEKIRI 4 TINUBU 2027
Fake goods are killing Nigeria. They are the silent killers that rob our people of their hard-earned money, destroy businesses, and cost lives. They are the greatest cankerworm eating deep into our economy, leaving poverty, frustration, and hopelessness in their wake. Mr. President, the time has come for a bloodless revolution—a total war against fake goods in Nigeria.
The Hidden Cost of Fake Goods: How the Poor Are the Most Affected
In developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, a simple household item like a table fan lasts 30 years. A civil servant in London or New York can buy a fan, and his grandchildren will still find it working. But here in Nigeria, a poor civil servant, already struggling to survive on meager wages, buys a fan, and in six months, it is dead. Why? Because it is fake, inferior, and made with the cheapest possible materials.
Take another example: car batteries. In Europe and America, a car battery lasts ten years. But in Nigeria, car owners are forced to buy a new battery every six months. This means that over ten years, Nigerians spend 20 times more on car batteries than people in rich countries. Why should we, a struggling nation, be forced to spend more than the wealthiest countries in the world? Fake goods are making us poorer every day.
Our children’s school bags, our shoes, our cooking pots, our fridges, our televisions—almost everything we buy in Nigeria has a short lifespan because of fake goods. The poor man’s suffering is doubled, tripled, and never-ending because he keeps spending money over and over again on the same things that should last for years.
Fake Medicines: The Deadly Consequence of Counterfeit Products
Nothing is more dangerous than fake medicines. Every year, thousands of Nigerians die needlessly because they take fake or substandard drugs. A poor mother takes her sick child to a pharmacy, buys a malaria drug, and gives it to her baby. She believes she is helping her child, but what she does not know is that the drug contains nothing but chalk and starch. The sickness worsens, and the child dies.
Fake medicines are a form of silent genocide. Many of our citizens have died because they were injected with fake insulin, given counterfeit antibiotics, or treated with expired and diluted drugs. If we do not act now, more innocent lives will be lost.
Fake Electrical Goods: Fire Hazards in Every Home
How many houses have burnt down because of fake electrical wires? How many people have died because of fake phone chargers that exploded? How many families have been left in sorrow because of fake gas cylinders that leaked and caused deadly explosions?
A Nigerian spends his savings to build a house, but because he buys fake electrical wires, his house burns down in one night. A struggling business owner buys a fake generator, and in less than a year, it packs up, leaving him in darkness and debt. Fake goods are destroying our dreams, our efforts, and our nation.
The Economy is Bleeding: Fake Goods Kill Businesses and Local Industries
Mr. President, no nation can grow on a foundation of fake goods. Local industries cannot compete when our markets are flooded with substandard foreign products. Nigerian manufacturers are forced to close their factories because fake, cheap alternatives from other countries have taken over the market. The result? Job losses, economic decline, and increased poverty.
We must ask ourselves: Why should a country that is struggling financially be the number one dumping ground for fake and substandard goods? If we allow this to continue, Nigeria will never rise.
Mr. President, the battle against fake goods must begin now. You are known as a man of action, a leader who understands the importance of economic growth and national development. Please declare a State of Emergency on fake goods and flush out the cankerworm that is eating deep into the soul of this nation.
Solutions: How We Can Win the War Against Fake Goods
1. Total Ban on Fake Goods
• Enforce strict penalties for importers and manufacturers of fake products.
• Set up task forces in all major markets to seize and destroy fake goods.
2. Strengthening Regulatory Agencies
• Equip SON (Standards Organisation of Nigeria), NAFDAC, and Customs with the power of Ai and technology to detect fake goods at the point of entry.
• Implement severe punishment for corrupt officials who allow fake products into the country.
3. Public Awareness and Education
• Launch nationwide campaigns to educate Nigerians on how to identify and reject fake goods.
• Reward whistleblowers who report fake goods in the market.
4. Encouraging Local Production
• Provide incentives for Nigerian manufacturers to produce high-quality goods.
• Protect local industries from unfair competition with substandard imports.
Mr. President, The Time for Action is Now!
We are at a crossroads. Nigeria cannot afford to continue like this. The poor are suffering, our economy is bleeding, and lives are being lost.
Mr. President, lead this revolution. Declare a state of emergency. Make history as the leader who wiped out fake goods from Nigeria. The people are ready, the time is now, and we must act before it is too late.
This is a war we must win. And we can win.
Let the battle begin!
MR PRESIDENT I CHIEF ANTHONY TOSAN PREST CAN ADMINISTER THE PURGATIVE TO FLUSH FAKE GOODS OUT OF NIGERIA ONCE AND FOR ALL .
Chief Anthony Tosan Prest
Vice President South South
ASSOCIATION OF TOURISM PRACTITIONERS OF NIGERIA
CHAIRMAN / NATIONAL COORDINATOR
WOKE 4 TINUBU 2027
CHAIRMAN / NATIONAL COORDINATOR
IJAWS URHOBOS ITSEKIRI 4 TINUBU 2027
Email: anthonyprest@prestai4gr8athnigeria.ai
Address: 1c, Admiralty Road, Off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2349044888888 Email: anthonyprest@prestai4gr8athnigeria.ai website: http://prestai4gr8athnigeria.ai/
