The Menace of Counterfeit ICT Products

The standard of living of Nigerians has fallen so low that we cannot even recognize substandard products when we see one. Even marketers now proclaim the counterfeit products as the genuine ones, confusing would be buyers the more.
The body responsible for the inspection and regulation of all products manufactured or imported into the country i.e the standard organization of Nigeria (SON) is in deep comatose. Since there is no watch dog for standards as far as importation is concerned, the country has become a dumping ground for fake, counterfeit and substandard products.
The ICT industry in the country is evolving very fast, some miscreants are taking advantage of it to deprive populace of quality and genuine ICT products at affordable prices because of their own selfish gains.
Substandard ICT products have a damaging effect on the economy, posing grave dangers to the health, safety of the buyer and constituting environmental hazard.
The impact of counterfeiting on the economy cannot be overemphasized. Manufacturers of authentic products wriggle in pains as they lose their market to counterfeit dealers. This hit back at the economy, causing massive unemployment rate, loss of revenue and tax by the government, copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition e.t.c.
Statistics has shown that over 250 million substandard mobile phones are sold yearly in the country. These phones, because of substandard materials used in their manufacturing can be very injurious to the user. Cases of malware, virus, spyware, trojans are on the increase because of the use of fake phones.
The way forward however is continual sensitization of consumers on the dangers of acquiring substandard ICT devices. Then, right and reliable contacts where authentic ICT products could be bought should be made known to the populace.