There is no denying the fact that most of those who parade themselves as artisans in the country are either half-baked or not baked at all. Therefore, the news of plans to standardise their practices should have made Nigerians heave a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, given where the news is coming from, there is cause for concern. And the apprehension is not misplaced. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is to do the certification!
SON’s director-general, Mr Osita Aboloma, disclosed this during the celebration of 2017 African Day of Standardisation. The theme of the event was “The role of standards in promoting women’s rights”. According to Aboloma, “Our own business is to ensure provision of safe foods, buildings that do not collapse killing people, clothing that do not cause skin irritation, among others. Our watchword is quality and we will be unrelenting in this drive.”
Ultimately, according to the SON boss, “The aim is to improve the quality of services rendered by the practitioners to satisfy the needs of consumers, create orderliness and enhance competitiveness that will promote continual improvement.” Without doubt, SON may have the best of intentions, but whether it falls within its purview is a different matter entirely. Even if it does, does the organisation have the capacity to monitor the sector nationwide?
The truth is that there are no entry or exit standards into most of the services offered by the micro, small and medium scale enterprises such as barbing, tailoring, masonry, cobbling, events management, automobile maintenance, car wash and carpentry, among others. This explains the incompetence demonstrated by many of our artisans when they are given jobs to do. Instead of mending shoes, cobblers end up spoiling them; bricklayers cannot align blocks properly on walls; when some tailors sew, one would think the dresses were sewn by amateurs that they often are. Mechanics end up compounding the agony of vehicle owners by creating new problems in the process of solving one.
Some barbers sneer at customers who bring their own clippers instead of being the ones to enlighten them on the need for individual clippers. Many Nigerians who want to build houses prefer bricklayers from our neighbouring countries of Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, etc. to our own bricklayers. The reason is simple: in most of these other places, the activities of the artisans are regulated.
It is true that here in Nigeria many of these artisans undergo one form of training or the other within a given period, during which they serve as apprentices to some ‘masters’. Sadly, many of the ‘masters’ themselves are products of some half-baked ‘masters’ who merely give them certificates and do ‘freedom’ for them once they are able to meet the financial obligation, irrespective of whether they have mastered the job or not. Rather than teach them the job, some of these ‘masters’ turn the apprentices to glorified house helps who wash clothes for them, tend to their babies or do some other household chores as part of their training. So, valuable time is wasted on these ancillary services than on the job. The result is the unleashing of incompetent artisans who do more harm than good on the society.
It has got to the point where the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) must wake up from its slumber. It is the board charged with the supervision and regulation of educational programmes offered by technical institutions at the secondary, polytechnic and monotechnic levels. Established by Act No.9 of July 11, 1977, its aim is to provide “standardised minimum guide curricula for technical and vocational education and training”.
It is true that everybody cannot make it to the university. But that should not matter; those who cannot should be able to learn any trade of their choice and still be relevant to the society if they are proficient in what they do. Their services will always be required and they can earn good money for jobs well done. We have carried on as a nation without standards for too long. Why can’t we now proudly move to become a nation with standards?
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