Hussaini Umar
Nigeria’s Standards Organisation has cautioned that African countries risk losing the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) unless they urgently strengthen and harmonise their standards and quality systems.
Speaking in Abuja during the public presentation of two books authored by the Director of SON’s North Central Regional Directorate, the Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Ifeanyi Okeke, said weak technical regulations, inconsistent quality infrastructure and poor conformity assessment systems remain major obstacles to intra-African trade.
Dr Okeke described the publications as timely interventions that address the continent’s most persistent trade barriers. He stressed that while AfCFTA aims to establish a single continental market, tariff reduction alone cannot deliver meaningful integration.
“The true barriers to intra-African trade lie in technical challenges, differences in standards and weak conformity assessment systems,” he said. He added that the books provide clear evidence of why credible and harmonised standards are essential for strengthening regional value chains and ensuring African products are globally competitive.
The SON DG explained that the organisation is already upgrading its testing, metrology and certification systems to align Nigeria with AfCFTA requirements. He said SON is also supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to meet continental quality benchmarks and ensuring Nigerian industries remain competitive and safe for consumers.
Princess Waziri, widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading voices in standardisation, said the books were written in response to the urgent need to strengthen the continent’s quality infrastructure. She emphasised that standardisation remains central to Africa’s trade aspirations.
“Standardisation is the bedrock of trade,” she said, noting that the publications were inspired by the Pan-African Quality Infrastructure, an African Union flagship initiative designed to support AfCFTA implementation.
According to Waziri, Africa cannot achieve the free movement of goods, services and people without harmonised standards.
“There is no way you can have free flow of goods and services without harmonising your standards,” she said.
The public presentation, held at the National Centre for Women Development, drew policymakers, industry experts and academics who agreed that stronger and harmonised standards are crucial to unlocking Africa’s vast trading potential under AfCFTA.
