A coalition of civil society groups working on
consumer rights issues in Nigeria has condemned the media war and campaign of calumny
mounted against the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola by anti-tobacco
groups in the country over the recent courtesy visit by the management of
British American Tobacco to the Lagos Government House in Alausa.
The group, Consumer Rights Advocacy Network of
Nigeria (CRANN), in a press statement signed by one of its Coordinators, Mr.
Shina Loremikan, referred to the outcry by the anti-tobacco groups against the
visit as unwarranted and uncalled for. The network also urged both the Lagos State government and the Federal Government
to carefully consider legislations on sensitive industries like tobacco, oil
and sugar so as not uncritically yield to calls by ill-advised people to pass
laws that would be counter-productive and injurious to the health and interests
of consumers on the short and long run.
“The recent call by a group asking the Governor of
Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola to reject the tobacco company’s investment
in the State is misguided and inappropriate. And also asking the Governor to
apologise to Nigerians for hosting the management of a company legally
registered in the country, and operating in a legal industry as a legal
corporate citizen is highly unfortunate,” CRANN said in the statement.
“While we all
perfectly understand the need to regulate the tobacco industry, it is also well
known and accepted that the industry is a legal one; hence asking a company not
to interact with government and its agencies is rather presumptuous and smacks
of needless grandstanding. This will not in any way impact the drive to reduce
tobacco consumption,” the statement noted.
“Beyond
emotions, we believe that any attack on the regulated tobacco industry will
only put the issue of the uncontrollable smuggling of illicit tobacco, which will
be far more injurious to public health, into the country into over-drive. Importantly,
CRANN is calling on anti-tobacco groups to rather evolve strategies of
educating consumers of tobacco about the lifestyle choices that they are
making, instead of attacking the efforts of a hardworking Governor to provide
more opportunities for employment creation and income generation in the
overladen urban space that Lagos State has become,” the statement concluded.
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