₦airaland Forum

There is something I have been thinking about lately, and I honestly don't know if it is just age, nostalgia, or if things have genuinely become worse.

Why don't things last anymore?

I remember when a toothbrush was a toothbrush.

You could buy one and use it for months and months. The bristles remained firm, the handle didn't bend, and somehow the thing looked almost exactly the way it did when you bought it.

Today, I buy what I consider a good, premium toothbrush and within two or three months, the bristles are already pointing in different directions like they have given up on life.

And it isn't just toothbrushes.

Look at shoes.

Look at clothes.

Look at electrical sockets, switches, extension boxes, fans, kitchen appliances and even some electronics.

Things just don't seem to have the same lifespan anymore.

And I don't think it is entirely because we are getting older and romanticising the past.

I think our economy has something to do with it.

Everything has become expensive. And something has to give.
Manufacturing in Nigeria today is brutally expensive.

Electricity is expensive.

Diesel is expensive.

Transport is expensive.

Imported raw materials are expensive.

The naira has lost enormous value against the dollar.

Interest rates are high.

Taxes and other operating costs keep piling up.

A manufacturer who produced something for ₦1,000 a few years ago may now be facing costs several times higher.

But here is the problem:

Consumers are also poorer.

You cannot simply increase a product from ₦1,000 to ₦5,000 and expect everybody to keep buying it.

So what happens?

Something has to give.

Sometimes the manufacturer reduces the quantity.

Sometimes the packaging becomes cheaper.

Sometimes cheaper raw materials are used.

Sometimes components become thinner or lighter.

Sometimes quality control suffers.

And sometimes the product is simply made to a lower standard.

The product still looks beautiful on the shelf.

It still has the same brand name.

It still comes in attractive packaging.

But it doesn't last.

And this isn't only about Nigerian manufacturers.
We have also created a huge market for cheap imports.

Walk through some of our markets and you will find almost identical products at wildly different prices.

One is expensive.

One is suspiciously cheap.

And many times, the cheaper product wins.

Why?

Because Nigerians are trying to survive.

When your salary hasn't kept pace with inflation, you don't necessarily buy the product you believe is best.

You buy the product you can afford.

That creates another problem.

Importers know there is a massive market for cheap goods.

And according to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, some importers have even commissioned foreign manufacturers to produce goods below standard specifications because they want to reduce costs.

Think about that.

We may sometimes be importing exactly the quality we are willing to pay for.[i][/i]

But Nigerian manufacturers also have to look in the mirror.

We cannot blame everything on China.

We cannot blame everything on importers.

There are Nigerian products that simply need to be better.

If you manufacture an electrical socket in Nigeria, it should be strong enough to survive Nigerian homes.

If you make shoes here, they should survive Nigerian roads.

If you make clothing here, it should survive Nigerian washing.

If you manufacture appliances here, they should be designed for the realities of our environment.

“Made in Nigeria” cannot simply mean “made cheaply in Nigeria.”

It has to mean something.

It should mean quality.

It should mean durability.

It should mean that when I spend my hard-earned money on your product, I don't have to start thinking about replacing it three months later.

Omo, you talk am finish. I used my kito sandals for many years. But today, just one palm sandals, one month and it's looking so used like a .... that services different men a day

And this is where I think we have a much bigger problem.

We are becoming a disposable economy.

Buy it.

Use it.

It breaks.

Throw it away.

Buy another one.

And because everything is becoming more expensive, we are actually spending more money replacing things that should have lasted much longer.

A cheap shoe that lasts six months isn't necessarily cheaper than an expensive shoe that lasts three years.

A cheap electrical socket that keeps failing isn't cheaper.

A cheap appliance that has to be replaced every year isn't cheaper.

Cheap is only cheap if it lasts.

So what happened to quality? Maybe some of it is nostalgia.

Maybe products genuinely used to be over-engineered.

Maybe manufacturers today are cutting costs because they have no choice.

Maybe our weak manufacturing environment is forcing businesses to compromise.

Maybe poor regulation allows substandard products to enter the country.

Maybe consumers have become so financially squeezed that we are collectively rewarding whoever can sell the cheapest product.

Maybe it is all of these things

But I do know one thing.

Nigeria cannot build a serious economy if we are producing and importing products that people constantly have to replace.

We need manufacturers who can compete on quality, not just price.

We need stronger standards and enforcement.

We need an economy where businesses can produce without being crushed by energy, foreign exchange and logistics costs.

And we need consumers to start asking a different question.

Not just:
“How much is it?”

But:

“How long will it last?”

Because sometimes the most expensive product in Nigeria isn't the one with the highest price tag.
It is the one we have to keep buying.
So tell me:

What is one thing you remember buying in Nigeria years ago that lasted practically forever, but the modern version barely survives a year?

Wealthyonos:
Omo, you talk am finish. I used my kito sandals for many years. But today, just one palm sandals, one month and it's looking so used like a .... that services different men a day

Even ordinary rubber sandals used to last

livebyday:
.

I think our economy has something to do with it.

You mean our world economy, right, since enshittification has happened everywhere.

livebyday:
Everything has become expensive. And something has to give.
Manufacturing in Nigeria today is brutally expensive.

Electricity is expensive.

Diesel is expensive.

Transport is expensive.

Imported raw materials are expensive.

The naira has lost enormous value against the dollar.

Interest rates are high.

Taxes and other operating costs keep piling up.

A manufacturer who produced something for ₦1,000 a few years ago may now be facing costs several times higher.

But here is the problem:

Consumers are also poorer.

You cannot simply increase a product from ₦1,000 to ₦5,000 and expect everybody to keep buying it.

So what happens?

Something has to give.

Sometimes the manufacturer reduces the quantity.

Sometimes the packaging becomes cheaper.

Sometimes cheaper raw materials are used.

Sometimes components become thinner or lighter.

Sometimes quality control suffers.

And sometimes the product is simply made to a lower standard.

The product still looks beautiful on the shelf.

It still has the same brand name.

It still comes in attractive packaging.

But it doesn't last.

You have said it all!

budaatum:
You mean our world economy, right, since enshittification has happened everywhere.

Isn't this a rather elementary view of the whole picture? i mean yes global recessions and agendas aside, the Nigeria SON agency, the citizens greedy mindset and corrupt politicians are still at the fore of this problem