NGO Faults Anti-Tobacco Groups’ Attack on Lagos Governor
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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