Home Economics / Home Management · Lesson 13

Consumer rights and responsibilities, laws and agencies, labels, wise buying and sustainable use

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Consumer Education (sources and uses of information; consumer legislation and agencies: types, functions, regulations; principles of consumer education; environment-friendly consumption practice; purchasing practices: market and market survey: meaning, types, uses, procedures; wise purchasing practices; prevention of wastage in the home). JAMB Home Economics B9 (Consumer education).

WAEC: Consumer Education (sources and uses of information; consumer legislation and agencies: types, functions, regulations; principles of consumer education; environment-friendly consumption practice; purchasing practices: market and market survey: meaning, types, uses, procedures; wise purchasing practices; prevention of wastage in the home). JAMB Home Economics B9 (Consumer education).

NECO: Consumer Education (sources and uses of information; consumer legislation and agencies: types, functions, regulations; principles of consumer education; environment-friendly consumption practice; purchasing practices: market and market survey: meaning, types, uses, procedures; wise purchasing practices; prevention of wastage in the home). JAMB Home Economics B9 (Consumer education).

What you will learn

Define consumer and consumer education and state its importance.
Identify sources and uses of consumer information.
Explain consumer rights and responsibilities.
Describe Nigerian consumer legislation and agencies.
Apply principles of wise buying, including unit pricing.
Conduct a market survey.
Read food labels and detect fakes.
Practise environment-friendly consumption and prevent waste.

Key points

Consumers need knowledge, skills and attitudes to buy wisely.
Information: labels, adverts, agencies, media, internet, family.
Rights with responsibilities.
FCCPA 2018 and FCCPC; NAFDAC, SON, ARCON, sector regulators.
Complaint: seller, manufacturer, agency, court.
Compare unit prices and total cost of ownership.
Market survey procedure.
Expiry vs best-before; detect fakes.
Prevent waste; consume sustainably.
Be critical of advertising.

Start here: Meaning and importance of consumer education

A consumer is any person who buys or uses goods and services to satisfy personal or household needs. Everyone is a consumer: the pupil buying a sachet of water, the mother buying foodstuff, the family paying for electricity or a bus ride.

Consumer education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes that help a person make wise choices in buying and using goods and services, know their rights and responsibilities, and seek redress when cheated.

Importance

Helps families get value for money and avoid waste.
Protects against fake, substandard, expired and dangerous products (fake drugs, adulterated fuel, substandard cables).
Teaches people to read labels, compare prices and avoid impulse buying.
Makes consumers aware of their rights and how to complain.
Encourages responsible, environment-friendly consumption.
Helps budgeting and saving (he14).
Pushes producers to improve quality and honesty.

Problems Nigerian consumers face

Counterfeit and fake products, especially drugs and cosmetics.
Expired goods with altered dates.
Short measures and tampered scales or “mudu” containers.
Misleading advertisements.
Poor after-sales service; refusal to honour warranties.
Hidden charges (banking, telecoms) and estimated electricity bills.
Price gouging during scarcity.
Online shopping fraud.

Sources of consumer information

WAEC lists sources and uses of information:

Labels and packages: ingredients, dates, instructions, NAFDAC number.
Advertisements: useful but may exaggerate.
Salespeople and shop displays.
Consumer agencies and their websites: FCCPC, NAFDAC, SON alerts on fake products.
Mass media: radio, TV, newspapers, consumer programmes.
Internet and product reviews: compare carefully; beware of fake reviews.
Friends, family and experience.
Schools: Home Economics and Civic Education.

Uses: to compare products and prices, judge quality and safety, learn how to use and care for products, and know where to complain.

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Practice questions

1. A 500 g pack at ₦1,200 has a unit price of

₦2.40 per gram
₦2.20 per gram
₦0.42 per gram
₦24 per gram

Show answer

A: ₦2.40 per gram
1,200 ÷ 500.

2. The agency that enforces the FCCPA 2018 is the

NAFDAC
NERC
CBN
FCCPC

Show answer

D: FCCPC
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

3. A NAFDAC registration number on a food label shows that the product

is imported
is organic
has been registered and approved for sale
is free

Show answer

C: has been registered and approved for sale
Verify if in doubt.

4. World Consumer Rights Day is observed on

25 December
15 March
1 October
12 June

Show answer

B: 15 March
Marks Kennedy’s 1962 speech.

5. The body that sets and enforces product standards in Nigeria is

SON
NCC
NERC
FCCPC only

Show answer

A: SON
Standards Organisation of Nigeria.

Key words

Consumer: Buyer or user of goods and services.
Consumer education: Learning to choose and buy wisely.
Redress: Remedy for a genuine complaint.
FCCPC: Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
NAFDAC: Regulator of food, drugs, cosmetics.
SON: Standards Organisation of Nigeria.
MANCAP: SON certification for local products.
SONCAP: SON certification for imports.
ARCON: Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.
Unit price: Price per gram, litre or piece.
Market survey: Planned comparison of goods and prices.
Expiry date: Date after which food may be unsafe.

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