Nigeria Moves to Ban ‘Tokunbo’ Tyres

Lawmakers in Nigeria are acting to ban the importation of ‘tokunbo’, or used tyres, into the country. A committee attached to Nigeria’s House of Representatives is said to be working on legislation that would prohibit the entry of tyres more than three years old – a move intended to ensure that tyres sold and used in Nigeria meet international standards.

Tokunbo tyres are typically sold with around 40 per cent of their original thread remaining. Initiator of the legislation, Ekperikpe Ekpo, noted that 80 per cent of road accidents were caused by burst tyres and not less than 60 per cent of vehicles, especially commercial vehicles, use either sub-standard or tokunbo tyres. In Nigeria’s This Day news Epko states that, despite restrictions upon used tyres in Nigeria, the number of used tyres imported and sold has increased – a situation he describes as not only dangerous, but a disgrace to the Nigerian economy. “Oftentimes, we attribute road accidents to acts of God, this, to a large extent, is erroneous and road accidents are mostly caused by human error,” he said.

The campaign against the use of tokunbo tyres dates some five years to when the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), launched a programme to ban their entry into Nigeria. At the time of the campaign’s launch, SON director-general, Dr. John Akanya, pointed out that burst tyres were a leading factor in the road deaths of 34,000 Nigerians per annum.