There has been renewed talk lately about the need for Nigerians to patronize locally made goods, (someone should have added… and services!). Championed by Senator Ben Murray Bruce, and supported by the Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar and a large crowd of online campaigners, so much ink, saliva, and emotions have been invested in this old, and perhaps boring story.
Senator Bruce, who goes by the moniker “the Commonsense Senator” even introduced a hashtag #BuyNaijaToGrowtheNaira. He hasn’t quite explained the connection, but with the exchange rate melting down and the Naira yo-yoing, everyone including our neighbourhood electrician, and his friend, the battery charger, have both become experts on the fortunes of the national currency. Senator Saraki has promised that the Public Procurement Act will be amended by the 8th National Assembly to make it mandatory for the government to patronize locally made goods. Minister Aisha Abubakar has proposed a “Patronise Naija Products Campaign.”
It all sounds so familiar but what has triggered this latest effusion of patriotism was a Made in Aba Trade Fair in Abuja, where locally made products including shoes were displayed and purchased by the snobby class now acting as great promoters of Nigerian identity and entrepreneurship. Senator Bruce and the National Assembly have also purchased made in Nigeria vehicles from Innoson Motors, a local vehicle manufacturing company. The interest that this has generated is good publicity for Innoson Motors, and it will probably provide good justification for the National assembly purchasing more vehicles. It is also an excellent advertisement for local entrepreneurship. There was a time in this country when the phrase Aba-made was meant to be denigrating, but today, corporate suits and other items made in Aba have made it to the status of a Trade Fair.
We must be reminded nonetheless, that this buy Nigeria campaign, or proudly Nigerian, as it was once called, has been promoted in one form or the other for more than 30 years. At a time, Federal Ministers chose to wear Ankara fabrics, which is supposed to be locally made, and at another time, the Federal Government only patronized Peugeot Motors, which then had a thriving car manufacturing company in Kaduna. Virtually every government has tried to promote Nigerian goods. And there is certainly no doubt that there is a lot of entrepreneurial talent out there in Nigeria, a gift for innovation and a capacity to aspire.
Given the right, enabling environment, Nigerians are willing to help government promote the objectives of diversification, backward integration, and non-oil exports which are at the root of all this talk about made in Nigeria. The YouWin exhibitions held between 2014 and 2015, showed great potential, especially in the agriculture and food sector, and the need for government to encourage entrepreneurship and manufacturing. But lessons were also learnt, and it is the same lessons that should guide the current patriotic excitement over locally made goods. In the end, Senator Bruce, patriotism is not enough, lest it turns us all as someone warned into “scoundrels”, seeking economic restoration without the right strategy and attitude.
The first lesson is that we need to truly encourage the transformation of Nigeria into a primary, productive market, and not a secondary market for the dumping of goods. We may be celebrating the fact that some Nigerians are making the effort to produce goods locally, but really how much of that local production is local? I can bet that the leather that is used for the shoes we are being encouraged to buy is not produced in Nigeria. Our local entrepreneurs import leather, manage to produce something labeled Nigerian, when in fact the entire value chain could have been truly local? Innoson Motors is well known in government circles, but have we measured how much of those Innoson vehicles is actually local? 30%?
Before Innoson, we had Omatek and Zinnox computers, advertised as made in Nigeria goods. But where in this country do we have young technicians producing computer chips and other components? We need to take a second look at the concept: made in Nigeria, and be sure that we are actually talking about the same thing. What is the answer? I think government must in the long run insist that those who seek to sell in the Nigerian market, must set up their factories here, and produce for the Nigerian market inside Nigeria. We have all the raw materials that may be needed, and we have the market, the biggest in Africa.
People come here, take our raw materials to other factories in other parts of the world, send back the products and then make profit iat our expense. We end up creating jobs in other parts of the world, and receive finish products that could have been produced here. No. If Toyota and Nissan want to sell cars in Nigeria, then they must produce the cars inside Nigeria and source their materials and labour majorly from here, and brand the vehicles Made in Nigeria and export them to other parts of the world. In recent years, there was such discussion with Hyundai and Volkswagen. Minister Aisha Abubakar should look at the records. Innoson can then compete with Toyota Nigeria, Nissan Nigeria, Hyundai Nigeria and Volkswagen Nigeria. The same argument goes for every other product in need of direct investment. The point is not about being local; it is about developing the capacity to turn Nigeria into a world-class production and economic centre.
The second lesson has to do with quality and standards. The recent debate has been about indigenous patronage as a test of patriotism. I don’t think that is the right focus. People like quality. In a capitalist system, they will make their own decisions and choices with the capital at their disposal. And we shouldn’t be talking as if Nigerians should produce made in Nigeria goods to be consumed only by Nigerians, whether good or bad. The vision, consistent with the ambition of the authors of the country’s various development plans, is to produce world-class products inside Nigeria. What we have seen is that locally made goods often fall short of international standards. They lack the competitive edge.
It is good to buy Aba-made, but our ladies who are used to Hermes and Louis Vuitton are not likely to trade their designer bags for Nnamdi bags, except the latter can compete and become a global brand. It has been reported that many Nigerian goods sent for export are often rejected overseas, for such simple reasons as packaging or basic standards. No amount of patriotism can by-pass that. We have a Standards Organisation of Nigeria and an Export Promotion Council: what is the synergy between them and the various SMEs striving to break into the export market?
The third lesson is that government must just make up its mind about this whole thing about the diversification of the Nigerian economy. It is not the responsibility of one government or administration; it is a process that should move Nigeria from being a democracy observing electoral commission rituals, into a developmental state. We were almost there under the military quite ironically, but then the military also lost it due to bad attitudes.
Once upon a time in this country, there was regular electricity, manufacturing companies, both local and foreign thrived, salaries and pensions were paid as at when due, potable water was available, the leaders sounded as if the Nigerian people and their welfare were important and there was a suffocating vision of Nigeria being the “giant of Africa”.
When students graduated from universities, teacher training colleges, and nursing schools, they were sure of immediate employment, which brought them life-long fulfilment. Brilliant students got special scholarships; every student got a bursary, our schools attracted students and teachers from every part of the world. And now, here we are wondering why? What happened? This collapse of the Nigerian standard is the worst thing to have ever happened. Younger ones may not even believe that indeed Chinua Achebe was right when he wrote that “there was once a country.”
The challenge can start with re-discovering that lost country and moving forward from that point. I mentioned services in addition to goods earlier. And I ask: how many Nigerians are satisfied with Nigerian services? Many families won’t even employ a Nigerian nanny or driver. They would rather look for people from Asia and West Africa. Builders won’t recruit Nigerian masons: they ‘d rather use artisans from Ghana or Togo. When foreign companies set up businesses in Nigeria, they bring staff from their own country, and violate the expatriate quota in collusion with our own people; they even import cement and other equipment from elsewhere and our officials look the other way. We don’t even respect ourselves as a nation. But we love slogans.
So, the matter is not as simple as just buying Nigerian goods. It is not about trending hashtags, slogans or propaganda, but a decision to move this country beyond the on-going knee-jerk, desperate elite war of position within the political spectrum, and see what can work for the people’s benefit. We want to buy made in Nigeria goods, and yet every start up business in this country is facing serious challenges; the more established manufacturing outfits are groaning. Every election season, the private sector pretends to support the political process, but once its chieftains are not allowed access, control or influence, they become closet saboteurs.
I consider that to be a subject in the heart of the future. What needs to be done is before our very eyes, but its starting point must include the education system. Very few parents these days still buy the services provided by Nigerian schools, the private ones that receive better patronage train the children to end up in foreign schools including schools in Ghana and Benin Republic. Nobody is training quality artisans either, because all the Government Technical Colleges of old have been shut down and many of our young men are more interested in kidnapping and riding okada. So, where are the critical young men and women and institutions to drive the renewal we seek? The matter is so complex; it is the reason I don’t envy anyone who is President of Nigeria. [myad]
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called on traditional rulers in the country to speak out in strong term on the endemic corruption that had wrestled the nation’s economy to the ground. “Traditional rulers in the country should raise a strong voice of condemnation against those who have stolen public funds and engaged in corruption that has crippled the country.” Osinbajo who had a meeting with a group of traditional rulers and leaders from Remo-Land in Ogun State, at the Aso Rock said: “as leaders, we must condemn corruption in the strongest terms. “I think it’s right that we condemn corruption in strong terms, more so that traditional rulers do not belong to any political party. The kind of corruption we experienced in the recent past is the kind that in any other part of the world, it would be considered as a crime against humanity.” According to the Vice President, the kind of corruption that has been observed in the country is one for which people should be ashamed even as he lamented that some people had the guts to steal the money that was meant to provide the weapons for soldiers fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North East. “What the leaders did in the past few years is very shameful. Corruption is such a terrible thing and I don’t think it is a matter of politics. I think it’s one thing everybody should be ashamed of, if you consider what the leaders of this country had done.” Vice President Osinbajo told the delegation led by Akarigbo of Remo-Land , Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo, that the Buhari administration is fully committed to the anti-corruption crusade and “going forward, the determination of this government is to ensure that people know that corruption has consequences. “We will not only hold those who have served to account, but also hold ourselves to account.” He said that this is the only way the nation can avoid the Hobbesian state of nature where life is “poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Osinbajo said that the anti-corruption fight is hinged on transparency and that the government is trying to put in place a system that ensures that there is consequence if the people do wrong and so that no one is treated like animals. “I think that one of the major problems that we have faced is just that the level of corruption is high. The fact is that when you look at what has happened, the truth is stranger than fiction. When you look at the facts and figures, it doesn’t make sense.” Earlier, the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Michael Sonariwo had commended the government of President MuhammaduBuhari for its anti-corruption policies. Also, the Vice President met a delegation from the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) where he called on the experts in the energy, oil and gas sectors to contribute their expertise in the sector so as for it to overcome all its challenges. Professor Osinbajo said that it is strategic for professionals as well as members of the Energy Economics to always join in the energy debate and render their expert advice to government. He added that President Buhari’s administration is transparent, open and accountable. Earlier, leader of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, Professor Wumi Iledare, who is also a Professor of Petroleum Economics at the Emerald Energy Institute, University of Port Harcourt, said he was in the State House to invite the Vice President as Special Guest to the 9th NAEE/IAEE International Conference, “Energizing Emerging Economics: The Role of Natural Gas and Renewable Energy” coming up in April. [myad]
A cursory look at the tactical jostling going on to occupy the office of the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party leaves one with a burning question: why does PDP always repeat the same mistake?
The report sheet of the 2015 presidential election must be brought into focus as we elect a new party chairman. All the stakes must be thoroughly interrogated dispassionately, viz-a-viz the threat of a possible collapse and the undaunted pressure of a rampaging All Progressives Congress.
The era of putting a lackey of political bull dogs as party chairman is over. The party needs to “smell the coffee” as its chances of rising up from the ash is very strong. That is, if you elect a chairman who understands critical and strategic organizational functionalism and is able to bring to bear this auspicious capacity.
This is calling on the critical mass in the PDP to rise to the peculiar contingencies and challenges of the occasion. The pregnancy of a stronger and more strategic PDP must not be sacrificed at the slaughter slab of political emperors who see the party as just another conquered fiefdom. He that has eyes and ears must listen attentively to the delicate voice of reason.
The American trained school teacher, administrator, consummate diplomat, father and shepherd, Ambassador Wilberforce Juta, must be supported in his bid to rebuild the broken walls of the most strategic, political party in Africa, the PDP. Juta should be supported as he strengthens the feeble hands and heals the wounded hearts in the party. This is not the era to relish the subterfuge and succour of denial mode or “grandeur of delusion”.
THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD AS IT IS: PDP is injured. PDP needs a father with a shepherd’s heart, eagle’s eyes and the disciplined conviction of a pragmatic reformer. Don’t forget, the ruling APC is earnestly waiting to celebrate PDP’s utter disintegration and decimation!
With due respect to all other aspirants, Ambassador Juta may just be the critical functionalist required in a time like this. His vast experience, exposure, pedigree and resilient strength, as resplendent in his academic, career and political trajectory, would definitely come in handy.
. Al-Hassan wrote from Jimeta-Yola, Adamawa State. [myad]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has threatened to clamp down on sub-standard private schools that have been exploiting parents.
The minister who spoke at the flagging-off of the 2015/2016 Annual School Census at Government Secondary School, Area 10, Garki I District, Abuja said that his government is determined to tackle the proliferation of sub-standard private schools with a view to forcing them to maintain acceptable minimum standard.
The minister reiterated that if such schools were left the way they are, their activities would be counterproductive to the Federal Capital Territory educational system.
Muhammad Bello said that proprietors of such schools are exploiting the people, saying that it is unacceptable even as he said that though the proliferation of sub-standard private schools remains a challenge, the Administration would address it with seriousness.
“Sub-standard private schools that take advantage of the unfettered influx of the people into the city remain a challenge but the current Administration would redress it to ensure provision of high quality education for our children.”
He commended the principal, teachers and students of Government Secondary School, Garki for maintaining high standard of environmental sanitation and urged other public institutions in the Territory to emulate the school.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu said that in order to facilitate the collection and collation of education data in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Education has concluded arrangement to host the NEMIS software on the Internet for real-time online data entry and processing.
According to him, this will further ensure uniformity in data reporting so that end-users will have timely reports for decision-making and research. [myad]
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has alluded to the new national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as a Boko Haram sponsor.
The former President, who reacted to Tuesday’s emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sherrif as PDP’s new National Chairman, tweeted: “Let us have a minute of silence for PDP. I don’t expect anything else than this, not even when Ayo Fayose and Olisa Metuh are the microphone of the party.
“May the days ahead bring forth a better opposition party for Nigeria that does not have a Boko Haram sponsor as its National Chairman.”
Obasanjo advised the country’s youths to be wary of politicians, saying that they must accept themselves irrespective of their political beliefs.
He observed that while youths are busy fighting for PDP and APC, “politicians and leaders are busy inserting figures in the nation’s budget.”
Obasanjo noted that if the country is to get things right, Nigerian youths, either in APC or PDP, must unite against enemies of the masses, as unity is a strong force to win the battle. [myad]
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige has described those who went to town today with the news that he collapsed on the floor of the House of Representatives as he was defending his budget for 2016 as petty. The minister who spoke to news men today, said that he was in South Africa en route to Nigeria today when the news of his collapse in the Nigerian National Assembly gained ground, describing the rumour as a ruse and an attempt by politicians to malign his ability and personality. “It’s laughable, and failed cannon targeted at me by never -do- well politicians for selfish interest. I am not in Nigeria, I attended special morning function in Zambia and I’m airborne to South Africa where I will be coming into the country tomorrow. The rumours on the social media and other quarters have to show how petty people can be. “I don’t see it as anything but I wish to tell those who still play this outdated and obsolete politics of bitterness to embrace change and know that it is no longer business as usual. The rumour has shown that I’m a great person. The late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe experienced such dangerous rumour. Those who peddle such rumour in history most often visit there before long.” He expressed confidence in President Buhari’s administration to rid the country of corrupt leaders and maintained that his ministry shall continue to play the complimentary role of promoting good governance in the country. [myad]
How time changes, and fast. Of course, the changing time has a way of favouring some and making others reeling in confusion and or self-delusion. For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the changing time seems to have boxed it into a dangerous corner. As a matter of fact, there used to be a time, not too long ago, when the party prided itself as the largest in Africa. So large and cohesive it was that its leaders had the confidence that it would be at the centre for at least, the next 50 years, calling the shot for this country. That were the days of Dr. Alex Ekwuemes, the days Adamu Ciromas, the days of late Solomon Daushep Lars, the days of late Abubakar Rimis, the days of Chief Olusegun Obasanjos, the days of Chief Barnabas Gemades, the days of Chief Audu Ogbes, the days of General Ibrahim Babangidas, the days of Alhaji Atiku Abubakars, the days of Chief Tony Anenihs, the days of Alhaji Bamanga Tukurs and many other founding fathers. These were the days when the PDP determined the fate and direction of the country, not necessarily because it was in power, but because of the sheer strength and nation-wide-spread of who-is-who in the country. Time was when the whole country would literary shake whenever the party was having just a mere National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, not to talk of Convention: when Nigeria would catch cold simply because the party sneezed. The party began to lose it clout from the very moment Dr. Goodluck Jonathan mounted power as President of the country and as national leader (of the party). Jonathan began to assemble his own kind of leaders for the party, away from the ideals of the founding fathers. So fast the party degenerated and so high-handed the leadership turned, under Jonathan that it approached the 2015 general elections in tattered. The general belief that gave the party’s leadership some forms of confidence was that enormous funds it stashed away in various places would, as usual, give it the power. Another hope was hinged on the rigging machinery which one of the chief defectors to All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Rotimi Amaechi said was all over. Remember Amaechi saying before the elections that they, the leaders of PDP which he was part of, used to count ballot papers into ballot boxes inside aircraft, away from the votes which electorate would be busy queuing up at polling centres to cast. When eventually the nemesis caught up with Jonathan after losing, for the first time in our political or electoral history, to an opposition party, the APC, the emptiness of the PDP came out clearly in the daylight. The national chairman that led the party to the electoral waterloo, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu threw the party off his back and ran as fast as he could to where he could breath fresh air. With the disappearance of Adamu Mu’azu, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party’s national publicity secretary assumed a defacto chairmanship, even though Secondus was at the background begging to be recognized as the national chairman. At another point, a rabble rouser, Ahmed Gulak surfaced and declared himself as the national chairman. With knocks here and faltering steps there, governors under the party ignored five dark horses who showed interest to lead what remained of the party and settled for the former governor of Borno state and also a onetime Senator, Ali Modu Sheriff for the chairmanship. The governors were able to convince members of the National Executive Council and some other party organs to buy into their position. The choice of Modu Sheriff has since raised some dusts across the country, and even within the circle of the PDP. One of the points being raised against Modu Sheriff, according to no less a personality than the national auditor of the party, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju, is his alleged sponsorship of the original Boko Haram that had since developed into an international terrorist gang. Adeyanju said: “it is being erroneously speculated in some quarters that our new national chairman is a Boko Haram sponsor. Let those speculating this come out with concrete evidence and if they don’t have one, they should keep quiet and stop spreading such dangerous rumour.” What those who floated Modu Sheriff don’t know is not the point bordering on sponsoring of Boko Haram or not sponsoring it, but on the mere fact that he has been linked to it in the first place; false or otherwise. The ‘allegation’ puts him in the public domain, as a suspect. If today or during the day PDP held sway, the same Modu Sheriff was made national chairman of APC, it was obvious that PDP would have gone to town to confirm its allegation all along that APC is a Boko Haram party. At a point during the last campaign, some uncultured people went into social media to even tag Muhammadu Buhari as leader of Boko Haram. In any case, if it were not that PDP is completely bereft of earth-shaking personalities, Modu Sheriff of this world would not be so close. It is a clear case of smaller, less powerful animal feasting on the carcass of a huge, powerful animal…which passed on by miscalculative steps. To think that the rabble rouser, the boisterous ragamuffin, the garrulous, misguided, disrespectful, wayward Ayo Fayose was one of the main architects of the emergence of Modu Sheriff speaks volume about the level to which PDP has sank. I really, truly and honestly grieve for PDP as a body. This is no fun. [myad]
Two prominent televangelists of the famed Believers Love World Inc, popularly known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his wife, Anita, have formally divorced. They got married in 1991. The couple has been in the news in the last few years over marital squabbles. Anita’s lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill, said the divorce was finalized on February 8, 2016. A statement by the lawyers said that their client, addressed as Anita Ebhodaghe, has finally divorced Chris Oyakhilome and was no longer a part of the Believers Love World Inc. The statement said: “We have been requested by Anita Oyakhilome to confirm that on 8th February 2016 a decree absolute was pronounced in the High Court of Justice Principal Registry of the Family Division dissolving her marriage to Christian Onehirokpeana Oyakhilome. “Anita Oyakhilome would like to confirm that she is no longer involved in or part of Christ Embassy AKA Believers LoveWorld Inc.” [myad]
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode will soon deploy the three Rapid Response Squad helicopters recently purchased by his administration as a means to facilitate rescue operations as well as boost security surveillance across the metropolis.
One of the helicopters, with registration number 5N-RRS had already carried out a test landing at the emergency unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja. This was in preparation to handle any emergency situation as well as show that accident victims and others in emergency situations can be flown to anywhere in the state to receive prompt medical attention. This is coming as a prelude to plans by the Governor to roll out a Medical Emergency Response initiative using the helicopters. Aside aiding in security surveillance and traffic monitoring, the helicopters can be effectively deployed to promptly attend to medical emergencies from any part of the state. It would be recalled that the RRS helicopters recently aided in locating and rescuing crew members and passengers of a helicopter, with registration number N5BQJ belonging to Bristow Group, which crashed while heading to Lagos from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The helicopters have also been deployed to aid security surveillance and traffic monitoring in the state. Since its purchase in November last year, the state has not recorded any major case of robbery, especially in financial institutions, as it has the capacity to track down fleeing criminals on land and on sea. [myad]
A popular Singa market in the centre of Kano metropolis today, went up in flames, consuming no fewer than 200 shops, even as President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a sympathy greeting to the victims.
The State Director of the fire service, Balarabe Kabara confirmed that the fire outbreak started about 6. 00am and that an unspecified number of shops were affected.
“We are yet to ascertain the actual number of shops destroyed as we are still battling to put out the inferno. We cannot give you the number of shops affected but the fire had destroyed many shops.”
An eyewitness who identified himself as Aminu Inuwa, siad that more than 200 shops were completely affected, adding that the fire also razed a number of warehouses of food stuff and essential commodities located in the market
In a sympathy message, President Buhari, through his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that he is deeply saddened by the destruction of very valuable goods and properties in the inferno.
“The President shares in the pain and anguish of all hardworking Nigerians who lost their wares and belongings in the unfortunate fire incident.
“He assures those who suffered losses from the fire incident that the Federal Government will do all within its powers to support the efforts of the Kano State government to ameliorate their plight.” [myad]
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Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has called on traditional rulers in the country to speak out in strong term on the endemic corruption that had wrestled the nation’s economy to the ground.
The Made In Nigeria Campaign, By Reuben Abati
There has been renewed talk lately about the need for Nigerians to patronize locally made goods, (someone should have added… and services!). Championed by Senator Ben Murray Bruce, and supported by the Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar and a large crowd of online campaigners, so much ink, saliva, and emotions have been invested in this old, and perhaps boring story.
Senator Bruce, who goes by the moniker “the Commonsense Senator” even introduced a hashtag #BuyNaijaToGrowtheNaira. He hasn’t quite explained the connection, but with the exchange rate melting down and the Naira yo-yoing, everyone including our neighbourhood electrician, and his friend, the battery charger, have both become experts on the fortunes of the national currency. Senator Saraki has promised that the Public Procurement Act will be amended by the 8th National Assembly to make it mandatory for the government to patronize locally made goods. Minister Aisha Abubakar has proposed a “Patronise Naija Products Campaign.”
It all sounds so familiar but what has triggered this latest effusion of patriotism was a Made in Aba Trade Fair in Abuja, where locally made products including shoes were displayed and purchased by the snobby class now acting as great promoters of Nigerian identity and entrepreneurship. Senator Bruce and the National Assembly have also purchased made in Nigeria vehicles from Innoson Motors, a local vehicle manufacturing company. The interest that this has generated is good publicity for Innoson Motors, and it will probably provide good justification for the National assembly purchasing more vehicles. It is also an excellent advertisement for local entrepreneurship. There was a time in this country when the phrase Aba-made was meant to be denigrating, but today, corporate suits and other items made in Aba have made it to the status of a Trade Fair.
We must be reminded nonetheless, that this buy Nigeria campaign, or proudly Nigerian, as it was once called, has been promoted in one form or the other for more than 30 years. At a time, Federal Ministers chose to wear Ankara fabrics, which is supposed to be locally made, and at another time, the Federal Government only patronized Peugeot Motors, which then had a thriving car manufacturing company in Kaduna. Virtually every government has tried to promote Nigerian goods. And there is certainly no doubt that there is a lot of entrepreneurial talent out there in Nigeria, a gift for innovation and a capacity to aspire.
Given the right, enabling environment, Nigerians are willing to help government promote the objectives of diversification, backward integration, and non-oil exports which are at the root of all this talk about made in Nigeria. The YouWin exhibitions held between 2014 and 2015, showed great potential, especially in the agriculture and food sector, and the need for government to encourage entrepreneurship and manufacturing. But lessons were also learnt, and it is the same lessons that should guide the current patriotic excitement over locally made goods. In the end, Senator Bruce, patriotism is not enough, lest it turns us all as someone warned into “scoundrels”, seeking economic restoration without the right strategy and attitude.
The first lesson is that we need to truly encourage the transformation of Nigeria into a primary, productive market, and not a secondary market for the dumping of goods. We may be celebrating the fact that some Nigerians are making the effort to produce goods locally, but really how much of that local production is local? I can bet that the leather that is used for the shoes we are being encouraged to buy is not produced in Nigeria. Our local entrepreneurs import leather, manage to produce something labeled Nigerian, when in fact the entire value chain could have been truly local? Innoson Motors is well known in government circles, but have we measured how much of those Innoson vehicles is actually local? 30%?
Before Innoson, we had Omatek and Zinnox computers, advertised as made in Nigeria goods. But where in this country do we have young technicians producing computer chips and other components? We need to take a second look at the concept: made in Nigeria, and be sure that we are actually talking about the same thing. What is the answer? I think government must in the long run insist that those who seek to sell in the Nigerian market, must set up their factories here, and produce for the Nigerian market inside Nigeria. We have all the raw materials that may be needed, and we have the market, the biggest in Africa.
People come here, take our raw materials to other factories in other parts of the world, send back the products and then make profit iat our expense. We end up creating jobs in other parts of the world, and receive finish products that could have been produced here. No. If Toyota and Nissan want to sell cars in Nigeria, then they must produce the cars inside Nigeria and source their materials and labour majorly from here, and brand the vehicles Made in Nigeria and export them to other parts of the world. In recent years, there was such discussion with Hyundai and Volkswagen. Minister Aisha Abubakar should look at the records. Innoson can then compete with Toyota Nigeria, Nissan Nigeria, Hyundai Nigeria and Volkswagen Nigeria. The same argument goes for every other product in need of direct investment. The point is not about being local; it is about developing the capacity to turn Nigeria into a world-class production and economic centre.
The second lesson has to do with quality and standards. The recent debate has been about indigenous patronage as a test of patriotism. I don’t think that is the right focus. People like quality. In a capitalist system, they will make their own decisions and choices with the capital at their disposal. And we shouldn’t be talking as if Nigerians should produce made in Nigeria goods to be consumed only by Nigerians, whether good or bad. The vision, consistent with the ambition of the authors of the country’s various development plans, is to produce world-class products inside Nigeria. What we have seen is that locally made goods often fall short of international standards. They lack the competitive edge.
It is good to buy Aba-made, but our ladies who are used to Hermes and Louis Vuitton are not likely to trade their designer bags for Nnamdi bags, except the latter can compete and become a global brand. It has been reported that many Nigerian goods sent for export are often rejected overseas, for such simple reasons as packaging or basic standards. No amount of patriotism can by-pass that. We have a Standards Organisation of Nigeria and an Export Promotion Council: what is the synergy between them and the various SMEs striving to break into the export market?
The third lesson is that government must just make up its mind about this whole thing about the diversification of the Nigerian economy. It is not the responsibility of one government or administration; it is a process that should move Nigeria from being a democracy observing electoral commission rituals, into a developmental state. We were almost there under the military quite ironically, but then the military also lost it due to bad attitudes.
Once upon a time in this country, there was regular electricity, manufacturing companies, both local and foreign thrived, salaries and pensions were paid as at when due, potable water was available, the leaders sounded as if the Nigerian people and their welfare were important and there was a suffocating vision of Nigeria being the “giant of Africa”.
When students graduated from universities, teacher training colleges, and nursing schools, they were sure of immediate employment, which brought them life-long fulfilment. Brilliant students got special scholarships; every student got a bursary, our schools attracted students and teachers from every part of the world. And now, here we are wondering why? What happened? This collapse of the Nigerian standard is the worst thing to have ever happened. Younger ones may not even believe that indeed Chinua Achebe was right when he wrote that “there was once a country.”
The challenge can start with re-discovering that lost country and moving forward from that point. I mentioned services in addition to goods earlier. And I ask: how many Nigerians are satisfied with Nigerian services? Many families won’t even employ a Nigerian nanny or driver. They would rather look for people from Asia and West Africa. Builders won’t recruit Nigerian masons: they ‘d rather use artisans from Ghana or Togo. When foreign companies set up businesses in Nigeria, they bring staff from their own country, and violate the expatriate quota in collusion with our own people; they even import cement and other equipment from elsewhere and our officials look the other way. We don’t even respect ourselves as a nation. But we love slogans.
So, the matter is not as simple as just buying Nigerian goods. It is not about trending hashtags, slogans or propaganda, but a decision to move this country beyond the on-going knee-jerk, desperate elite war of position within the political spectrum, and see what can work for the people’s benefit. We want to buy made in Nigeria goods, and yet every start up business in this country is facing serious challenges; the more established manufacturing outfits are groaning. Every election season, the private sector pretends to support the political process, but once its chieftains are not allowed access, control or influence, they become closet saboteurs.
I consider that to be a subject in the heart of the future. What needs to be done is before our very eyes, but its starting point must include the education system. Very few parents these days still buy the services provided by Nigerian schools, the private ones that receive better patronage train the children to end up in foreign schools including schools in Ghana and Benin Republic. Nobody is training quality artisans either, because all the Government Technical Colleges of old have been shut down and many of our young men are more interested in kidnapping and riding okada. So, where are the critical young men and women and institutions to drive the renewal we seek? The matter is so complex; it is the reason I don’t envy anyone who is President of Nigeria. [myad]