NAN-H-82
Revival
By Funmilayo Adeyemi/Bukola Adewumi
Abuja, Dec. 20, 2016 (NAN) Mr Issa Aremu, the General-Secretary, National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), says reviving the textile industry is the only solution to abundance in the country.
Aremu stated this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Tuesday.
Cue in audio 1 (Aremu)
“Textile industry just like the automobile industry cannot be healthier than Nigeria economy, but the truth of the matter of today is that the textile industry is quite depressed.
“From being the third largest producer of textiles in Africa in the 80’s, we are completely not even among the first 10 producing textiles, and this is quite a paradox.
“But the good news is that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari just in line with his predecessors has seen the need that we must revive the textile industry.
“In fact, the real way to diversify the economy, which is the real agenda of this government, is to promote the non -oil textile sub-sector because that’s the real practical diversification.’’
Cue out audio 1
According to him, Nigeria has a lot of strength and capacity of about 180 million people which can be tapped into.
He said reviving the industry to accommodate some of these people will not only add value to the people but will also boast the economy.
Aremu also said that reviving the textile industry would require the Federal Government commitment toward addressing some of the challenges hindering the success of the industry.
He said that the problems of electricity supply, lack of patronage, problems of exchange rate and smuggling should be adequately addressed to give the industry a face lift.
He added that the government should also help foster the growth of the Nigeria textile industry by adding values to the existing industries while reviving those that had been shut down.
Cue in audio 2 (Aremu)
“You cannot industrialise without electrification; we must do something quickly to have uninterrupted electricity supply.
“In fact the reason why we were the third producer of textiles in the 60’s, 70’s was that we had uninterrupted power supply that was the attraction so we must do something about energy.
“South Africa is producing about 48,000 megawatts. We are talking of 5,000 megawatts for 180 million people.
“One of the factors that kill the industry is energy cost. In fact energy cost is close to about 40 per cent of the cost of production.
“Then smuggling, with this 1.2 billion meters of cloth that we are consuming, three quarter of them are coming in from outside, it is bad enough they are not coming in through legitimate import, because if it is import you pay duties which are good for government, there will be revenue, now smugglers don’t pay anything so customs have to be on duty, to enforce our import restriction, apply the tariff.
“Then patronage, even when we produce government must patronise and then we have suggested, I thing its part of the cotton and garment new policy which is being factored into being is that, all government officials should live by example.’’
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He, however, urged the government to desist from patronising China for most of the military and Para-military uniforms.
He said that investing hugely into the textile industry would yield more returns for the government rather than looking outside for patronage. (NAN)
FAK/BOL/LAB/YEE
Edited by Lydia Beshel/Emmanuel Yashim
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